Proclaim Justice

In Matthew 12 Jesus is faced with a dilemma (Matt 12:9-14). He was in the synagogue on the Sabbath and a man with a withered hand came in. The accusers asked Him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" Jesus told them they thought it was. They would pull a sheep out of a pit on the Sabbath, wouldn't they? Aren't people more valuable? So He healed the man. And the Pharisees "went out and conspired against Him, how to destroy Him." Nice.

Jesus knew it and withdrew. He continued to heal but warned them to keep quiet about it. He did it "to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah" (Matt 12:17). What was spoken by Isaiah?

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.
He will not quarrel or cry aloud,
Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets;
A bruised reed He will not break,
And a smoldering wick He will not quench,
Until He brings justice to victory;
And in His name the Gentiles will hope. (Matt 12:18-21)

The quote/prophecy seems a little strange. Wasn't Jesus sent to be Israel's Messiah? What's all this about Gentiles? But pause for a moment and I think you'll find it's a little more unexpected. This text tells us at least one reason Christ came, and it isn't quite what we expected. Sure, to save people and to proclaim the good news and things like that, but look at what this text says. He came to "proclaim justice to the Gentiles." Wait ... justice? It says that His "endgame" so to speak was to bring justice to victory. There it is again. Justice? Because of this "In His name the Gentiles will hope." Because of justice.

Jesus came for many reasons. We get most of them. This one isn't as obvious to us. Jesus came to bring justice to victory. How? God is just. Justice must be served or God is not God. Jesus came, then, to serve justice. He didn't come to kindly let us off the hook. He didn't come to simply drop the charges against us. He didn't come (first) to give us grace (being given good that which we didn't earn) and mercy (not receiving the punishment we have earned) because both are antithetical to justice. In order to give grace and mercy, Christ had to first bring justice to victory. He did it by living a sinless life and dying for our sins.

Now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it — the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. It was to show His righteousness at the present time, so that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Rom 3:21-26)

Christ came to demonstrate God's righteousness by appeasing His wrath ("propitiation") against our sin by paying the price ("redemption") Himself. As a result of bringing justice to victory, we are allowed faith in Jesus Christ, justification, and God's righteousness. Amazing grace!