The Verdict Is In: The Justice of God — Tuesday
Amos 5:24
But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! (NIV)
While I don’t consider myself a movie buff (it takes me about a week to watch a movie all the way through with my attention deficit), I do love a good movie every now and then. I’m often drawn toward older movies—maybe I’m starting to show my age, but they just don’t make movies like they used to. I recently watched the movie 12 Angry Men, which is about a group of prejudicial and biased men deliberating the fate of a young man facing the death penalty. In the opening sequence of the movie, the judge gives the men instructions before they retire to deliberate. The judge informs the jury they must use the highest legal standard: “beyond a reasonable doubt.” The judge tells them, “If there's a reasonable doubt in your minds as to the guilt of the accused, then you must bring me a verdict of not guilty. Now if, however, there's no reasonable doubt, then you must, in good conscience, find the accused guilty.”
When facing the death penalty in our country, the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard is applied. It requires that the evidence offer no logical explanation or conclusion other than the defendant committed the crime. This standard of justice offers retribution. However, through Christ and His sacrifice, a justice is offered that does not condemn but restores. It is only found in Him—as John 3:18 says, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” Additionally, Isaiah 51:4-5 foretells us, “My justice will become a light to the nations. My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way.”
In Hebrew, the word justice is “mishpat.” Mishpat can refer to retributive justice, a type of consequence. However, mishpat most often refers to a different type of justice—restorative justice. This is the type of justice we find in Christ, who displayed radical selflessness throughout His life and on the cross. Mishpat seeks out the vulnerable—the lonely, the lost, and the broken—and advocates on their behalf to restore them to be as they should: righteous, the condition acceptable to God. This is why the justice of our God is so perfectly right, fair, and good—for not only does He take seriously all sin and wrongdoing, but He is also unrelenting in His pursuit of restoration and redemption.
Tuesday’s Reflection
Micah 6:8 tells us, “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Is the justice you show to others restorative or retributive? Spend some time in prayer today thanking God for His mishpat and asking Him to help you display mishpat to others.