When Justice Met Mercy

When Mercy Met Justice

Where does our desire for justice come from?  We see a story on the news about some atrocity and we immediately want to see justice done, we want fairness to be meted out for the perpetrators.  Why is that?  Even when it doesn’t affect us personally, we have a similar reaction as when an injustice happens to us in our own lives. 

I believe it boils down to this:

Our desire for justice is rooted in our awareness of the sacredness of every person. 

We recognize the “made in the image of God” quality of each and every person.  We inherently see the sanctity of every life, and the right of that life not to be violated.  The Ten Commandments are a reflection of that awareness.  A person has a right to his life, to his property, to his reputation.

But what about mercy?  After all, Jesus says, “Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you” (Matt. 5:44).  Even as he was dying on the cross, he asked God to forgive the people who put him there.  How do we reconcile such mercy with the justice we so often seek? 

Justice and mercy met in the person of Jesus, who was full of grace AND truth.  We need to see both.  If we focus solely on truth, and ignore grace, we can become legalistic, believing we can work our way up to God by the things that we do, and setting up impossible expectations for people.  If we go “all grace and no truth,” then we ignore the standards that God has set up to reflect the sacredness of human life. 

We see the perfect display of the meeting of justice and mercy when Jesus encounters a woman caught in adultery (Matthew 8:1-11).  The Pharisees were standing there, holding their stones, ready to let them fly, after asking Jesus what they should do with the woman, stating that the Law required her to be stoned.  

Then those convicting and jaw dropping words came, “Let he who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her,” Jesus said. When one by one they dropped their stones and went away, he looked at the woman and said, “Where are your accusers – has no one condemned you?”

She said, “No one, Lord.”

“Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” 

The woman met the mercy of Jesus that day, while at the same time being warned about her sin.  Her actions were not excused, but forgiven. 

Grace and truth.  Mercy and justice.  It’s not either/or, but both/and. 

“And what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).

I pray we will.