And Justice for All

Introduction

Back on May 15, 2010, Kalief Browder was on his way home in the Bronx when he was arrested for robbery. Initially the accuser said that he had been robbed that night, but when the police searched Browder and found no evidence, he changed his story saying that it happened two weeks prior. By the time charges were pressed, it had changed once again to a week before instead of two weeks before. Bautista, the accuser, stated that Browder had pushed him up against a fence, beat him, and took his backpack, which had a few items and $700. Because Browder was on probation from an incident a few months earlier, he was detained on $3,000 bail. This was more than his family could afford to pay, and so Kalief Browder was sent to Rikers Island’s youth detention center. He was appointed a public defender who never went to see him on Rikers and never had a video conference call with him either. The only time he saw his lawyer, it seems, is when he was in court. Mainly, they talked on the phone or sent messages through Browder’s mother.

The U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights guarantees the right to a speedy trial. After more than 70 days on Rikers, Browder was in court--not for his trial, but to actually be indicted. A grand jury indicted him of grand larceny and a couple of other charges, and because he, being a parole, was now indicted, bail was revoked and there was no way of getting him out of prison. You may be asking, how long was it before he went to trial? Technically, he never went to trial. After one-thousand days of waiting for his day in court, the prosecution dropped the charges. Bautista had returned to Mexico and the DA was not able to get a hold of him. The case was flimsy at best, and with no accuser/witness, the case was simply dropped.

While in prison, two-thirds of Browder’s time was spent in solitary confinement--remember, he was there for nearly three years, so he was in solitary for just under two years (700 days). He had been severely beaten by both inmates and prison guards of which there was video evidence. Browder had attempted to take his own life many times while in prison as well as once having gotten out of prison. He was paranoid and on anti-psychotic medicine after getting out. He had spent many weeks in psychiatric hospitals, but on June 6, 2015 (two years and one week after being released), Kalief Browder was successful with his final attempt.

After hearing a story like that, one must ask the question, was this justice? It has been said that America does not actually even have a justice system, but a legal system, because our laws and our courts are not about finding justice, but doing what is legal. If you have the money to hire the best lawyers to find loopholes in laws, then you get off scot-free or at least have an extremely light sentence. If however, one can’t afford the best and brightest, he finds himself not receiving the same breaks, being prosecuted harsher, and receiving harsher sentencing.

How are we, as Christians, supposed to respond to stories like this? How are we supposed to respond to injustices? That’s what I am hoping we will learn this morning as we take a Walk in Proverbs. For the Christian, I see three responses that we can take and depending on our temperaments, callings, personalities, and giftings, one of these will draw of more than the others most likely. Just remember, however, that turning a blind eye to injustice is not what we have been called to do. Remember the words of Micah 6:8

Micah 6:8 ESV

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

So the three biblical responses that we can choose from when we see injustice about to happen, happening in our presence, or later hear about having happened are:

Defend the Hurting

Direct the Head

Defy the Heinous

Defend the Hurting

The first option that we have when it comes to responding biblically to injustice is to defend the hurting. Sometimes the hurting is the actual victim of injustice--the one who was directly the victim, and sometimes the hurting are those who are the loved ones of the victim, and sometimes it’s both. I could bring up the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Paul’s letter to Philemon, or other passages, but I want to quickly go to the most obvious defense of the hurting in all of Scripture perhaps: The Woman Caught in Adultery.

You could ask, how is this woman a victim of injustice? She was actually committing adultery and was caught doing so. The law of Moses stipulates that if that is the case she should be stoned, which is exactly what they wanted to do. If that’s where you are, or somewhere like that, then you do not understand biblical justice.

Biblical justice is only about right or wrong. It’s not only about criminal acts and trials and verdicts. So, let’s quickly define our terms.

Let’s start with the definition of justice. That’s the Hebrew word “mishpat.” It simply means to make a decision or verdict for whom it is due. But of course, it’s not simply any decision, but the right decision. That’s why we often see justice surrounded by words like righteousness or unrighteousness. There are right decisions and wrong decisions. Or to put it more accurately, there are righteous decisions and unrighteous decisions for whom they are due. When God speaks of justice, he speak of making righteous decisions about those in our midst. This may have to do with criminal actions, but don’t have to. Hence we’ll see verses like Prov 11:1

Proverbs 11:1 ESV

A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight.

In essence, deciding to do righteously when it comes to commerce is living justly. Often times, balances and scales would be rigged so that when weighing a product, it would give its weight, but then tweaked when weighing the money to buy it. Still it could be that you have a friend, and you want to help them out so you tweak the scale in his favor, but those who are not close to you, you don’t. This would be an abomination.

This actually lends itself to the idea of equity. Equity is the Hebrew word, “meshar,” which means evenness or level field. You might have heard Billy Graham’s old saying, “The ground is level at the foot of cross.” It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, popular or unpopular, king or slave, everyone stands on a level ground at the foot of the cross. That’s what equity is. Hence we find the Psalmist say, Psalm 96:10

Psalm 96:10 ESV

Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.”

Equity works with justice in that those to whom we must make a verdict of right or wrong are to be on the same level playing field. The woman who was caught in adultery was not on the same level playing field.

John 8:3–5 ESV

The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?”

This woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Really? With whom? If they caught the woman, surely they must have seen the man she was with. Where is he? The Law of Moses not only commanded the stoning of the woman, but in equity and justice, it also commanded the stoning of the man. But no man has been brought to Jesus? Why? Because the religious leaders weren’t interested in justice and equity, they were interested in trapping Jesus. The woman was a sacrifice they were willing to make. Was she guilty? Yes. Jesus said as much at the end: “Go and sin no more.” But would stoning her be justice? Not even close; not in this case. The field was unlevel. There was one standard for a man and one for the woman. The heart of the accusers was not about justice, but about entrapment.

So what does Jesus do?

John 8:6–8 ESV

Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground.

No one knows what Jesus wrote on the ground. I don’t like to speculate, but perhaps he was leveling the playing field. It didn’t take much for him to defend this woman whose life seemed to be over; not much, just some courage to say something. It took guts to defend the hurting party. Everyone was against her. Everyone was accusing her--everyone but the one who was without sin. He was defending her.

Beloved, biblical justice is not simply about punishing wrongdoing. Remember the verses that Hope read earlier?

Proverbs 31:8–9 ESV

Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.

Jesus opened his mouth to defend the hurting. As a woman, she could not testify. Her words did not matter. The case seemed open and shut; she was guilty, but it would not be justice if she was stoned by those who were just as guilty.

Church family, there are many hurting who cannot speak for themselves. They literally have no voice and they have done absolutely nothing wrong. Little babies still in their mothers’ wombs need voices who will defend them. Quentin is looking for those who will help him in his quest to defend these little hurting ones. Would you pray about being a part of that?

Direct the Head

Perhaps you are called to defend the hurting; you’re called to stand up and say something when they cannot speak themselves, or perhaps you’re called to direct the head. In America we have representatives and senators that we are allowed to contact through mail, email, phone calls, and sometimes face to face. In other words, we have the ability to influence those in high positions. That’s not just a privilege, it’s an honor. We have the ability to direct the head--to influence those with power.

Again, I could talk about Nathan who had David’s ear, or Daniel who had influence with Nebuchadnezzar, or many others, but my favorite story is that of Esther. None of us will ever be the wife and queen of a tyrant king, but that doesn’t mean that we cannot direct the head.

After Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians, a king name Ahasuerus, aka Xerxes, ruled upon his throne. He was not a nice guy. He banished his first wife for her defiance, but soon regretted it. To replace her, he ordered that all the pretty young ladies must have a one night stand contest with him. Whichever pleased him most would become his queen. What a wonderful prize! Of course, that was Esther. Unbeknownst to her, God had placed her there to be an influence over Ahasuerus.

One of the king’s top officials was an Agagite, a descendent of King Agag, king of the Amalekites, whom Saul was to have destroyed. Somehow one must have survived, and here was Haman now who sought to avenge his people and kill all the Hebrews. Hypothetically, had not God commanded the destruction of the evil Amalekites, and their deaths were sinful, we do know that the sins of the fathers were not to be visited upon their children or descendents. Either way, Haman was not about seeking justice, but vengeance, making his actions completely unjust. And Mordecai, Esther’s cousin, rightly encouraged Esther with these words:

Esther 4:14 ESV

For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Esther had an opportunity to speak up for those who could not speak for themselves. She was in a place to direct the head of government. She was in a place to influence the only one who could actually change anything. The rights of the destitute were in her hands; what would she do? Would she speak up or would she remain silent?

That’s a question we all have to ask, isn’t it? Church family, it seems like nearly every day, we have an opportunity to say something or say nothing. That is probably because we live in a 24-hour news cycle world with social media inundating us and manipulating us with real news and fake news. Let’s be honest, we don’t have time to comment on every story every day. But there are some, and you probably know what I’m talking about, that hit differently than others. Some just have injustice written all over them. They spark something in you and me. Will we keep silent at those times because we don’t want to ruffle feathers, or will we seek relief and deliverance for those who receive injustice?

Esther response was a wise one:

Esther 4:16 ESV

“Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.”

She would stand and seek to direct the head, but only with the support of those surrounding her. It would not be her words alone that would influence, but the power of God who directs the hearts of kings. She needed to go with prayer and fasting.

We live in a world of social media and it can be so damaging, but it can also be used to redeem, if used correctly. A generation ago, people like Phyllis Schlafly would influence those in power by writing opinion articles in the New York Times or The Washington Post or The Wall Street Journal. Some became lobbiests in Washington or state capitals. Many work in places like the Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission to help influence laws and maintain rights and justice. Today though, those who influence often do so on YouTube, TikTok, X, and podcasts. Whose to say whether you have not come to this moment for such a time as this?

Defy the Heinous

Perhaps you’ve been called to speak out against injustice by defending the hurting; perhaps you’ve been called to direct the head. But there is a third response (and it may be the most difficult of all): Defy the Heinous. This typically comes when you are asked to participate in the injustice. When I think of those who defy the heinous, I can’t help but think of the midwives in Exodus.

Exodus 1:15–20 ESV

Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong.

Here we have the midwives receiving a direct order from Pharaoh. They were to kill any male children that were born to the Hebrew slaves. Though they said nothing of their refusal to Pharaoh, they would not do as he required. When called back, they simply made up a story in an insincere apology. Sorry, our women are just more vigorous. They feared God more than Pharaoh. Beloved, would that we would have the same fear. So many Christians today fear their governments more than they fear God. We allow injustices to take place because we don’t want to lose our rights. We would rather turn a blind eye to the injustice and apologize to God later than to stand up against the injustice and apologize to Pharaoh later. But what did Proverbs 21:3 say?

Proverbs 21:3 ESV

To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

We live in a world where the motto has become, “Easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission.” Not so with God. Yahweh finds it more acceptable to do righteousness and justice no matter how hard it might be than to come back later and say, “Sorry, God.”

However, the participation does not always mean that one is directly called to participate, but sometimes are just called to accept the status quo. Injustices are common place and everyone is just called on to pretend like they aren’t happening. Such was the case with the man who was healed on the Sabbath.

The Pharisees had the authority to cast out anyone they wanted from synagogue attendance. It was the accepted practice and no one argued with it. A man who had been born blind came upon the scene in John 9. Jesus healed him, but did so on the Sabbath day. The interesting thing is that this man didn’t even ask for healing. Jesus just healed him out of the blue to prove a point. When the Pharisees confronted the man who once was blind, but now could see, he told them exactly what had happened. This was unacceptable to the Pharisees, and so they called for his parents. And here we see the acceptance of the status quo.

John 9:20–23 ESV

His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

That’s most people. Most people may not like the injustices of the status quo, but they are afraid to stand against it. Instead, they turn a blind eye to it and continue to be imprisoned to it. Jesus would not have it. The blind man himself would not have it.

John 9:30–34 ESV

The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.

He suffered the consequences for defying the heinous injustices; that’ll happen. So did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So did Paul. So did John. Incidentally, we do once again see Jesus defend the hurting. He went to the man and spoke with him after his being cast out. But then he confronted the Pharisees,

John 9:41 ESV

Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

Beloved, some of you are called to take a stand and defy the heinous injustices that everyone else accepts as the way things are. They’ve always been this way and they will always be this way. There’s no changing things. So long as we believe that to be true, it will always be true. But a word of caution: be sure these injustices are not just pet-peeves or vendettas. Be sure that these acts of defiance are truly the right thing to do so that playing fields are leveled.

Conclusion

As we finish our Walk in Proverbs this morning, we’ve seen that God never calls us to turn a blind eye to injustice. God is the God of justice and he expects his people to be a people of justice. He calls on his people to maintain a level playing field--equity--and to decide rightly--do justice as his ambassadors. When we see injustice, we have three biblical responses that consistently appear in Scripture from which we can choose. We can defend the hurting, direct the head, or defy the heinous. Not everyone is called to right a wrong the same way. Just because our brother over there doesn’t defy the heinous as we do, doesn’t mean he isn’t fighting injustice. Just because our sister over their isn’t calling her senator every day directing the head and demanding change, doesn’t mean she is turning a blind eye. And just because those down the street are marching in the streets rather than quietly coming to the hurting’s defense, doesn’t mean they are causing an unnecessary ruckus.

God cares about justice. He is a just God, which is why all who sin will find him to be their judge. We are all rebels by nature, and by nature, we break God’s laws. To deny justice would go against God’s character. He can’t make our sin just disappear, but he can transfer it from us. He has done just that--for all of us who believe on his Son, our sin has been transferred from us to him. By transferring our sin to him, he can still satisfy his justice against sin, but also be merciful and save our souls.

Romans 3:23–26 ESV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Beloved if God demands justice to the point that his Son died to satisfy it, may it be important enough for us to fight for it when we see it not carried out--through defending the hurting, directing the head, or defying the heinous.