God’s Answer to Injustice

During the dark days of World War II, a woman named Corrie ten Boom and her family lived in the Netherlands. They were devoted Christians who loved the Lord and believed that every human being was created in God’s image. When the Nazis invaded, the Ten Booms saw Jewish men, women, and children being hunted, deported, and killed. They could not stand by and do nothing. So, they opened their home and built a secret room behind a false wall to hide Jews fleeing for their lives.

Eventually, the Ten Booms were discovered. Corrie, her sister Betsie, and their elderly father were arrested. Her father died in prison just ten days later. Corrie and Betsie were sent to Ravensbrück—one of the most brutal concentration camps in Germany. Life there was unbearable. The women were starved, beaten, and humiliated. Yet even in the darkness, Corrie and Betsie shared the light of Christ. They held secret worship services, read from a smuggled Bible, and prayed for their captors. Betsie eventually died in that camp, but Corrie was miraculously released—due to a clerical error—just days before all women her age were sent to the gas chambers.

After the war, Corrie traveled the world, sharing her testimony of God’s forgiveness and grace. At one church in Germany, after speaking on forgiveness, she saw a man approaching—a man she recognized as one of the cruel guards from Ravensbrück. He told her that since the war he had become a Christian and knew that God had forgiven him. Then, reaching out his hand, he asked Corrie to forgive him too. Corrie said that in that moment her heart froze. She remembered the suffering, the humiliation, and the death of her beloved sister. She couldn’t move or speak. But silently, she prayed, “Jesus, help me. I can lift my hand. You supply the feeling.” As she reached out to take his hand, she felt God’s love surge through her like a current. With tears streaming down her face, she said, “I forgive you, brother. With all my heart.”

Corrie ten Boom experienced one of the greatest injustices imaginable—yet through Christ, she discovered a greater justice, one that does not come from courts or governments, but from the heart of God Himself. Her story reminds us that injustice isn’t just part of history—it touches every generation, every nation, and every life. The world we live in is full of injustice: we see it in the oppression of the weak, the corruption of the powerful, and even in our own relationships. Many of us carry wounds from being treated unfairly—deep hurts that seem impossible to heal. But injustice is not new. It has been with us since the fall of humanity. The same sinful nature that led to war and hatred, the same pride and cruelty that imprisoned innocent people, still lives in every human heart. We are all guilty of injustice in one way or another.

However,  there is good news. God promised a Servant who would come to bring true justice—a justice that restores, heals, and makes all things new. A justice that reaches not only nations but the human heart. That promise is found in Isaiah 42:1–7, where God speaks of His chosen Servant who will establish justice on the earth.

READ ISAIAH 42:1-7

I. THE MEANING OF JUSTICE

There’s a lot of talk in our culture about injustice. It seems that almost everyone has experienced some form of it—racism, poverty, homelessness, persecution, the violation of human rights, gender inequality, and so much more. From the outside, it might seem as though our society deeply cares about justice. Yet despite all our efforts, the problem of injustice CANNOTbe solved by us, because it comes from within—the corruption of our hearts. That is why there is such great hope in these verses from Isaiah.

Isaiah 42 is the first of four passages known as the Servant Songs—prophecies about the coming Messiah who would redeem humanity. The central theme of this passage is clear: God’s Servant will bring forth justice. The word justice appears three times in these seven verses, signaling that we should pay close attention. But what kind of justice does Isaiah mean?

Human beings have an innate sense of justice that sets us apart from the rest of creation because we are made in the image of God. This divine identity gives every person inherent dignity and the right to be treated with fairness. Yet humanity continually distorts good and evil for selfish gain, creating systems of injustice that harm the vulnerable. In response, God called Abraham to form a family committed to “doing righteousness and justice” (Genesis 18:19).

In the Hebrew Scripture, righteousness (tsedeqah) (zed-i-ka)-  means living in a right relationship with others—honoring them as fellow Image bearers—while justice (mishpat) involves not only correcting wrongs but actively restoring those who are oppressed. God Himself models this throughout Scripture.  Psalm 146:7-9 says, “Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, whomade heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever, who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.”

God’s response to this brokenness was the gift of Jesus Christ, who perfectly lived out righteousness and justice, died for the guilty, and rose again so that we might be declared righteous through Him. This gift transforms believers to pursue justice for others, embodying Jesus’ command to love our neighbors as ourselves. True justice, then, is a lifelong calling to what the prophet Micah declared, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of youbut to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8).

This word mishpat can mean judgment, so it also carries a deeper meaning—justification. It is God’s declaration that sinners are made righteous by His grace. Picture a courtroom where every human being stands before God guilty and condemned. As we saw last week in our sermon, in Isaiah’s vision of God on His throne, one day each of us will stand before the holy and righteous Judge, and none of us can plead innocence. Romans 3:23 declares, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We cannot balance the scales. We cannot make ourselves righteous. We need someone to stand in our place—to take the punishment we deserve and declare us free.

That someone is the Servant Isaiah speaks of—the One who brings justice through justification. The theologian Reed Lessing writes, “This justification is by grace alone and through faith alone. The Servant justifies the many by His atonement for them—not because of their works or merit. And this justification is for all people, even those in distant nations.” This Servant, described here in Isaiah and the other Servant Songs, can only be Jesus Christ.

II. JESUS CHRIST: THE CHOSEN SERVANT

Verse 1 gives us a beautiful picture of this Servant: God upholds Him, chooses Him, delights in Him, and puts His Spirit upon Him. He will bring justice to the nations. This prophecy is fulfilled centuries later at Jesus’ baptism, recorded in Matthew 3:16–17: “And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’”

Here we see the Trinity revealed- Jesus the Son, the Holy Spirit descending, and the Father speaking from Heaven. God’s chosen Servant had come—not to rule through power and force, but to bring justice through mercy and love.

Verses 2–4 describe the Servant’s gentle character. He will not shout or raise His voice. He will not seek attention or glory. He will not push Himself on others. Verse 3 says, “a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench…”  What a compassionate image! The Servant will not crush what is weak or discard what seems useless. Instead, He will strengthen the bruised and rekindle the dying flame. Jesus came to lift the brokenhearted, heal the wounded, forgive the sinner, and give hope to the hopeless. His mission was not to destroy—but to save.

Verse 4 tells us that He will not grow weary or give up until He has established justice on the earth. His justice is patient and persistent—it will not stop until all things are made right. Matthew 12:15–21 confirms that Jesus fulfilled this prophecy, quoting these same verses from our Scripture text today.

In verses 5–7, God reminds us of who He is: the Creator of heaven and earth, the One who gives breath to all people. Then He speaks to His Servant and says, “I am the Lord; I have called you] in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations…”  This was fulfilled in Jesus. At the Last Supper, when Jesus told His disciples, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

Jesus came to be that covenant—to be the light to the nations, to open the eyes off the blind, and to set captives free. Not only those in physical bondage, but all who are trapped in spiritual darkness.  Throughout His ministry, Jesus healed the blind and the sick, but His greatest concern was for the heart. He came to heal souls, to free people from sin, guilt, and shame, and to bring light where there was once only darkness

III. OUR HOPE IN A WORLD OF INJUSTICE

Isaiah’s message was one of hope. He spoke to a people surrounded by injustice, idolatry, and despair, reminding them that God had not forgotten them—a Servant was coming who would make all things right. That same hope is ours today. We know the name of the Servant. His name is Jesus Christ.

Jesus came in humility. Though He is the Son of God, He took the form of a servant. He loved deeply, forgave freely, and showed compassion to those the world had forgotten. He bore the greatest injustice of all when He was falsely accused, beaten, and crucified. Yet through His suffering, God’s justice was satisfied, and our salvation was secured.

We still live in a world filled with pain and injustice, where cruelty, prejudice, violence, and sin surround us. And sometimes we wonder if justice will ever truly come. But through Jesus, we know that justice has already begun. His kingdom advances one heart at a time, wherever grace and truth take root.

Jesus has promised, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” He knows what it means to be mistreated, betrayed, and falsely condemned. He knows your pain and sorrow. And just as Corrie ten Boom found the strength to forgive the man who wronged her, so can we—because forgiveness is not something we produce, but something God gives. It is the fruit of His justice working in our hearts.

CONCLUSION

The fullness of the justice Jesus came to bring will not be complete until we stand before Him in Heaven. But even now, we can live in the peace of knowing that we have been justified by His grace. Because of the cross, our sins are no longer counted against us. We are forgiven. We are free.  If you are here today and have not yet given your life to Christ—or if you are weary from carrying the weight of this world’s injustices—please don’t leave today without finding rest in Him. Meet with me after the service; I would love to pray with you and talk about what it means to know Jesus as your Savior.

Jesus offers freedom—freedom purchased by His blood on the cross. You no longer stand condemned. You are clothed in His righteousness. He wants you to have peace, rest, and the assurance that your life is safe in His hands.

Jesus is the Servant who brings justice. He is the Light that shines in the darkness. He is the Savior who makes all things new.