Ahmed Shah is a famous ruler of Afghanistan, revered for his uniting of Afghani tribes after centuries of bloody fighting. Ahmed Shah had left Afghanistan some years earlier, disgusted by the infighting among the tribes, and it was he alone that the tribal leaders agreed could put an end to their warfare and unite their country. And so it was that Ahmed Shah became ruler of Afghanistan, accepting the invitation on condition that he was given absolute authority.
Shah began his reign by leading his people to a secret valley that he had discovered on his travels. It was a vast open plain, bordered on all sides by sheer cliff faces. There was only one entrance to the basin through a deep ravine cut in the rock. Here life changed for the Afghanis. Used to fear and bloodshed, they now experienced peace and growth. Culture flourished. A new generation was born into a life of harmony filled with possibilities. The laws, though occasionally contravened, provided the framework for unity. And, the most important law was that no-one would dare to disclose the whereabouts of the secret passageway to any of the neighbouring nations.
One day, Ahmed Shah was in his hut when his lieutenant walked in. He cleared his throat nervously. "Emir, we have a problem. We caught someone breaking your most important law."
"You caught someone disclosing the entrance to our city?"
"Yes sir, but our secret is still safe. We apprehended the traitor and slaughtered the spies from the neighbouring nation who were paying for the information."
"Then we must make an example of this traitor" replied Shah Ahmed. "Tie him to a column in the middle of the city square and have him beaten to death for everyone to see. We must show that no one can put his own desires over that of the whole community. Do you hear me? One hundred lashes in the city square."
"Yes, Emir, I was afraid you were going to say that. But, you see, it wasn't just anyone we caught. It was
'It was your mother"
Ahmed Shah was thrown into a state of crisis. His lieutenant suggested he could release Ahmed’s mother and hush the whole matter up by killing the guards who had captured her. But Ahmed knew word would get out sooner or later and the whole city would learn that had let his mother off scot-free even though she had jeopardized the whole nation's security. Once it was known that the king had abdicated his responsibility to treat everyone equally, there would begin the rapid descent back into chaos.
But on the other hand, how can a man have his mother publicly executed as a matter of example? Who would want a king who was so heartless as to allow his own mother to be whipped? Ahmed Shah decided he would think it over during the night and announce his decision in the morning.
When morning arrived everyone gathered in the square and awaited Ahmed Shah's judgment. Ahmed looked haggard and disturbed. He spoke softly. He simply couldn't allow someone to risk the security of the whole city for personal profit, he said. The prisoner must die.
The shocked crowd watched as Ahmed’s mother was marched to the centre of the square and her hands bound above her head to the column. The executioner stepped forward, whip in his hand. Ahmed’s mother's dress was torn from her back and the executioner began his dreadful business.
The first lash tore at her frail body, leaving a fiery welt. The second drew blood. Her legs began to buckle. She wouldn't survive half a dozen of these blows.
As the third stroke was about to be felled, the king suddenly broke down. 'Stop!' he screamed. He walked to his mother and untied her and carried her to his bed. Then emerging from his hut, he demanded that no-one move. He had something to say.
"The penalty for my mother's crime was one hundred lashes. She has paid two of them. I will pay the other ninety-eight." And with that he removed his shirt and strode to the column. No-one moved moved as the executioner administered the ninety-eight strokes across their king's back. When the whipping finished, Ahmed dropped into the dust a bloodied mess. For weeks afterward he wavered between death and life before finally pulling through to life. And everyone knew that his supreme act of sacrifice was testimony to his refusal to choose between love and justice, but to remain faithful to both.
This story was told to the first British travellers to cross the Hindu Kush mountains. It had been rehearsed from generation to generation for centuries, such was its importance in the annals of Afghani lore.
Application: In his death Jesus too dealt with the tension between love and justice, dying for us to rescue us from death and at the same time satisfying the demands of divine justice.
Source: story reported in Michael Frost, Jesus the Fool (Sutherland, NSW: Albatross, 1994) pp138-144