The Justice of Jesus is the second in a four part series compiled by Scott Higgins and Baptist Care
Big Idea: Jesus fulfilled the prophetic hope that God would set the world to right. We see this in his ministry as he liberated people from things that oppressed and bound them (sin, Satan, poverty, disease, etc.).
He called those who oppressed and exploited others to repent and built a community in which people were treated with the dignity, compassion and respect. Why? Because the God of the bible identifies with the poor:
- In a male dominated world God says I stand with the widow.
- In a tribal world where it’s all about kin/blood God says I stand with the stranger/alien & the racial outsider that’s in your midst.
- because they deserved this as people created by God, loved by God and recipients of good gifts from God.
Micah 6:8 – 8 No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Introduction – There is a woman that has been in prison for almost a decade. Her name is Aasiya Noreen “Asia” Bibi – she’s a mother-of-five from Ittan Wali, a small rural village in central Pakistan.
She’s a Christian woman sentenced to death in Pakistan for insulting the Prophet Muhammad during an argument with a group of field workers. The case reportedly centres on allegations Bibi drank water from a cup shared by Muslim co-workers in 2009.
Her final appeal of the sentence was held earlier this month with no outcome yet made public. Australian diplomats have been lobbying for her release, along with Pope Benedict, and Amnesty International.
Christian minorities minister Shahbaz Bhatti and Muslim politician Salmaan Taseer were both assassinated for advocating on her behalf
Her story, and others like it, is a reminder not only of violence against women and Christians but that for many people injustice is not an occasional experience in an otherwise well lived life.
Rather it’s systemic reality under which they must live and function every day…