Bringing Forth Justice

The Baptism of our Lord – A                                                                        LSB #’s 405, 814, 802
Text – Isaiah 42:1
 
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.
 
BRINGING FORTH JUSTICE
 
 
What do you think of  when you hear the word – justice?   What comes to mind?   People across the world often perceive “…An eye for an eye  & a tooth for a tooth.”  (Matthew 5:28 ESV) as the standard for justice.   In other words,  justice is about punishment & retribution.   Justice   is when the bad guys  get what’s coming to them. 
The danger in celebrating that kind of justice  is the fact that  Yahweh alone  is holy.   God alone  is just,   & not a single one of us  is good.   Sin has corrupted all  the descendants of Adam & Eve  except for Jesus.   You & I need to be careful if we’re rejoicing when the bad guys get  what’s coming to them,   because, relative to Christ, each of us is included in ‘the bad guys.’ 
This is how the Holy Spirit  inspired St. Paul to write, “For there is no distinction: for all have sinned  & fall short of the glory of God.”  (Romans 3:22b-23 ESV)   If justice  is only about coming after people for the wrong they’ve done,  then no one  stands a chance.   Fortunately, the justice of our heavenly Father  is much broader than that. 
Our tendency is to think of justice   only in terms of the law.   Think of the news on television  or in social media.   The vast majority of it  involves things that go wrong.   How many people got robbed today,  assaulted, or shot?   How many politicians said something stupid yesterday?   How many people lost their jobs in the factory closing,  or died in the latest fire? 
We hear it.  We see it with our eyes.  We feel it  in our own heart & soul.  Being honest, we admit  that we are drawn to it  like a moth to a flame.  And like the moth  we are destroyed by it.   If we could look at it from the perspective of our Creator,  we are utterly destroyed by it & that destruction would never end.    Except for one thing.   Our Creator is not only   about the Law.   We confess that  every time we prepare for Holy Communion: “It is good, right & salutary that we should  at all times & in all places  give thanks to You, O Lord…”  Why should we give thanks  if our existence revolves only  around the brokenness  of our world? 
“It is good, right & salutary…”  Salutary is probably a word  you don’t often use in your day to day conversations.  It’s a word that applies to whatever benefits,  builds up,  or sustains physically,  mentally,  or spiritually.  Salutary describes something corrective or beneficially effective, even though it may  in itself  be unpleasant. 
It is not always pleasant for us to give thanks to our Lord,  especially not “…at all times & in all places…”  There are times & places when every fiber of our being wants to scream bloody murder,  at what we see as the injustice of our world,  & especially  at the injustice we experience in our own lives.    In spite of that, these words might be lingering in your memory:
“Rejoice always,  pray without ceasing,  give thanks  in all circumstances;  for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.  Do not quench the Spirit.”  (1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 ESV)  By refusing to give thanks, God’s Word tells us we are quenching the Spirit.   At all times  & in all places,  the Holy Spirit wants to pour out from you & from me  in heartfelt thanksgiving. 
But that’s not  what we’re thinking as we hear news of the latest tragedy.  It’s not what we’re thinking  as we sit in the doctor’s office waiting for the diagnosis.  It’s not what we’re thinking at that moment we’ve smashed our thumb  with a hammer.   Yet, God’s Spirit reminds His children that it is good,  right & salutary,  because our Creator is not only  about the Law. 
When Isaiah writes of God’s servant, “…He will bring forth justice to the nations,” (42:1 ESV) the Spirit of God is telling us that our Lord & Creator  is also about good news.  Yahweh is about news that benefits,  builds up,  sustains physically,  mentally,  & spiritually.  The Spirit of God inspires us to give thanks in all circumstances,  not simply because that is God’s will for us.  He inspires us to give thanks because God the Son willingly took on our flesh & blood.  Then died in our place  because that is what the Law requires.  Now that the Law has been met,  the heavenly Father is free to show us His mercy & forgiveness instead. 
Yet,  bringing forth justice involves far more  than that.   Yahweh’s justice  also involves the creation of something  from nothing.   As Christians we see that,  & celebrate it,  most clearly from Good Friday to Easter morning.  From death  comes resurrection.  From darkness comes light.  From rebellion comes forgiveness & obedience.  From sorrow  comes joy. 
From any of our sins & failures,  the almighty God is perfectly capable of bringing success.  Out of nothing, Yahweh created the heavens & the earth.  Out of nothing,  God created a nation to be His people & to be messengers of His mercy to the whole world.   When they failed, the Father sent His only begotten Son to accomplish that task in perfection. 
When you & I fail, that same only begotten Son gives us credit for His holiness.  He gives thanks at all times & in all places  even when all we can muster are curses & tears.  God’s justice is the light that shines into all the dark places of the world making it possible for joy to dwell in our hearts.  In this life  that is often  only  by faith.  In the next life  it will be reality. 
Although there are endless blessings in our lives  even here on earth,  our joy in this life is never chiefly about our circumstances here.  Instead, it is about the reality to come,  because that reality will never diminish,  never be taken for granted,  & it will never, ever end.  Heaven is God’s highest form of justice. 
In Christ, God forgives because His justice is also about relationship.  Forgiveness restores relationships.  Jesus is Immanuel because His works are about restoring our relationship with our Creator.  Yahweh wants to be with His people, just as the Garden of Eden demonstrated.  Immanuel means God with us – here on earth.  Yahweh’s true justice  means us with God  in heaven.  The justice that people often long for on earth  is about the destruction of evil.  Our Lord is certainly about that, yet,  His justice is far more about building up  than about tearing down.  God’s justice is about eternal life in paradise  as the ultimate reality. 
That is what the servant of Isaiah 42 is bringing forth  even now.   Through everything God does,  He is bringing life & salvation to light.  He is at work establishing His eternal reign.  His ultimate punishment for sin has already been spent  upon His own Son  at Golgotha. 
Those who reject a relationship with God in this life  will get their wish.  God will not be with them  in hell.  That is a forgone conclusion.  Rather than hunting down sinners so He can punish them,  all of Yahweh’s efforts are now being spent on bringing people into heaven.  He wants to bring as many people as He can, but He does not force us to join Him. 
Our idea of justice is quite different from God’s idea.  An eye for an eye is meant by God to be a limitation on the punishment we seek for those who do us wrong.  Jesus does not command us to pull out  a tooth for a tooth.  Yahweh wants all of us to flourish like the original Garden of Eden.  God’s justice is as much about Gospel as it is about law. 
His justice is meant to bring us hope & light especially while we live here in the darkness of a sin-filled world.  His promise of justice comes to us in these words: “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand & keep you…”  (Isaiah 42:6 ESV)  Amen. 
 
 
 
O bless the Lord, my soul!  Let all within me join  & aid my tongue to bless His name  whose favors are divine.     He crowns thy life with love  when ransomed from the grave;  He that redeemed my soul from hell  hath sovereign power to save.      He fills the poor with good;  He gives the sufferers rest.  The Lord hath judgments for the proud  & justice for the oppressed.  Amen.  LSB 814:1, 4-5.