All We Want for Christmas is Justice & Victory

Attribution: freeimages.com/Stephen Stacey & Ali Farid

Dear Friends,

We always celebrate this time of year and rightly so. Jesus showing up as He did was the fulfillment of biblical prophecy and the birth of new life for all who believe. This story about the birth of the Savior is huge (yuuge) news. It fills our souls with awe and makes our feet want to dance. Jesus makes the salvation of our individual souls possible and that is a wonderful reality. There is more, however, to the Christmas story than the possibility of salvation for our individual souls. With His coming Jesus began to fulfill long-time promises we may not have noticed. The one I have been thinking about lately is found in Matthew 12, talking about how He will bring justice to victory.

Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen; My beloved in whom My soul is well-pleased; I will put My spirit upon Him, and He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel, nor cry out; nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. A battered reed He will not break off, and a smoldering wick he will not put out, until He leads justice to victory. And in His name the Gentiles will hope. (Matthew 12: 18–21)

There is a lot of talk in the Bible about justice. For instance God warns us about perverting justice:

You shall not follow the masses in doing evil, nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after a multitude in order to pervert justice (Exodus 23:2).

You shall not pervert the justice due to your needy brother in his dispute (Exodus 23:6).

You shall not pervert the justice due an alien or an orphan, nor take a widow’s garment in pledge (Deuteronomy 24:17).

But more than simply not perverting justice the Lord instructs us in the importance of continually seeking justice in every area of life:

Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue, that you may live and possess the land which the LORD your God is giving you (Deuteronomy 16:20).

The theme of justice permeates the Scriptures. Everywhere we are instructed in the need to seek justice. Jesus, in one of His best known rebukes to the religious authorities of His day denounced them saying:

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others (Matthew 23:23) [emphases added].

In Matthew 12 which I quoted above justice is mentioned twice. That prophecy tells us that Jesus will “proclaim justice to the Gentiles” and that He will “lead justice to victory.” These are not small promises. They reflect the mind of God for human progress under God’s word and Spirit. The direction of history is indicated here. The work of God on earth is not only the securing of justice, but it is an assurance that justice must prevail as God’s kingdom advances. It is a goal for which all Christians should labor. A biblical society will be a just one.

The Lord did not leave us without instructions for how to pursue justice either. He lovingly laid out for us an entire set of instructions for how to live and the laws and morals needed to build a just society. The pages of Scripture are our law book. The Psalmist wrote:

I will meditate on Your precepts And regard Your ways (Psalm 119:15).

I shall delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your word (Psalm 119:16).

Our attitude toward God’s statutes should be one of delight. It is by implementation of His law that society improves and becomes just. If our nation is to return to a more Christian path then we need to both learn and apply God’s law to every area of life.

Future discussions about justice on this blog could venture in a variety of directions. We could talk about what justice is according to sound biblical interpretation. Most of us, after all, have almost no ability to explain what justice is according to biblical definitions. We never really think about true justice or how we could prove one way or the other what it looks like. All sorts of ideas about death penalties, jail time, and “an eye for an eye” float through our minds in a disconnected jumble of things we prefer or do not prefer. Defining justice absolutely, however, seems like a near impossibility.

For the most part we have heard nothing from the pulpits of our local churches about this topic. This is a bit strange when you think about it. After all, if one of the major purposes of Christ’s coming to earth was to “proclaim justice to the Gentiles” and to “lead justice to victory” it seems reasonable that American pulpits would be permanently aflame with teaching on how these ends might be accomplished. God’s people need to understand what justice is and its importance in God’s advancing kingdom. If the Lord’s co-workers are to labor fruitfully in the fields they must have the tools to do so. One thing I learned as a contractor is that men without proper tools do not get much done. Maybe a call to pastors to instruct their flocks about biblical justice would be a good use for one of these blogs this coming year.

One of the fears that dogs me is that even after realizing that justice is a major biblical theme I still probably do not see all the ramifications of this truth. I fear that having so long ignored or having failed to address issues of justice aggressively I probably have a difficult time mentally assembling the pieces of this complex puzzle. Justice, what is just, is not often in the forefront of our thoughts. We have all kinds of ways to evaluate events and circumstances but how often do we ask what is just? Usually when the word justice is used it is in the context of social justice. The larger culture seems to accept the idea that poor people must be granted financial incentives or just plain payments from the larger society and that this is a form of justice. The concept is scarcely questioned. As Christians though, we ought to be weighing every idea and taking every thought captive to the glory of God. All claims about justice need to be investigated based on what God’s word specifically teaches.

Having recognized one of the grand reasons for Christ’s coming I will try to explore more about how His coming leads justice to victory. By God’s grace perhaps next Christmas we can review ways in which we participated in this very work. Maybe the return of justice and the advancement of God’s kingdom are at hand. A Second Reformation may well be on the way (more about that soon).

For all our friends we pray Christmas Blessings, and peace on earth good will to men. May the God of peace be with you and His church as we work for justice and the advancement of His kingdom. Toward these hopeful ends we cheerfully labor.

Merry Christmas,

Dr. Don Schanzenbach,
Erika,
and all our family

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