Father, forgive them.

Source: Devotionals Daily email April 15, 2022, article: Words That Wound By Max Lucado, from No Wonder They Call Him The Savior

The dialogue that Friday morning was bitter.

From the onlookers, “Come down from the cross if you are the Son of God!” 

From the religious leaders, “He saved others but He can’t save himself.”

From the soldiers, “If You are the king of the Jews, save Yourself.”

Bitter words. Acidic with sarcasm. Hateful. Irreverent. Wasn’t it enough that He was being crucified? Wasn’t it enough that he was being shamed as a criminal? Were the nails insufficient? Was the crown of thorns too soft? Had the flogging been too short?

For some, apparently so. 

Peter, a writer not normally given to using many descriptive verbs, says that the passersby “hurled” insults at the crucified Christ.¹ They didn’t just yell or speak or scream. They “hurled” verbal stones. They had every intention of hurting and bruising. “We’ve broken the body; now let’s break the spirit!” So they strung their bows with self-righteousness and launched stinging arrows of pure poison. 

Of all the scenes around the cross, this one angers me the most. What kind of people, I ask myself, would mock a dying man? Who would be so base as to pour the salt of scorn upon open wounds? How low and perverted to sneer at one who is laced with pain. Who would make fun of a person who is seated in an electric chair? Or who would point and laugh at a criminal who has a hangman’s noose around His neck? 

You can be sure that Satan and his demons were the cause of such filth. 

And then the criminal on cross number two throws his punch. 

“Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 

The words thrown that day were meant to wound. And there is nothing more painful than words meant to hurt. That’s why James called the tongue a fire. Its burns are every bit as destructive and disastrous as those of a blowtorch.

But I’m not telling you anything new. No doubt you’ve had your share of words that wound. You’ve felt the sting of a well-aimed gibe. Maybe you’re still feeling it. Someone you love or respect slams you to the floor with a slur or slip of the tongue. And there you lie, wounded and bleeding. Perhaps the words were intended to hurt you, perhaps not; but that doesn’t

matter. The wound is deep. The injuries are internal. Broken heart, wounded pride, bruised feelings. 

Or maybe your wound is old. Though the arrow was extracted long ago, the arrowhead is still lodged . . . hidden under your skin. The old pain flares unpredictably and decisively, reminding you of harsh words yet unforgiven. 

If you have suffered or are suffering because of someone else’s words, you’ll be glad to know that there is a balm for this laceration. Meditate on these words from 1 Peter 2:23.

When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 

Did you see what Jesus did not do? He did not retaliate. He did not bite back. He did not say, “I’ll get you!” “Come on up here and say that to my face!” “Just wait until after the resurrection, buddy!” No, these statements were not found on Christ’s lips. 

Did you see what Jesus did do? He “entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” Or said more simply, he left the judging to God. He did not take on the task of seeking revenge. He demanded no apology. He hired no bounty hunters and sent out no posse. He, to the astounding contrary, spoke on their defense. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”² 

Yes, the dialogue that Friday morning was bitter. The verbal stones were meant to sting. How Jesus, with a body wracked with pain, eyes blinded by his own blood, and lungs yearning for air, could speak on behalf of some heartless thugs is beyond my com-prehension. Never, never have I seen such love. If ever a person deserved a shot at revenge, Jesus did. But he didn’t take it. Instead he died for them. How could he do it? I don’t know. But I do know that all of a sudden my wounds seem very painless. My grudges and hard feelings are suddenly childish. 

Sometimes I wonder if we don’t see Christ’s love as much in the people he tolerated as in the pain he endured.

Amazing Grace.

¹³ No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God,” since God is not tempted by evil, and he himself doesn’t tempt anyone^{. 14} But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire. ¹⁵ Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.

James 1:13-15 CSB

He is not tempted because He does not have evil desire in His heart.

¹⁴ But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire. ¹⁵ Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.

James 1:16

¹³ Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13 CSB

The God of Peace

³³ May the God of peace be with all of you. Amen.

Romans 15:33 CSB

The First and The Last

¹² “Listen to me, Jacob,
and Israel, the one called by me:
I am he; I am the first,
I am also the last.

Isaiah 48:12

⁵ Lord, your faithful love reaches to heaven,

your faithfulness to the clouds.

⁶ Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,

your judgments like the deepest sea.

Lord, you preserve people and animals.

⁷ How priceless your faithful love is, God!

People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

⁸ They are filled from the abundance of your house.

You let them drink from your refreshing stream.

⁹ For the wellspring of life is with you.

By means of your light we see light.

Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity
And passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
But delight to show mercy.
You will have compassion on Your people;
You will tread their iniquities underfoot And hurl all their sins into the depths of the sea.

Notice these verses concern a certain people:

• who is pardoned: “the remnant of His inheritance”
• for who God has compassion: “compassion on Your people”
• “their iniquities”
• “their sins”

So, the question is, “Are you one of His people?”

If not, you are invited to become one of His:

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28

Receive your invitation

We find in the Old Testament that the terms for judge, justice, and (civil) laws all derive from the same root. In other words, justice is closely related to and administered as an ideal legal standard.

Yet the concept of justice in the Bible covers more than punishing wrongdoing. It includes treating all people not only with fairness but also with protection and care. God calls all people to seek justice for those most vulnerable to suffering injustice. The Bible regularly pairs justice with acting righteously and behaving with mercy, love, kindness, and compassion.

The God of Justice

Justice is rooted in God’s character and creation:
• “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he” (Deuteronomy 32:4).
• “The Lord is righteous, he loves justice” (Psalms 11:7).
• “The Maker of heaven and earth … upholds the cause of the oppressed and … loves the righteous” (Psalms 146:6–8).
• “The Lord Almighty will be exalted by his justice” (Isaiah 5:16).
• God’s character includes a zeal for justice that leads him to love tenderly those who are socially powerless (Psalms 10:14 – 18).

The Call of God’s People to Act Justly

As God’s representatives, judges are called to acquit the innocent, condemn the guilty, and expose false accusations and bribery (2 Chronicles 19:5 – 7). They are not to distort justice by favoring either the poor or the rich (Exodus 23:3; Leviticus 19:15). God also charges kings to act justly and instructs them to look after the weak and defenseless. The psalmist prays, “Endow the king with your justice, O God . . . May he judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice” (Psalms 72:1 – 2).

Throughout the Old Testament, God’s people are exhorted to “learn to do right [and] seek justice” (Isaiah 1:17). When Job confronts his accusers, he insists, “I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban. I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger” (Job 29:14 – 16).

Similarly, the prophets rail against injustice and insist that the right worship of God cannot exist without loving justice. Amos threatens judgment on “those who oppress the innocent and take bribes and deprive the poor of justice in the courts” (Amos 5:12). Zechariah exhorts God’s people to “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor” (Zechariah 7:9 – 10). And Micah rhetorically asks, “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).

Jesus echoes the Old Testament prophets when he calls out the Pharisees for concentrating on religious observance while neglecting “justice and the love of God” (Luke 11:42). Justice holds a central place throughout his teaching and ministry. For Jesus, a lack of concern for the poor is not a minor oversight but reveals that a person is at odds with God. This is illustrated in the Parable of the sheep and goats where the true sheep are those who have a heart for the hungry, the stranger, the poor, the sick, and the imprisoned (Matthew 25:35 – 36).

Justice and God’s Goodness

The theme of justice however raises two formidable problems. The first is the need to defend God’s justice and goodness in the light of injustice. How can a just God tolerate evil? The Bible addresses this concern pointedly in Habakkuk.

Habakkuk complains to God that his people are ignoring his demand for justice, and he wonders why God allows the unjust to continue in their wickedness: “Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails” (Habakkuk 1:3 – 4). Habakkuk asks how God’s justice can reconcile with his experience of the world. God’s answer is that he has appointed “the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people” (Habakkuk 1:6), to punish his rebellious children by taking them into exile.

Not surprisingly, this raises another moral dilemma for the prophet: Babylon is even more wicked than Judah (Habakkuk 1:13)! How could God use such a vile tool, those who are “a law to themselves” (Habakkuk 1:7)? God assures Habakkuk that he will eventually judge the Babylonians. In the meantime, the just must wait patiently, remain loyal to God, and trust God to show himself as just. In the words of Habakkuk 2:4, a verse the New Testament quotes three times (Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38), “the righteous person will live by his faithfulness.”

Justice and the Day of Judgment

Habakkuk voices the Bible’s concern to defend God’s justice and goodness, but a second problem is more personal: if God is just, how can you and I stand before him on the day of judgment? Both the Old Testament and New Testament agree: “no one living is righteous before [God]” (Psalms 143:2) and “there is no one righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10).

The only exception to this sweeping verdict is Jesus Christ. In Luke’s account of the crucifixion, the centurion at the cross concludes, “Surely this was a righteous [just] man” (Luke 23:47). Acts repeats this conclusion. Peter accuses the Jewish crowds, saying, “You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer [i.e., Barabbas] be released to you” (Acts 3:14; cf. Acts 7:52). Ananias states that God chose Paul on the road to Damascus “to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth” (Acts 22:14). Jesus’ just and righteous character connects him with Isaiah’s suffering servant, who brings salvation: “he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5).

The gospel offers us a right standing before God on the basis of Jesus’ dying in our place: “For Christ . . . suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (1 Peter 3:18). Romans 3:25 – 26 explains, “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood — to be received by faith . . . He did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” The only means of our justification is confessing our failure to live justly and trusting in the death and resurrection of Christ.

The Bible reveals the God of justice, who demands justice from his creatures. It also gives full voice to human cries against injustice and proclaims that God determines to restore justice to the whole earth.

Edited from an article by Brian S. Rosner in the NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible as found on the NIV Bible Blog Page: https://www.thenivbible.com/blog/god-of-justice-verses-found-in-the-bible/

Enduring in His Actions

I know that whatever God does will remain forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere Him.

Ecclesiastes 3:14

Powerful

The Lord gives the sun for light by day, and decrees the moon and stars for light by night; He stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the Lord of hosts is His name.

Jeremiah 31:35

Unchanging

You are the Lord; You do not change. (Malachi 3:6)

Faithful, loving and righteous

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his faithful love endures forever.

Psalm 118:1

⁵ Lord, your faithful love reaches to heaven,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
⁶ Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,
your judgments like the deepest sea.
Lord, you preserve people and animals.
⁷ How priceless your faithful love is, God!
People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
⁸ They are filled from the abundance of your house.
You let them drink from your refreshing stream.
⁹ For the wellspring of life is with you.
By means of your light we see light.

Psalm 36:5-9 CSB

Does good things

Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does wonderful things.

Psalm 72:18

• A God who pardons iniquity
• God’s character
• He IS …
• Merciful and Forgiving
• Pure
• The God of Justice: A Study of Justice and Mercy Verses Found Throughout the Bible
• The Lord’s Love, Faithfulness and Righteousness