A Journalist Is Murdered

October 22, 2018 at 5:15 am Leave a comment

Credit: POMED

When Jamal Khashoggi walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, he was planning to pick up some documents for his upcoming marriage. Instead, he walked into an ambush that took his life. The purported details of the ambush are grim – from dismemberment to acid being used to dispose of his remains.

Mr. Khashoggi wrote articles for The Washington Post that were critical of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s autocratic tendencies. Suspicions are running high that behind Mr. Khashoggi’s murder is a furious Crown Prince. In a phone call with President Trump, however, the royal vehemently denied any knowledge of or participation in the crime.

On the one hand, as an article by Kevin D. Williamson cautions us, there is still plenty we do not yet know about Mr. Khashoggi’s death. This is why investigators are hot on this case. Leveling ironclad accusations and jumping to confident conclusions now may damage our credibility later. Patience, to modify an old Latin proverb, often winds up being the mother of accuracy.

On the other hand, even as new facts continue to tumble in, there does seem to be a preponderance of circumstantial evidence that points to the Crown Prince’s involvement. Thus, provisional, measured, and appropriately humble suspicions that call for further investigation are appropriate.

As it stands right now, this story could have all the makings of a modern-day crime of Cain. Like Cain cultivated bitterness against Abel for bringing to light his faulty sacrifice, a ruler may have nursed jealously against a journalist for uncovering his ruthless rule. Instead of rethinking his ways, he may have exacted his vengeance. If this is, in fact, the case, this we can know: the truth of this crime, one way or another, will come to light. God discovers Cain’s crime against his brother when Abel’s blood cries out to Him from the ground (Genesis 4:10). The victims of sin, it turns out, do not stay silent – even in death. Sin always seems to get discovered and uncovered.

Thankfully, as Christians, we know that sin is not only inexorably revealed, it will also be eventually routed. Abel’s blood spoke the truth of Cain’s crime. But, as the preacher of Hebrews reminds us, there is a “blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” (Hebrews 12:24). For this blood doesn’t just speak of foul play; it secures a holy redemption. The blood does not just cry for justice; it confers justification. This blood does not just point to death; it defeats death. And this blood does not just spill because of man’s sin; it flows from the side of a perfect Savior.

Mr. Khashoggi was ruthlessly murdered in an ambush. Jesus was ruthlessly murdered on a cross. But Jesus was also raised. And He is returning to raise those who have died in Him to live with Him. And there will be nothing any royal regime, no matter how repressive and resentful, will be able to do about it.