Cowboy Justice!

1883, a prequel to Yellowstone, is a western miniseries. Shea Brannan and Thomas chaperone a group of German and Slavic immigrants from Texas to Oregon, searching for a better life in America. The Dutton family joins them on their voyage. In one incident, they encounter thirteen violent men who have raped and killed a group of Native American women. Shea, Thomas, and Mr. Dutton show cowboy justice and kill those violent men. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM3NFVINFjo&t=8s.

Cowboy justice is retributive acts against perceived injustice. No judge, jury, or trial. No talks or negations, but fierce actions!

Jesus administered his version of cowboy justice when he entered Capernaum in Galilee. He had entered a synagogue to teach, and an evil spirit that had overtaken a man interrupted his teachings with loud cries, saying,

“What’s between you and us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? We know who you are, the holy one of God.” (Mark 1:24)

Jesus didn’t wait for judge, jury, trials, talks, or discussions; instead, he sternly rebuked the evil spirit, saying, “You (singular) be quiet, and you (singular) come out of him” (Mark 1:25). The unclean spirit shook him violently, cried out in a violent and loud voice, and came out of him.

The evil spirit had taken over the man completely that it spoke as if they were one – “we.” But Jesus rebuked the true enemy, “you,” i.e., the evil spirit and not the man, and it felt his dominance and left him. Like cowboy justice, Jesus cast out the evil and rescued the oppressed.

Actions speak louder than words. The people who witnessed Jesus’s demonstration of his power understood that he was different from other teachers.

“The people were astonished at his teaching since his teachings had authority unlike that of the scribes . . . Everyone was amazed and discussed among themselves saying: ‘Who is this? This is a new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirit, and they obey him.’ His command for obedience went out immediately into all the surrounding villages of Galilee” (1:22, 27–28).

These two verses, like slices of bread on a sandwich, go before and after the miracle to show how much the people were impacted by his power. They were astonished, amazed, and started a conversation among themselves, wondering who he was, how his teaching was new and had authority, and how he commanded unclean spirits to submission. Realizing his importance and authority, they spread the news about the command for obedience throughout Galilee.

In this miracle, Jesus demonstrated his power over the evil that took over humanity. Evil lurks all around us, but Jesus triumphs over evil, even when we don’t always see it. A friend wrote,

Now to see what 2023 has in store: What with Putin’s War in Ukraine with the devastation and suffering, fuel and gas prices rocketing, general inflation, exponential covid outbreaks in China, poverty, hunger, and repression in Afghanistan, abuses and demonstrations in Iran... not a very rosy picture of where the world is at the moment. It is good to know that our times are in God’s hands.

So true! Jesus is still powerful and can show his style of cowboy justice whenever he wants. Until he acts, we wait patiently.