He Was Counted Among Sinners

Here is another interesting point: “…he was buried like a criminal” (Isaiah 53:9) and “…he was numbered with the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12). How is that possible? How could Messiah be mistaken for a criminal? What did he have in common with criminals? Let’s see!

From “Почему грузинских воров называют лаврушниками”/Why they call Georgian thieves ‘laurels’”:

“Vor v zakonye/thief in law”—the elite of the criminal world kept and lived according to a code, unwritten laws. For example they were not to ever marry, start a family, have a home, or work. Contacts with authorities were strictly forbidden both in prison and outside. Under no circumstances they could cooperate with authorities. Thief could not own anything legally, have personal possessions, or place of residence. In the USSR all belonged to the state, thieves had no right to work, serve, belong to any organizations. They were forbidden to admit guilt. They were forbidden to be a witness. Permanent opposition to the authorities was the cornerstone of the thieves’ ideology. Still today there is the mental division into those who are sentenced and those who sentence.

In the Russian prion system thieves lived and still live according to these unwritten rules and laws. According to them they are the most just. In prisons, rules are different from the outside world. On the outside some misconduct can go unnoticed, but in prison it will never go unpunished. Prison life is harsh, but more “just.” Each person will receive what he deserves. The Soviet state fought with the thief’s ideals and persecuted them at all time.

Each thief carries responsibility for justice for everyone. No one is allowed to tell “thieves in law” what to do. He is not subject to judging. To have the right to judge people, a thief from his childhood must be free from lying, vileness, cowardice, betrayal, unfaithfulness to his word. He has no right to turn blind eye to someone’s misfortune or injustice, even if his own life is at stake. He is to be ready to sacrifice his life for the sake of justice and others. Can you see how this can resemble the image of the “suffering Messiah” in Isaiah?

Beginning from 1950’s in Georgia the idea of thieves became a beautiful dream for those who did not want to work. In Russia a thief was allowed to solve conflicts between inmates. In Georgia one of main sources of income for thieves became mediation in black market disputes.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, when local economies collapsed, the profits flowed to the thieves. When everyone around began to get rich, Georgian thieves felt shame. For this reason they stopped paying attention to where the money was coming from. What was unacceptable to thieves in Russia, became norm in Georgia. Thieves settled down, started families, grew rich. Soon it became a norm, a model to follow, passed from father to son.

In the 1970’s drugs were introduced into Georgian prisons and became common among thieves. Beginning with the 1950’s generation almost all Georgian thieves were addicted to drugs. Rarely any of them were able not to lose themselves.

In 1985 the living icon Vladimir Babushkin, aka Vasya Brilliant, was killed in the “zone.” Before his death he said, “We are in a danger of being destroyed. They want to poison us against each other. Our position is not acceptable to the politicians.” Vasya stood for the principles he lived by, and may seem like a martyr for the cause.

In conclusion, Yeshua Messiah was numbered with the transgressors, mistaken for a criminal, but he was not a criminal.

“For He made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” – 2 Corinthians 5:21

“And you know that he was manifested to take away our sins, and in him there is no sin.” – 1 Yohannan 3:5

Yet, experienced in all things, he can understand and sympathize with what we go through:

“For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” – Hebrews 4:15

Some took him for a criminal, others for a saint. Isaiah paints a portrait of the suffering Messiah, the prophesied Redeemer, Savior. He suffered so that we might go free!

What do you believe?
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