Should Christians Rejoice that Osama bin Laden is Dead?

As you know, on May 1, 2011, news broke across all the networks that a special contingent of Navy Seals had located Osama bin Laden’s secret location in Pakistan. Although there still is some question concerning the specific events of the operation, bin Laden breathed his last breath in that compound. The terrorist’s death has sparked a number of questions, many of them among the Christian community.

Some believers have commented that they are ecstatic that bin Laden is dead, while others have maintained that as believers, we should not rejoice in the death of anyone, not even a wicked man. Not a few have pasted on Facebook and Twitter a statement that erroneously has been attributed to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy.”

The question remains: Should Christians rejoice in the death of Osama bin Laden? To answer this question, we must consider what Scripture says.

1. Love Your Enemies

But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. (Matthew 5:39)

But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. (Matthew 5:44)

Matthew 5:1-7:29 records the greatest sermon ever preached. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus delivered a message that astounded His audience. They were surprised for two reasons. First, Jesus taught with an authority that they had never seen in their scribes (7:28-29). Second, Jesus taught a love ethic that encompassed even the audience’s enemies. In order to understand the message of the Sermon of the Mount, it must be placed into its proper context.

The theme of Jesus’ message is kingdom principles by which believers must live their lives in the present. For this reason, it was the responsibility of Christians to pray for Osama bin Laden in the hope that he would repent of his sins and follow Jesus. After all, Christ’s blood is able to forgive anyone, even the world’s most vicious terrorist.

Some have questioned the applicability of the Sermon on the Mount to the 21^st century. One prominent politician thought that the passage was “so radical that it's doubtful that our Defense Department would survive its application.” It must be pointed out that the Sermon on the Mount was addressed to believers, not governments. While believers are to pray for their enemies, governments are charged with protecting their citizens from their enemies:

¹Give the king Your judgments, O God,
         And Your righteousness to the king's son.
    ²May he judge Your people with righteousness
         And Your afflicted with justice.
    ³Let the mountains bring peace to the people,
         And the hills, in righteousness.
    ⁴May he vindicate the afflicted of the people,
         Save the children of the needy
         And crush the oppressor. (Psalm 72:4)

Clearly, a government is fulfilling its God-given mandate when it prevents a terrorist from further harming others. John Bushnell, a pastor in Post Falls, ID, put it well when he said, “I am a Christian pastor . . . . There is a difference between turning the other cheek when you are slapped, and administering justice in the protection of others.” Edmund Burke’s (1729-1797) famous quote is relevant to the discussion: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

2. David’s View of Justice

Note well that David’s view of justice in Scripture is God’s view of justice in Scripture since the entire Bible is completely, infallibly inspired (2 Tim. 3:16). Concerning the wicked, David wrote:

    ⁶O God, shatter their teeth in their mouth;
         Break out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD.
    ⁷Let them flow away like water that runs off;
         When he aims his arrows, let them be as headless shafts.
    ⁸Let them be as a snail which melts away as it goes along,
         Like the miscarriages of a woman which never see the sun.
    ⁹Before your pots can feel the fire of thorns
         He will sweep them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning alike.
    ¹⁰The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
         He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. (Psalm 58:6-10)

According to Scripture, believers should not personally pursue vengeance, but they should rejoice when they see the LORD’s vengeance. Osama bin Laden blasphemed Christ and was responsible for the murder of thousands of individuals. No one can seriously deny that he was wicked.

3. Current Thought Versus Biblical Thought

Western culture has eroded the biblical concept of justice. Popular preachers such as Joel Olsteen and Rob Bell redefine God as a cuddly type of character who is not concerned with sin. Rob Bell complained, “What's disturbing is when people talk more about hell after this life than they do about Hell here and now” (Velvet Elvis, 148). Perhaps Bell would be surprised to know that Jesus spoke more about the subject of a literal, eternal Hell than He did about Heaven because He wanted to warn people about eternal suffering. God’s chief characteristic is not love, but holiness:

  

¹⁴As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance,¹⁵but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; ¹⁶because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY."  (1 Peter 1:14-16)

 Because God is holy, He must punish sin: Now if a person sins and does any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, though he was unaware, still he is guilty and shall bear his punishment. (Leviticus 5:17).

When sin expresses itself in the form of wicked people who blaspheme the LORD or harm other people, it is not wrong to rejoice in the fact that they are prevented from continuing these practices. Two brief examples:

1) David: When David slew Goliath, he cut off the giant’s head (1 Samuel 17:51), brought it to Jerusalem (17:54), and presented it to King Saul (17:57). As a result of Goliath’s death, the people rejoiced:

 ⁶It happened as they were coming, when David returned from killing the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy and with musical instruments. ⁷The women sang as they played, and said,  "Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands." (1 Samuel 18:6-7)

The reason why the people rejoiced is that the Philistines had harmed Israel and Goliath had blasphemed the living God (1 Samuel 17:26, 45).

2) Jesus: When Jesus returns after the tribulation, He is described thusly: And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war (Revelation 19:11). Jesus judges the human antichrist and his human army:

 ²⁰And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. ²¹And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh. (Revelation 19:20-21)

Again, the antichrist and his army harm countless people and have blasphemed the living God. Is it wrong to rejoice in their defeat?

Conclusion: As believers, we genuinely should be sorrowful that Osama bin Laden did not turn from his sin and follow Jesus. However, we must realize that as believers it is not unbiblical to rejoice that an unrepentant, wicked blasphemer of the living God no longer is capable of inflicting harm upon others.