Broken Signposts – Justice - John 3:16–21

                 

This morning we’re beginning a new series inspired by N.T Wright’s book Broken Signposts where he explores seven different topics that point us to Jesus and the kingdom of heaven. Because of the brokenness sin brings, these signposts are also broken and fail to point us in the direction of Jesus and the kingdom of heaven as well as they should. Signposts show us the way to where we want to go; guides set up by someone who knows the way. The seven signposts we’ll be reflecting on through the Gospel of John point us to who God is, and give us a glimpse of the kingdom of heaven. Our first signpost is justice.

What is justice? The dictionary defines justice as “the quality or principle of fairness, righteousness, and impartiality in dealing with individuals and society. In the biblical context, justice is an essential attribute of God, and believers are called to pursue justice in their interactions and societal engagement.” In the Near East justice was directly connected to the word of the king. Whenever the king spoke an official word about anything, the proclamation was considered righteous and good, meaning that the king spoke justly. The Bible comes from the Near East and from God, our king; this is why the followers of Jesus are called to accept and embrace God’s Word and Jesus’ teaching as truth that shows us what justice is; calling us to live justly by shaping our lives and beliefs on God’s word given to us in Jesus. Injustice comes when we allow our own desires and beliefs shape our lives and how we live and interact with others and with God.

In our passage this morning, we normally focus on “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Our hearts quickly hear God’s love because we all have a need to be loved by someone, but that signpost is next week. After reminding us of God’s great love for the world, we often stop reading, but John goes on to talk about condemnation and light and darkness. Jesus comes to save the world, not to condemn. The requirement to be saved is to believe in Jesus; simple and yet so important, so difficult to actually do. Belief in scripture is not just believing in facts or the right things, it’s about allowing what we say we believe, and who we believe in shape our lives, character, and relationships with God, others, ourselves, and creation. Belief is not simply an intellectual exercise; it’s about practicing what we say we believe. Justice looks like Jesus, think of when Jesus tells us that whatever we do to someone else to help them, we do it to Jesus.

Justice for Jesus is always about people, when John asked Jesus if he really is the Messiah, Jesus tells him in Matthew 11, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” Jesus cares about the vulnerable, showing us what the heart of God looks like. In Luke 14, Jesus tells his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind…” Justice is a way of living with people by recognizing their worth to God as people created in his image. Jesus often focused on the poor, sick, and those are the margins because they’re the forgotten or overlooked.

This is at the heart of the criticism Jesus gives to the Pharisee in Luke 11, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you. “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.” It may sound as if Jesus only cares about and focuses on saving the poor, but he came for all people. Jesus is meeting with the Pharisee Nicodemus in our passage, Jesus shows he cares about the rich man who has a hard time putting his love for money second to Jesus, Jesus loves all people, but he recognizes that the more we have, the easier it is to fail to see injustice. The Old Testament prophets had to keep reminding the people to remember God’s call to care for all people, not simply yourself. Doing justice doesn’t get you saved, it’s a sign that you’re saved. The signpost of justice is broken in our world though, we all know of times when people have hurt others and gotten away with it because of their power, position, or connections. Often, we can’t even agree on what justice is. Too often we define justice by what helps us keep our privileges.

John tells us that whoever does not believe in Jesus is condemned because they choose not to believe in him and shape their lives on who Jesus is. They refuse to believe in Jesus, the light of the world, and embrace darkness instead. They choose to believe in other voices instead of Jesus’ and this leads them into darkness rather than light. Darkness in the bible is a symbol of evil, but also of selfishness, and an anti-God focused life. Darkness is often used as a symbol of shame and fear of being seen. Nicodemus comes to see Jesus in the darkness of the night, afraid of being seen with Jesus by his fellow Pharisees, afraid of being rejected. Yet Nicodemus is searching for light, for hope, seeking to discover who Jesus really is. In the end, Nicodemus becomes a follower of Jesus, believing in Jesus, embracing his light. Nicodemus is one of the two men who take Jesus’ body down from the cross after Jesus defeats the Prince of Darkness through his death for our sin.

Jesus doesn’t come to condemn the world; those who refuse Jesus, those who choose darkness condemn themselves. In John 8, right after the story of the woman caught in adultery, Jesus says, “You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me.” When you choose darkness, you experience the judgment of God. The judgment of God is simply God being himself and shining his light into the world through Jesus and causing the darkness to flee and hide. Those who brought the woman before Jesus are confronted with the darkness in their own hearts and they slip away until it’s only Jesus and the woman left. Jesus refuses to judge the woman, but he tells her to “go and sin no more,” to move back into the light. There is so much more that can be said here, but that’s for another time. Those who choose darkness judge themselves by fleeing from Jesus.

In the beginning, God created everything very good. A very good world is created by a very good God, but sin enters into the world through the selfish disobedience of Adam and Eve and injustice enters into the world as humanity moves further and further away from God and who God created them to be. Early on there are those who take advantage of others for their own profit, darkness and corruption creeps into society, and power is used for selfish purposes instead of for the betterment of society.

God gives Israel a way of living through the laws given to them at Mount Sinai. The laws are given to them to shape them into God’s image; living in ways that are just and right. Jesus teaches the same law, calling his followers to be salt in the world and “to let their light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Jesus shines his light into the world and takes the sin of the world onto himself to the cross to satisfy God’s requirement for justice because of the sin that has brought darkness into the world, and begin the renewal and restoration of creation and humanity. As Micah reminds us, justice is something that’s a part of what God calls us to do, “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.” This is how we begin to shine Jesus’ light into the world.

So how do we as followers of Jesus work for justice in a society where there’s no agreement on what justice even looks like, there are so many different ideas on what justice looks like? Tim Keller writes in his book Generous Justice, “The Biblical idea of justice is comprehensive and practical, but it is also high and wonderful. It is part and parcel of what God is doing in history. God is reconciling humanity to himself—and as a result of this great transaction, he is reconciling all things to himself. He is bringing all things in heaven and earth together in Christ.”

Keller, as does N.T Wright, points to the return of Jesus when the kingdom of heaven will be fully realised. Justice is a signpost that points to the coming kingdom of heaven; a kingdom built on strong community where human beings can all flourish, being the people who we’re created to be in the image of God. Until Jesus returns, our call is to work to build communities where we work together, believers and unbelievers, to help the weaker members of our community who are falling through the cracks and repair the cracks, ensuring that justice is lived out; building communities where everyone can flourish and become who God has created them to be.