Genesis - Chapter 34

This chapter tells a very unpleasant story about one of Jacob's daughters - Dinah.  Dinah is raped by the son of one of the rulers in the area.  Two of her brothers, Simeon and Levi, then carry out an act of retaliation, and slaughtered all the men in the town.  They justified their actions by saying "should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?"

So where is Jesus in this story of a so-called honour killing by her brothers, of the men who "defiled" Dinah?

As always, when people are suffering, Jesus is there alongside them.  Jesus was able to identify with a story of dishonour, because he lived with that reputation.  His mother, Mary was a virgin, when she was told she would give birth to a son, "who would reign over the house of Jacob forever."  When Joseph heard that Mary was pregnant he planned to divorce her quietly.  But he then agreed to marry her and Jesus was raised by a man who was not his father.