Why we should support J6ers

from a biblical perspective

If you’re a Christian, you should care about the January 6 prisoners. Whether you think they are guilty, not guilty, or some of each. Here are some reasons why we should care about them - much of this flows over into caring about prisoners in general.

Many of the Jan. 6 prisoners are political prisoners, treated unjustly by a two-tiered justice system. That’s wrong. But, even if you believe there is nothing wrong with how these defendants are treated (if that’s the case, I urge you to further research - a lot of lies have been fed out by the media), if you believe the Bible to be God’s Word, you need to care about them.

Further, those of us who already have a heart for the J6ers and are Christians need to remember to care about other prisoners too. In fact, I think some of the J6ers themselves are good examples of this.

By the way, I don’t claim to have this all perfected in my own life!

---

“I was in prison and you came to visit me”

Matthew 25:31-46 includes this from Jesus: “I was in prison and you came to visit me.” (Check out more of the passage — including about those who didn’t visit — at the link.)

Jesus says that among other things, when we’ve visited those in prison, we’ve visited Him. I’m taking some freedom here, but could it be that this expands to non-literally visiting prisoners, such as writing them notes, particularly in cases where visitation is either not allowed or limited? Certainly writing to them and praying for them applies to “remember[ing] those in prison” (see below), even if not as a way of visiting.

“remember those in prison”

Hebrews 13:3(NIV) says, “Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.”

It’s interesting that the sentence includes the word “continue,” indicating that the Hebrews were already remembering prisoners. And not just remembering them, but as if they were with them. Would our outlooks and actions change if we mentally put ourselves in the places of prisoners? Even in the best circumstances, prison is not great. I also realize that it’s not supposed to be great - it should be a deterrent to breaking the law. But there are certainly people both in prison and being mistreated. (Until not too awful long ago, I’m not sure I would have believed these things were happening in the USA).

We are also not only to “remember…those who are mistreated,” but to care about them as it were us being abused!

---

Did you notice that both of these references are commands/in the imperative? Neither is followed by “when it’s easy,” “when it’s socially applauded,” or even “when it’s safe” either.

I’m no advanced theologian, but I don’t see anything in those verses that says only to care about the incarcerated if they aren’t guilty.

This does not mean abandon justice and order; actions have consequences. My point here is that if you follow Christ, you should care about prisoners - guilty or not.

Please know that I don’t have this perfected, but I do hope this has been useful to you. Writing it out and doing a little research helps me as well.

I don’t know exactly how this plays out in our current culture either. But here are a few ideas I have for applying these scriptures to our lives:

• Write to prisoners (I’ve linked to J6ers, but consider writing to any prisoner) - you can encourage without carelessly over-sharing personal information. You can even get a P.O. box or PMB for a little more privacy. Who knows, your church might even let you use their return address, especially if a group from church wants to write to prisoners together.

• Join a prison ministry. This is not something I’ve done first-hand (looks like I might be lacking in that area), but I have a huge respect and appreciation for it. Here are a few to look into (I haven’t fully researched or vetted them): Youth for Christ, Good News Jail & Prison Ministry, The Gideons International, Prison Fellowship. Your local church might also have a jail/prison ministry.

• Pray. It’s not uncommon for the Jan. 6ers to be believers, but not all are. Your brothers and sisters in Christ need lifted up in prayer, and those who don’t know Jesus need Him. Yes, even Jan. 6 agitators, suspicious actors, and non-J6 prisoners need prayer and salvation….and it’s possible with God through Jesus! Your prayers are valuable (see James 5:16b).

• Encourage family members of prisoners. One way you can do this is through social media, if you use it. You also might be able to encourage them through the Patriot Mail Project.

• Donate financially. Be prudent about this, but you can donate to fundraisers, directly to commissary, to organizations that support J6ers (again, this post is focused on the Jan. 6 prisoners), or to prison ministries.

Also remember that people aren’t just imprisoned in cells; many people are on home detention (click “House Arrest” on this list), and people are also in halfway houses (“residential reentry centers”).

What are your thoughts on the biblically supporting those in prison, particularly January 6 prisoners? If you are already “remember[ing] those in prison,” thank you so much!

Would you like a follow-up to this post, hopefully digging even more into biblical support for supporting the J6ers?