• Home
  • About This Blog
  • Contact Me
  • Subscribe
  • Comment Policy

Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series
Home Christianity and Culture Branded by Grace: a reaction to Les Miserables

Branded by Grace: a reaction to Les Miserables

Posted on January 4, 2013 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment


Jean Valjean - Branded by GraceWhen I lived in Northern Nevada, I had an opportunity to participate in the branding of calves at the ranch owned by some friends. When the ranch hands would rope a calf to separate it from its mother, it was my job to wrestle the calf to the ground and hold it there. While I held it the calf was branded and subjected to other indignities.

The result is that the calf becomes marked for life by that event. The stamp of ownership is put upon that cow by the brand being burned into it’s hide.

In the recently released movie, Les Misérables, two characters were touched by Grace and were not the same as a result. They were branded by Grace.

The first is Jean Valjean, a convict who is shown grace by an elderly bishop. The bishop had it in his power to have Jean Valjean thrown back in prison but instead gives Jean two silver candlesticks. The candlesticks serve as a constant reminder to Jean of the grace he had been shown. They were a symbol of the brand of Grace upon Jean Valjean’s life. The bishop demonstrated that grace is superior to the law in that it changes men from the inside whereas the law constrains from the outside.

In response, Jean Valjean became a dispenser of grace to others. The movie gives several examples of grace in action in Jean’s life.

The second character to be branded by Grace is Javert, a policeman who has made it his obsession to pursue Jean Valjean and put him back in prison. Javert does not believe that men can change and is certain that Jean Valjean is worthy of additional punishment.

Javert experiences grace at the hands of Jean Valjean who saves Javert’s life by pretending to shoot him. Javert struggles throughout the story. While Javert has been touched by grace and compelled to respond to it, he still holds the law as superior and cannot reconcile his actions with what he knows of the law.

Javert’s response to grace caused him to forbear when his had the opportunity to shoot Jean Valjean. Javert reluctantly dispensed grace to Jean Valjean, a grace that he could not dispense to himself. In the end, Javert is so troubled by his failure to uphold the law that he commits suicide because he cannot forgive himself. He held the law as superior to grace, but could not live up to the law’s demands.

I would think that all of us have experienced grace at one time or another. If we have not experienced it in our human interactions, we certainly can experience it from Jesus as he is portrayed in the Gospels.

The question is, how will you respond to it? Will you accept the grace and then become a dispenser of grace, or will you become stubborn in our adherence to the law refusing grace to any who fall short?

It seems to me that Jean Valjean found the better way.


Filed Under: Christianity and Culture Tagged With: branding, Grace, Javert, Jean Valjean, Les Misérables, movie

About Mark McIntyre

A follower of Jesus Christ who shares observations about how Scripture should impact the church and the world. Mark is the original author and editor of Attempts at Honesty.

I have the opportunity to go to Istanbul, Turkey this summer to minister to Syrian refugees. If you would like more details about this trip, please use this link Mark McIntyre - Istanbul, Turkey Please note that this trip is fully funded, but I would appreciate your continued prayer. The trip will take place June 27 - July 6, 2025.

Follow Attempts at Honesty

Honesty in your Inbox

Don’t play the Korah card

I have been in a couple of situations where concerns were brought to a pastor who then likened the one who brought the concern to Korah attacking Moses. While I understand the temptation for a leader to deal with a complaint in this way, that temptation must be resisted. Not only is it inappropriate, it does nothing to fix the situation (unless of course the leader’s goal is to eliminate any other opinion than his own).

Defend the faith

Homeland Security for the Church – The Need to Defend the Faith

The culture surrounding the church is no longer supportive of her mission. As a result, we need to train members to defend their faith. We especially need to equip the youth in the church to understand what they believe and why they should believe it. We, as the church, have the truth of Jesus Christ. If it is the truth, it will be able to stand up in the marketplace of ideas.

On Biblical Joy

In a recent sermon, I heard a definition of Biblical joy that I would like to share with you: Biblical joy is the conviction that God sovereignly controls the events of life for his glory and our good. I am writing this two days before the Presidential election in the United States. When this post […]

Rocket Launch

A failure to launch: 5 failures to avoid in implementing strategy

Good strategy can be thwarted by bad implementation. In this, the church fares no better than business. What should leaders consider as they present changes to the organization.

Clueless

They’re still clueless

It turns out that those popular kids in High School really were as clueless as me; they were just better at hiding it. Now the popular kids are elected officials and still clueless. I came upon this thought as I wondered why the decisions made by our government representatives seem to be getting less rational. […]

Post Series

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series
June 2025
SMTWTFS
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930 
« May    

Categories

Archives

Blogger Grid
Follow me on Blogarama

Copyright © 2025 · Focus Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in