Transcript Zechariah

“…he will lead justice to victory”
(Matthew 12:20)
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Heaven and Hell:
 Entering into the presence of God
God’s wrath:
 God sadly abandoning/forsaking/giving
up/handing-over his children who choose to
leave his side
God’s justice
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Substitute another word for justice
 Punishment?
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“God is love, but God also punishes the sinner
and hates all who do iniquity. God is not one
sided. He is not simply an infinitely loving
God. He is also infinitely just. He must deal
with sin. He must punish the sinner.”
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“We will bring the terrorists to justice.”
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Assumptions
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Wrath of the Lamb
Failure to take the Bible as a whole
Fire/Gehenna
 God’s wrath
 God’s justice
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Failure to hold Jesus as the defining image of
God’s character
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“Then I saw heaven open, and there was a white
horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True; it is with
integrity that he judges and fights his battles. His
eyes were like a flame of fire, and he wore many
crowns on his head. He had a name written on him,
but no one except himself knows what it is. The
robe he wore was covered with blood. His name is
‘The Word of God.’ The armies of heaven followed
him, riding on white horses and dressed in clean
white linen. Out of his mouth came a sharp sword,
with which he will defeat the nations. He will rule
over them with a rod of iron, and he will trample
out the wine in the wine press of the furious anger
of the Almighty God.” (Revelation 19:11-15)
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“Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put
my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim
justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or
cry out; no one will hear his voice in the
streets. A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff
out, till he leads justice to victory.”
(Matthew 12:18-20 – NIV)
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“How terrible for you, teachers of the Law
and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You give
to God one tenth even of the seasoning
herbs, such as mint, dill, and cumin, but
you neglect to obey the really important
teachings of the Law, such as justice and
mercy and honesty. These you should
practice, without neglecting the others.”
(Matthew 23:23)
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“Then the LORD spoke his word to
Zechariah. He said, ‘This is what the
LORD of Armies says: Administer real
justice, and be compassionate and kind
to each other. Don't oppress widows,
orphans, foreigners, and poor people.
And don't even think of doing evil to
each other.” (Zechariah 7:8-10)
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“Defend the poor and fatherless; Do
justice to the afflicted and needy.”
(Psalm 82:3)
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“Wash yourselves clean. Stop all this
evil that I see you doing. Yes, stop
doing evil and learn to do right. See
that justice is done---help those who
are oppressed, give orphans their
rights, and defend widows.” (Isaiah
1:16-17)
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“This is what the LORD says to the
dynasty of David: ‘Give justice each
morning to the people you judge!
Help those who have been robbed;
rescue them from their oppressors.’”
(Jeremiah 21:12)
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“The LORD is waiting to be kind to
you. He rises to have compassion
on you. The LORD is a God of
justice.” (Isaiah 30:18)
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“For this is what the Sovereign LORD
says: ‘Enough, you princes of Israel!
Stop your violence and oppression and
do what is just and right. Quit robbing
and cheating My people out of their
land. Stop expelling them from their
homes, says the Sovereign LORD.’”
(Ezekiel 45:9 - NLT)
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“The LORD has told us what is
good. What he requires of us is
this: to do what is just, to show
constant love, and to live in
humble fellowship with our
God.” (Micah 6:6-8)
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“Act with justice (mishpat) and
righteousness (tsedeka), and deliver from
the hand of the oppressor anyone who has
been robbed. And do no wrong or
violence to the alien, the orphan, and the
widow, or shed innocent blood in this
place” (Jeremiah 22:3 NRSV).
 “The
gist of Tsedaka is charity,
the giving of your time or
money to help someone else,
without expecting something in
return. It is one of the
cornerstones of the Jewish
religions.”*
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…Jewish kings were commanded to practice mishpat
u’tzedakah. The literal translation of this term is “justice
and righteousness” or “justice and charity.” Classical as
well as modern commentators agree that this command
does not refer to “courtroom justice and charity” but to
social justice. The major wrongdoing to which the prophets
objected was not the perversion of the judicial process, but
oppression and exploitation of the poor by the political elite
and the wealthy classes…One modern political scientist
wrote, ‘the execution of righteousness and justice in the
royal domain refers primarily to acts on behalf of the poor
and less fortunate classes of the people.’ This policy was
implemented primarily by means of social legislation rather
than by court judgments. The idea (or ideal) of social
justice has a long history in Judaism.” “From Charity to Social
Justice”, Frank Loewenberg, Published by Transaction Publishers, 2001, page
159
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“I will discipline you, but with justice; I
cannot let you go unpunished” (Jeremiah
30:11 NLT).
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Not:
 Quid-pro-quo payback justice
 Retributive justice
 Legal justice or justice that involves an
imposed painful penalty
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Healing the sick, lepers, blind, the deaf
Eating with sinners and tax collectors
Feeding the 5,000
His treatment of women
“Blessed are the meek – for they will inherit the
earth” (Matthew 5:5)
“Blessed are the poor; the kingdom of God is
yours.” (Luke 6:20)
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“God presented him as a sacrifice of
atonement, through faith in his blood. He
did this to demonstrate his justice, because
in his forbearance he had left the sins
committed beforehand unpunished—he
did it to demonstrate his justice at the
present time, so as to be just and the one
who justifies those who have faith in
Jesus.” (Romans 3:25-26 – NIV)
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“God offered him, so that by his blood he should
become the means by which people's sins are
forgiven through their faith in him. God did this
in order to demonstrate that he is righteous. In
the past he was patient and overlooked people's
sins; but in the present time he deals with their
sins, in order to demonstrate his righteousness. In
this way God shows that he himself is righteous
and that he puts right everyone who believes in
Jesus.” (Romans 3:25 – GN)
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“While retributive justice seeks to fit the
punishment to the crime, attempting to
control wrongdoing through punishment,
restorative justice forgives the crime and seeks
to redeem wrongdoing through a repairing of
the relationship…At the Cross we see God
turning away the opportunity to exact
retributive justice and the demand for
retribution, and instead God would choose to
forgive.
Sharon Baker. Stricken by God?
William Eerdmans Publishing
Company, 2007, pages 234-235.
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“At the Cross we come face to face with
the shameful depravity of our own sin
by coming face to face with the One
who has the right and the power to
punish but who instead loves and
forgives…In the face of human hatred
and hardness of heart, God still
managed to redeem.”
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Makes God a “softie”
Makes light of sin
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Sin
God’s wrath & justice viewed as retributive
punishment that is externally imposed
Smoking
Physician’s wrath & justice viewed as
retributive punishment that is externally
imposed
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Legalism
Obedience
 Obsessed with ones legal standing
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