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Christians are always talking about how Jesus satisfied the demands of justice, and yet I just realized that nowhere in the entire New Testament is the word "justice" found. That's awfully strange, since it's supposedly such an important concept.
Now, I do believe that Jesus conquered death in order that we might also conquer death, and I believe that through our faithfulness to Him, we are promised an abundance of heavenly blessings some day. But I can't find anything to support the notion that He needed to die in order to appease God's anger over something we supposedly owed Him and couldn't pay Him.
That's an excellent question. Justice is really more of an Old Testament concept.
I suppose that theologians would say that grace is what Jesus provided, rather than justice. And that's very much a NT concept. Grace is defined as "unmerited favor" so that is how it satisfies justice, which is no longer then an issue.
Of course all these questions hinge on the concept of "sin", the missing of the mark, and god's concern with not being tainted thereby -- otherwise there'd be no justice to run afoul of or to need to be reconciled concerning. I personally don't see the coherence in that concept anymore, so questions of justice and grace don't enter into my calculus.
The word 'justice' may not be found in the NT but the concept certainly is with the book of Revelation being a very obvious example of God's judgment on the world. As for God being appeased by Jesus' death, the Greek word is ἱλαστήριον - hilastērion which means to propitiate or appease and is found in Romans 3:25, Hebrews 2:17, 1 John 2:2, and 1 John 4:10.
Romans 3:25 directly links propitiation or appeasement for our sins with the blood or death of Christ. Also, since God is just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Christ as per Romans 3:26, the concept of justice is involved. Justice can either condemn or bless depending on the circumstance.
Last edited by Michael Way; 11-07-2023 at 08:27 PM..
“Justice is a primary theme in the New Testament from Matthew to Revelation. In the earliest stage of His ministry, Jesus announced that His mission was going to be directed toward the poor, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed (Luke 4:18-19). This inaugural address provided a signal that Christ’s heart would be toward the lost, the least, and the last.
Many Bible readers fail to grasp the importance that the Scriptures place on justice. One of the reasons for this involves the Greek term dikaiosune. Most English translations, including the beloved King James Version, render this word as “righteousness.”
However, a strong case may be made that “justice” is the better term to use in a number of passages. For example, in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, He expresses this language over a half a dozen times, therefore making justice a dominant theme of His discourse. Consider these examples:
Matthew 5:6: “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall be filled.”
Matthew 5:10: “Blessed are they which are persecuted for justice’s sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 6:20: “For I say unto you, that except your justice shall exceed the justice of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 6:33: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His justice; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
“Justice is a primary theme in the New Testament from Matthew to Revelation. In the earliest stage of His ministry, Jesus announced that His mission was going to be directed toward the poor, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed (Luke 4:18-19). This inaugural address provided a signal that Christ’s heart would be toward the lost, the least, and the last.
Many Bible readers fail to grasp the importance that the Scriptures place on justice. One of the reasons for this involves the Greek term dikaiosune. Most English translations, including the beloved King James Version, render this word as “righteousness.”
However, a strong case may be made that “justice” is the better term to use in a number of passages. For example, in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, He expresses this language over a half a dozen times, therefore making justice a dominant theme of His discourse. Consider these examples:
Matthew 5:6: “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall be filled.”
Matthew 5:10: “Blessed are they which are persecuted for justice’s sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 6:20: “For I say unto you, that except your justice shall exceed the justice of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 6:33: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His justice; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
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