What if there was a person who said stuff that a lot people really hated to hear?

And let’s say that (for the most part) what this hated person was saying was actually aligned with stuff that Jesus of Nazareth emphasized.

And let’s say someone murdered that hated person.

What should the response be?

What if the response was an invitation to the perpetrator to receive forgiveness, and an ebullient inheritance alongside the victim in permanent paradise?

What if the family members of the victim said to the killer, “We forgive you. And we would like to offer you the gift of repentance, and we urge you to receive the benefit of radically entrusting yourself to Jesus of Nazareth so that you can be (a) comprehensively pardoned, (b) made perfect, and (c) with Jesus of Nazareth – and our family member whom you murdered – in paradise.”

What if the family members of the victim said to the killer, “Do not be distressed or angry with yourself, for God sent us to tell you that you can be forgiven and made perfect. AND God wanted us to tell you, that ultimately – it was not you who who concluded the life our relative on this earth, but God! God numbered the days of our kinsman, and God determined the details regarding his departure from this planet. AND if you get convicted of the crime of murdering our family member, then we will send you care packages in the clink! AND if you get hijacked by Jesus of Nazareth (like Saul of Tarsus … a.k.a. the dude who orchestrated the murder of Stephen) we will enjoy a rich and unwavering Spirit-informed pen pal relationship with you.”

And what if the murderer felt afraid and ashamed? And then the family members circled back and said, “Do not fear. As for you, you meant evil against our kinsman, but God meant it for good. So do not fear.” And thus the family members of the murdered man comforted murderer and spoke kindly to him.