Did Jesus Not Condemn Abortions?

A Recent Observation From “Prolifeupdate.com”

A recent article posted by “prolifeupdate.com” observed that an MSNBC host (and others, most notably a Georgian senator) recently claimed Jesus was ambivalent about abortion. The host’s argument was that Jesus never directly addressed “abortion.” The underlying premise of this host’s claim is that because Jesus never directly addressed “abortion,” he had no opinion on the matter of “pro-choice” or “pro-life.” According to this host’s premise, by not stating a position, Jesus effectively left the decision over whether or not to abort a pregnancy to the pregnant woman.

To grant authority to his assertion, this host also provided his provenance of being raised in a Southern Baptist environment and having read the Bible, specifically Jesus’ statements in the New Testament, as justification that his assertion is true.

Jesus, the Bible, and Claims of Deity

There are several points at which the MSNBC host’s assertion mandates a rebuttal. The first point grounds this rebuttal in who Jesus is. Inseparable from who Jesus is is the origin, and hence the authority, of Scripture. Only after establishing these grounds can the rebuttal continue to directly address our interlocutor’s assertion.

Even if we momentarily disregard the sanctity of the New Testament, but simply consider it as ancient bioi, i.e., biography, there are key phrases where Jesus asserted his position as part of the triune Godhead. John 4:7-26 refers to an encounter Jesus had with a woman of Samaria. After acknowledging Jesus as a prophet and listening to Jesus portray true worship of God, the Samaritan woman said, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us” (John 4:25 NASB). Jesus’ reply is significant: “I who speak to you am He” (John 4: 26). The significance is that, here, Jesus proclaimed his Deity–He is the Messiah promised by God.

§ Jesus plainly claimed his Deity in another passage: “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).

Another significant passage is portrayed in the book of Mark, again taking the passage simply as bioi. Mark tells us that Jesus was taken to the high priest, where he is questioned by the Sanhedrin. After hearing from conflicting witnesses, the chief priest asked of Jesus, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” Jesus answered, “I am.” To make certain those attending understood He was not merely claiming to be mortal as portrayed in the Genesis creation account of man, Jesus added, “and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:61-62 NASB). In his statement, Jesus alluded to the heavenly scene depicted in Daniel 7:13-14, where “One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is One which will not be destroyed.”

The action of the chief priest following Jesus’ claim assures us the priest precisely understood the significance of His claim: The chief priest tore his clothes in an acknowledgment of the purported blasphemy wherein Jesus asserted to be the one to whom dominion was granted. In this statement, Jesus claimed His Deity and equality with the Ancient of Days, God the Father.

The Whole Counsel of God

This section deals with the second point of my rebuttal–the origin and authority of Scripture. Paul tells us that “all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable to teaching, [and] for reproof. . .” (2 Timothy 3:16 ESV).

Matthew, Mark and Luke tell of Jesus strongly rebuking his disciples who tried to keep children from his presence, and admonished to all who listened that one must believe in Him with child-like wholeheartedness. Further, there is evidence that wherever the New Testament tells of a sick child, Jesus healed him or her.

More to the point, God warned the Israelites during their journey from Egypt to Canaan that they were to avoid one of the detestable actions of the Canaanites–offering their sons and daughters as sacrifices to Molech (Leviticus 18:21; 20:2-5)–an action God called “abominable” (Jeremiah 32:35).

If we hold to the concept of honoring and following the whole counsel of God, and believe that Jesus is truly God, then we also have to hold that Jesus considers sacrificing children, including the children yet to be born, abominable. If we hold to the whole counsel of God, and believe Jesus is truly God, then we have to believe the preincarnate Jesus as God did make a statement concerning the 21st century version of child sacrifice–abortion. An act he considers sin.

Anything less than believing Jesus was present in the Old Testament condemnation of child sacrifices to Molech and seeing that as an analog to the 21st century child sacrifices of unborn children in the name of “a woman’s right to choose” is classifying oneself as a 21st century “Christianized” moralist. That is, one who clings to and reduces biblical aphorisms to sanctimonious platitudes when convenient, such as “love your neighbor,” but fundamentally rejects the dictates of a God outraged by child sacrifice, even those of the unborn.

To paraphrase Paul in his letter to Titus, a leader must be above reproach, and as Paul warned Titus, so also must we be aware there are those in leadership who profess to know God, but deny him by their words and in their works (Titus 1:7, 16).

§ Quite clearly, Jesus did make assertions about the unrighteousness of aborting the unborn. Claims suggesting otherwise display tunnel vision over the “red letters” in many Bibles and dismiss the whole counsel of God.