Bulletin Articles
Jesus, Justice, and Justification
"Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put my Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry out or raise His voice, nor make His voice heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not be disheartened or crushed until He has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law." (Isaiah 42:1-4)
The passage above prophecies of a Servant destined to bring justice to the world. Contrary to expectations, He would not accomplish this by being loud and boisterous. This Servant will be so gentle that He won't even disturb a bruised reed or extinguish a smoldering wick. How could justice be accomplished through someone like this?
According to the gospel of Matthew, this prophecy finds its fulfillment in Jesus (Matt. 12:15 – 21). Jesus perfectly embodied the humble and gentle service foretold by Isaiah. He did not come "to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45).
Jesus confronted injustice head-on by bearing the collective weight of humanity's injustices upon the cross (Isaiah 53:4-5). We have all sinned and therefore the justice that is due us is God's wrath (Romans 5:9). But because Christ experienced injustice on the cross, we can now be spiritually justified before God through faith. And now, "having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1).
God chose to bring justice to the world through a humble Servant. And that Servant will one day come back again as a Judge (2 Cor. 5:10). If we turn away from God, we’ll earn what we deserve: His wrath. If we submit our lives to Him, we’ll receive what we don’t deserve: His gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23). Since we know that's what the final verdict will be, let's present Christ to the world and testify about their need to repent of their sins so they too can be "justified by His grace" (Titus 2:7).
