On This Day: From Justice Denied to Justice Satisfied

   Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:

“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
    and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
    so he opens not his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him.
    Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”

   And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. (Acts 8:32-35 in context of Acts 8:26-40)

   What did you feel when you read that line, “In his humiliation justice was denied him”?

   Jesus' “humiliation” summarizes all the unjust ways he was treated, culminating in the shame of death by crucifixion. Paul described it like this,

   though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:6-8).

   Isaiah’s prophesy set the stage to explain how the injustice against the Messiah would bring about the justice of God against our sin. Since “the wages of sin is death,” the Messiah would suffer the injustice of dying to save us from the just (and deadly) condemnation of our sins.

   Part of the reason this stood out so strongly this morning is the current movement to attack God’s “injustice” against his Son. The “More Christlike” cult claims that this portrayal of Yahweh is not Christlike enough. To the proponents of this teaching, it is not like Christ to do something so unjust to someone as to cause them to suffer for someone else’s sins. In their minds (not God’s), Isaiah’s revelation of Yahweh is not Christlike enough and needs to be corrected. I spent considerable time slogging through one of the books this cult has published and found it a horrible example of the New Testament warnings about false teachers.[1]

   The other reason this stood out is simply the realization of how hopeless we would be if God did not “put forward” his Son “as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith” (Romans 3:25). Propitiation means for one person to bear the justice of God against another person. God gave his Son “to make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17). “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (I John 4:10).  

   These Scriptures are talking about “In his humiliation justice was denied him.” In Jesus’ suffering, justice was denied him because he was bearing God’s justice against the sins of others. And it is only because “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed” (I Peter 2:24).

   So, when Paul wrote that, “It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26), he was summarizing what Jesus did through the injustice against him. He willingly bore our sins (the injustice of a man being humiliated in crucifixion when he had done nothing wrong), so that God’s justice was fully satisfied and we could be forgiven.

   One of the most awe-inspiring expressions of this is, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (II Corinthians 5:21). That’s what Isaiah spoke about 700 years before Jesus died on the cross. God fully satisfied his justice against our sin by pouring out his wrath upon his Son, and that means God is fully just to make us righteous with his own righteousness.

   Please be guarded against anyone claiming that there is something wrong with God punishing his Son for our sins. Jesus went willingly to the cross. He willingly suffered our condemnation. God’s love for us is without question, and so is his genius in making a way of salvation that turns sinners into saints. His plan was to have a people in his own image and likeness, and satisfying his justice against our sin was a necessary part of the plan from before time began.

   And please allow your heart to rejoice in the so great salvation we have in Jesus Christ. Included in Isaiah’s prophecies about Jesus was this glorious expression:

   Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
    make many to be accounted righteous,
    and he shall bear their iniquities (Isaiah 53:11).

   Jesus felt the unjust “anguish of his soul” in suffering for us, but he saw the very thing for which he died and was “satisfied”. “It is finished!” And because Jesus came to “bear their iniquities”, we can be one of the “many” who would “be accounted righteous”.

   And if all that amazing weaving together of truth in the divine tapestry doesn’t lift your soul with wonder and praise, perhaps you first need to be the “blessed are the poor in spirit” who admit you are the sinner who needs such a Savior as this.

 

© 2025 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)

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[1] I was asked to read the book by Brad Jersak titled, “A More Christlike Word” in which the author claims the Bible is not Christlike enough and he and his helpers are a much better authority about Jesus than the prophets (like Isaiah). I had already considered Brad Jersak to be a false teacher from listening to him being interviewed, and going through his book solidified that conclusion. The fact that he also says that the God of the Old Testament (Yahweh) is not Christlike enough, and the Way of the church Jesus is building is not Christlike enough, secures Brad Jersak in Paul’s warnings about false teachers, and the “More Christlike” movement as a cult that is leading people away from both the “word” and the “Word” of God.

  However, in an attempt to resolve the conflict with the people who asked me to read the book, I spent over 5 months making a “journal journey” through the book, honestly assessing what the author taught, and honestly responding with what I was reading for myself. You can find my 102 blog posts about this book under the label of “Countering Counterfeits” on my blog.

   Here is a link to the first entry titled, A Journal Journey with Brad Jersak’s “Different” Jesus – Day 1: https://in2freedom.blogspot.com/search?q=A+Journal+Journey+with+Brad+Jersak%E2%80%99s+%E2%80%9CDifferent%E2%80%9D+Jesus+%E2%80%93+Day+1

On This Day: Stephen’s Prayer for Saul’s Forgiveness

   Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. And Saul approved of his execution. (Acts 7:58-8:1)

   Sometime in the past couple of weeks, someone posted another stereotypical post about Christians only having two options in dealing with how we relate to those who wrong us. One option is always presented as forgiveness (even if the person hasn’t repented), the other option is always presented as anger or bitterness. Since we all know we shouldn’t give room for sinful anger or bitterness, we are tricked into thinking we must then choose to forgive people who have never repented of what they have done.

   When I ask people who believe this where in the Bible do we have an example of God, the prophets, Jesus, or the apostles forgiving someone who is clearly unrepentant, I am never given a text where this is shown. I can show multiple examples of unrepentant people not being forgiven, but there isn’t one example where a person is unrepentant about their sin but is forgiven anyway.

   However, there are two Scriptures that are claimed as proof that we are to forgive unrepentant people. One is when Jesus from the cross prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” The other is when Stephen was dying and he prayed, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” I am told that this was them forgiving their enemies. And, because I just came to Stephen’s prayer this morning, it seems timely to once again share some very liberating insights.

   My response to the claim that Jesus and Stephen were forgiving their enemies is always something to the effect of, “Read it again.” If the texts were telling us that Jesus and Stephen were forgiving their persecutors, the wording would need to be from Jesus, “Father, I forgive them…”, and from Stephen, “Lord, I do not hold this sin against them.”

   The wording by both Jesus and Stephen is prayer. They are both talking to “our Father in heaven”, and they are both praying for their persecutors. When we realize Jesus DID instruct us to pray for our persecutors, and we see that this is what Jesus was doing, we can back up a bit and ask ourselves what it would look like for us to pray for our enemies like that.

   Back in 1993, I was introduced to the concept of “freedom in Christ”. I was on the verge of heading through one of the most painful valleys of my life as childhood trauma and abuse came leaking out of my people. I began to see how many Scriptures spoke of God doing things for us that I had not seen him doing in me or others, and I felt a longing to experience God the way I was learning in his word.

   In the 3+ decades since then, it has become clear to me why it is so important to show people the difference between praying that God would forgive someone (like Jesus and Stephen did) and just forgiving them even if they haven’t repented (which can’t be found in Scripture). When we know that God never forgives people until they repent, then our prayer for their forgiveness is with the understanding that people “presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance”.

   Why do we need God’s kindness leading us to repentance if we are forgiven without repenting? If all our sins are cancelled without repenting, why did Jesus say that “repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (Luke 24:7)? There is no forgiveness anywhere in the Bible without repentance.

   It is very liberating for abused and traumatized people to understand that no one is forgiven until they repent. Their abusers, their persecutors, their enemies, will not be forgiven unless they repent. If we pray for God to bless them, he won’t answer that prayer without humbling them to repentance first.

   So, instead of these victims cringing at the feeling of injustice with the “just forgive” mantra that can’t be found in the Bible, they can let God lead them into his grace where they truly want God to reach those people with his love and mercy because they have no hope until they repent and are forgiven.

   And when we can truly pray for these people that God would forgive them, and we know this can only happen if they repent, we are able to accept God’s will in this because we can allow ourselves to want these people to experience God’s kindness leading them to repentance just as we experienced for ourselves.

   I know I am in the minority when I show these things from God’s word. If you’re not convinced, I’m still waiting for someone to show me a scene in Scripture where someone is clearly unrepentant and either Yahweh or his prophets in the Old Testament, or Jesus and his apostles in the New Testament, forgave the unrepentant person who was continuing in sin. In all my times through the Bible, I have not come across one instance of this.

   To encourage me in this viewpoint of Stephen’s prayer for his persecutors (not him forgiving his enemies), I found this comment from William Hendriksen in his commentary on Acts 7. He wrote,

Reflecting on the death of Stephen and Paul’s consent, Augustine made this penetrating comment:
    “If Stephen had not prayed,
    the church would not have had Paul.”[1]

Augustine (and William Hendriksen with him) saw that Stephen’s prayer, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them,” is linked to our introduction to sinful Saul, who became the beloved apostle Paul. When we continue down the road and see how God’s kindness brought Paul to repentance, we can see how Stephen’s prayer was answered in God’s gift to Paul of repentance and faith.

   For me, this hit the bull’s eye of my heart today, not as a way to win a debate on the topic of “to forgive or not to forgive”, but to realize that I have “Sauls” in my life who need me to pray for their forgiveness. I know God will only answer that prayer by leading them to repentance (I have lots of Beatitudinal Valley illustrations to go along with this), and I know I want them to experience that mercy from God as I have on so many occasions.

  Ultimately, we do not pray to make God do something our way. Our praying is to line us up with God’s will. God leading me to pray this way is his will, and it is up to him if I ever see the answer. Stephen did not see his prayer answered that day because he died just seconds later. But seeing Paul’s arrival in eternity some decades later (whatever that feels like in the spiritual realm) would have been an experience of joy filled with praise to God.

   Today, I will pray in hope and praise in confidence. God will work it for good, and I might live long enough to see some of my Sauls reconcile with both God and his people. In the meantime, praying the way Jesus and Stephen did keeps my heart free, and that’s what the people in my life need from me each day. 

 

© 2025 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)

 

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[1] Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953–2001). Exposition of the Acts of the Apostles (Vol. 17, pp. 281–282). Baker Book House.