Jesus and Justice

August 22, 2021

Introduction

Good morning everyone! Welcome to cornerstone Bible church. It's a privilege again to have you all here today. Over the last several weeks we've been examining the topic of justice in the Bible. We started out by introducing the topic of justice. We continued by looking at social justice from the perspective of one of Jesus parables. Today we're going to finish up by talking about Jesus and justice.

Now of course in order to understand Jesus you need to understand the whole of the Bible. In order to truly understand how significant Jesus and what he did was we need to understand how the Bible points to his work.

OK from the very beginning of the Bible story when we read about creation we understand that mankind was created as different from the animals right. The Bible says in genesis that God breathed into man the very breath of life. The Bible says that God made man in his own image. God set mankind over the earth to rule the earth and steward it.

From the beginning we were different. From the beginning God made allowances for man to kill animals in order to provide food for himself. Such an allowance was never made for man to kill other humans because humans are special. From the beginning there were consequences for murder.

And also from the beginning we see the effects of sin entering the world. From the beginning in the garden with that first bite of the apple we see sin and its effect. After Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating the apple this led to their banishment from the garden. And then a short while later this led to the murder of Abel by Kane. And then the snowballing effect of sin lead to... Injustice. Isn't that the effect of sin always? Sin hurts others when you serve yourself at the expense of others.

sin not only does injustice to other human beings. Sin is a wrong in the sight of an almighty and just God. And so also from the beginning God worked through the israelite nation to show them how to get right with God. He gave them the laws and the covenant, he gave them the sacrificial system so they could deal with their sins. So they could atone for the injustices they had done against God.

Wasn't that the story of the israelite nation? God said he would bless them so that the whole world would see them. So that they would be a blessing to the whole world.

Genesis 22:17 ESV

17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies,

Genesis 22:18 ESV

18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”

And yet because of sin the Israelites repeatedly fell away from God. They committed sins towards God and towards each other. And God judged them.

When you look at the books of wisdom literature in the Bible you see a trend with regards to the topic of justice.

What a righteous man looks like in the wisdom books.

When you look at the book of job this book is obsessed with the justice of God. Of course job is a book where a good man suffers great pain and is not given a reason why. He repeatedly defends his character which the book of job does not call into question whatsoever. But what's important about the book of job.

What's important is that shows us that a righteous man looks out for the needs of others. When job defends himself he talks about how rightly he's lived in relationship with others. In the first couple chapters of the book of Joe we understand that job sacrifices for his children. Whenever they have a party job offer sacrifices to God on their behalf just in case they might have accidentally sinned at the party. Job is a righteous man concerned about living justly.

Job 29:14 ESV

14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban.

When you read through the book of proverbs you see proverbs after proverb that demonstrate that a righteous man is someone who is willing to disadvantage himself for the addvantage of his community. A righteous man does not take advantage of the opportunities he has to gain more at the expense of others. A righteous man cares for his animals. A righteous man looks out for others. A righteous man is someone who lives with both righteousness and justice.

Proverbs 18:5 ESV

5 It is not good to be partial to the wicked or to deprive the righteous of justice.

Proverbs 19:28 ESV

28 A worthless witness mocks at justice, and the mouth of the wicked devours iniquity.

Proverbs 21:15 ESV

15 When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.

Proverbs 28:5 ESV

5 Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it completely.

And of course when you read the book of Ecclesiastes which is a book about how meaningless so much of life is. How pointless it is to depend entirely on money, power, strength and more. The writer of Ecclesiastes argues that all that is left is to fear God. But part of fearing God is living rightly and justly.

Ecclesiastes 12:13–14 ESV

13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

When you read through the books of prophecies. When you take a trip from Ecclesiastes through Malachi in the Bible. Time after time you see profits railing against the people for how they have disobeyed God's covenant. But just as often you see them condemning the actions of wealthy people taking advantage of others. You see the prophets calling nations to account for their wrong acts towards others. For their injustices. Living rightly before God means living justly.

But more than this, when you read through the prophets you see a vision of the Messiah who would come. And this Messiah would bring justice.

Jeremiah 33:15 ESV

15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.

Isaiah 42:1–3 ESV

1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. 2 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; 3 a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.

Jesus shows up as the promised Messiah

And then several 100 years after the last prophet of the Old Testament a baby is born in Bethlehem. And this baby wasn't born to privilege and wealth. This baby was born to a simple family. And Jesus grew up and we know next to nothing about the first 30 years of his life. And then he starts to teach.

And the message he has is for all people. But he's drawn to the poor, to the men and women on the outskirts of society. He's drawn to the vulnerable. He brings a message of hope.

Matthew 12:18–20 ESV

18 “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. 19 He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; 20 a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory;

Jesus called the religious leaders to account for their lack of justice.

Matthew 23:23 ESV

23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

Jesus tore up the temple something multiple times because they had turned what should have been a House of prayer for the gentiles into a market for business. He wanted the gentiles to have the opportunity to pray to him.

Matthew 21:12–17 ESV

12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” 14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, 16 and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, “ ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?” 17 And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.

Jesus in his three years of ministry cared for and loved on hundreds, thousands of men and women. He loved on them irrespective of their lifestyle, their social status, the money they had, he loved them.

Jesus embodied what the hope for Messiah would be. For over 1000 years that israelite nation had looked forward to the coming of this Messiah. And Jesus was a Messiah who loved and looked to the weak and the vulnerable.

Now of course Jesus also was misunderstood. Or to be more accurate Jesus also didn't do what a lot of people wanted him to do. Men and women watched Jesus and said Jesus there's injustice being done to us by the Roman government why won't you use the popular support you have to win us some victories?!

You know, I think even you and I would have been surprised by the choice of Jesus to not right some of the wrongs of that time. We would have seen the pains that some of our loved ones were in during and asked Jesus why don't you step in and right these wrongs.?

And of course Jesus could have taken over Palestine. Shoot Jesus could have ruled the world at that time.

But if Jesus had chosen political action. If Jesus had chosen to become a king in that time. Millions and millions of men and women would suffer. He would have solved some physical and immediate needs and condemned men and women to hell in the process. You see Jesus loved to care for and love on the weak and the vulnerable. He lived out this biblical ideal of what a righteous man was.

But Jesus also solved the greatest problem of injustice our world has ever known. He solved the problem that started back in the garden of Eden and continues to this day. He solved the problem of the injustices that we do against God every single day. And God as a just God has to deal with sin.

You see, at the cross the justice and the love of God came together. At the cross God laid all the sins of the world on Jesus. The great injustices that we do against God he laid them on Jesus. And Jesus paid our price. At the cross our slate was cleared before God. But also at the cross God embodied what justice looks like justice is concerning yourself dearly with the needs of the vulnerable. There's no reason that God had to save oz. There's no reason that Jesus had to die for us. We were weak and poor and vulnerable and worthy of condemnation for our sin. But God went out of his way to show love to us. He brought justification to us.

The Roman Road of Justice

Romans 3:23 ESV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 6:23 ESV

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 5:8 ESV

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 10:9–10 ESV

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Trust in Jesus if you haven’t already

A parable and a command

Matthew 18:21–35 ESV

21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Matthew 22:36–40 ESV

36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Go ye and do likewise.