Truth and Justice, Part II: What is Justice?
By: Greg Hutchins
In Luke 10, a self-righteous lawyer asked Jesus to define his terms. Jesus had just agreed with the lawyer’s exposition of God’s law to love both God and neighbor. So the lawyer asked, “And who is my neighbor?” The lawyer wanted a simplistic dictionary definition, preferably one he could use to justify himself and ignore those he didn’t care for. Jesus responds by sharing the parable of the Good Samaritan. The lawyer wanted a proposition. However, Jesus responds by painting him a picture.
This is the same pattern we see today as we engage justice. We want quick, simple definitions of justice, but God doesn’t seem interested in mere propositions. Instead, God engages our imaginations with stories and pictures of justice. When seeking to understand what justice is, we must look to Scripture to give us an accurate definition.
Job paints us a vivid picture of how important justice was in his life. In Job 29:14-17 he says,
“I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban. I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. I was a father to the needy and I searched out the cause of him whom I did not know. I broke the fangs of the unrighteous and made him drop his prey from his teeth.”
It is apparent that Job took justice very seriously. So much so, that he sought out those who were oppressed or victimized, those who were vulnerable and suffering then intentionally worked to make right what was wrong. Whatever the blind lacked access to because of their blindness, Job provided it for them. This could have meant bringing them to fields from which they could glean or making roads safer for them to walk without stumbling. Job also could have provided relational intimacy and friendship to this group of likely outcasts. He also pursued the unrighteous, broke their fangs, and liberated their victims. This could mean punishing their injustice. In being “eyes to the blind” and “feet to the lame,” Job practices what some call restorative justice. In punishing the unrighteous, Job practices retributive justice. Job’s understanding of justice focuses both on restoration and retribution because Job’s imagination is informed by a broader view of righteousness.
In Job 29:14, Job parallels justice with righteousness. If you read the Old Testament with attentiveness, you’ll see how God often puts these two terms together. Justice and righteousness are like two legs walking down the path of love on the way to shalom. When we hear the term “righteousness”, we normally think of individual moral excellence. However, I would assert that righteousness is a relational term. It means rightly relating to self, God, and the world. Justice means giving people their due, which may come in the form of preservation, punishment, or promoting their flourishing. When righteousness is present, so is justice. And when justice and righteousness abound, people experience the harmony and peace that comes when creation flourishes under God’s order. Job had a picture of shalom and righteousness. He knew how God intended life to function. So, when Job saw a lame woman or a blind man, he thought, “This person cannot relate to others and relate to creation the way God intended. This blind man can’t work. This lame woman can’t defend herself. God, what can I do to help this person flourish the way you intend them to? How can You use my influence and resources to bring wholeness?”
For us to do justice, God must capture our imaginations with righteousness and shalom. We need a clear picture of people rightly relating to themselves, one another, God, and His creation. As Platinga asserts, we need eyes to see when injustice vandalizes shalom and violates righteousness. Then we ask God’s help to right these wrongs and seek to restore righteous shalom through justice.
The only reason we can do justice is because God is just. He saw how we, in our sin, disrupted shalom and dismissed righteousness. And because of His love, He sent Jesus, who faithfully brings justice (Isaiah 42). The good news of the Gospel is that Jesus the Just bore the retribution for our injustice so that we could receive restoration and liberation from sin through faith in Him. And because He declares us just and makes us whole, we work in love to bring justice to others.
Greg is a vending route driver and church planting resident at Four Oaks Church East in Tallahassee, FL. He graduated from The Florida State University with a degree in philosophy. He and his lovely wife, Asia, are parents to one son, Ethan.
