Cross Referencing Series Pt. 2 - Justice

 

When we think of justice, different images may come to mind for different people. Some may think of inspirational people such as Martin Luther King Jr, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mahatma Gandhi, and Rosa Parks who fought their whole lives for the rights of those who were being treated unfairly. Or we may think of organizations who have made it their goal to fight for justice: such as Black Lives Matter, Care.org’s Women Empowerment Fund, and more (even if you are someone who doesn't like certain justice movements, please put your personal opinions aside for the sake of the article). Then there are some people who think of justice, and think of those who haven't received it yet. The dictionary describes justice as the quality of being just; righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness. 

But how does the Bible describe it? And who in the Bible made it their purpose to fight for it? Let's find out.

When you go to the cross reference of the Concordia Self Study Bible (NIV), you will see a long list of verses below the word justice. For this word study, we will be focusing on one verse from the Old Testament and one verse from the New Testament, this way we will be able to see the difference in how the word was used depending on if it was before or after the birth of Jesus. 

The first verse we'll be looking at is Exodus 23:2, which says, "'Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd.'" This verse is telling us that we cannot change our ways and fight for justice if we follow what others are doing that has caused injustice. This is telling us that if we want to make a difference, we cannot continue to be ignorant. Now, we go to the cross reference (the middle column on the page) and find the verse, below the verse it will list other verses like it. Under Exodus 23:2, it lists some verses including Leviticus 19:15 and Leviticus 19:33. We'll only being doing these two, but there's plenty more if you want to do more on your own. First, Leviticus 19:15 says, "'Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.'" This verse says that by stereotyping and being bias towards a certain group of people, you are being dishonorable (this verse can be stressed further, but for the sake of the article we're going to move on). Then, Leviticus 19:33 says, "‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them.'" This verse says it is unacceptable to treat someone unfairly because of where they are from. All in all, the Old Testament verses about justice are about how us Christians should never judge anyone based on where they're from, what groups they belong to, their economic status, or any other factor besides their character. God is the only one who can pass judgement, and by labeling others based on our perception of them, we are going against God's word. The Old Testament also expresses that when everyone around us is doing what God says is wrong, it is our responsibility to go against the status quo and fight for what we know is right. This new information helps us realize that if we want justice, we can't stay on the sidelines and go with the crowd. We have to get out of our comfort zone, and stand up for those who need our help.

For our second verse, we will be looking at Luke 11:42. It says, "'Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.'" In this verse, Jesus is calling out the Pharisees. Jesus says that the Pharisees are not the "perfect" Christians that they like to tell everyone they are. Jesus recognizes that instead of spreading God's love and helping others through Him, the Pharisees were filled with greed and used people to satisfy their wants. This shows us that real Christians fight beside God to help those who need justice, and this also shows that real Christians spread God's love to everyone, no matter who they are. Luke 11:42's cross reference leads us too many verses, but we will be looking at Micah 6:8 and Matthew 23:23. Micah 6:8 says, "'He has showed you, O man, 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.'" This verse talks about how we need to strive to be like God and be gracious just like Him. Next, Matthew 23:23 says, "'Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices —mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.'" This is Jesus basically restating what he said in Luke 11:42, but this message is so important. We need to focus on what's important, rather than wasting our time and energy being hypocritical, judgmental, and self-absorbed, we must help others who aren't as fortunate, practice forgiveness, and always stay loyal to God. Again, these verses can be stressed further, so feel free to do that on your own.

In conclusion, the best way to fight for justice is to do exactly what God has instructed us to do. We must do what he would do. We must love everyone, and have no bias against any community of people. We are all sinners and we are all God's children who he loves equally. We also have to think back to all that Jesus did, he brought justice to so many people whose voices were not being heard. We must live His teachings, and follow what we know is the right thing to do, not always what the crowd is doing.