In the parables of the persistent widow and the Pharisee and tax collector in Luke 18, there is a common desire for justification. The widow desires justice. She has an adversary who is oppressing her, and she desires that this unjust judge set things right by declaring her to be in the right, her adversary to be in the wrong, and granting her what she is asking for.
The Pharisee and tax collector both go to appear before God’s throne, the judgment seat, at the temple. Each is calling upon God to render a judgment of vindication or justification. The Pharisee believes that judgment should be rendered based on his good works apart from the mercy of God. The tax collector desires God to rule in his favor based upon the provision of merciful propitiation. Both desire to be declared to be in the right, to be justified. Only the tax collector is, but Jesus’ words infer that this is the aim of the Pharisee as well.
What is this justification that all of these characters were seeking? If you are Reformed, your mind might go straight to a catechism question: “What is justification? Justification is the act of God’s free grace wherein he pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.” (Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question #33) That answer is true as far as it goes, but the biblical theme of justification is much larger than my personal experience of salvation wherein I am saved from the flames of hell.
Justification or vindication is to be declared to be in the right or to be right. But right about what? What’s the question?
The question is, who are the true sons of God? Who is in right relationship with God? The implications of this are not merely personal but cosmic. The son of God is the one who is the faithful image of God, and, therefore, the one to whom the Father has given lordship or dominion over the world. The son of God is God’s near kinsman to whom God will restore any lost inheritance and avenge if his blood is shed. (Lev 25.23-28; Num 35)
The rift between Jesus and the leadership in Israel was the question of who was justified, who was in the right. Is Jesus the true son of God, or are the Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, and priests the true sons of God? Whom will God exalt to inherit rule over the world originally given to Adam and promised to David’s son?
At his baptism and in the transfiguration, Jesus was proclaimed by God to be his son. Jesus proclaimed that he was God’s true son and that God would vindicate (justify) these claims by raising him from the dead and fulfilling his prophecies concerning the destruction of Jerusalem.
The leadership in Israel scoffed.
There is only one way to settle this: There will have to be a trial in which both of their cases are presented and the Judge renders his verdict.
Israel, acting in the name of God, eventually brought Jesus to a trial and condemned him as a false son, a blasphemer. They put him to death, sending the case up to the highest court, God’s heavenly throne, for God to render his verdict. If Jesus remained dead, then the leadership of Israel was right. God would be declaring them the faithful sons of God, heirs and rightful lords of the world.
God rendered his verdict on the first day of the week, raising Jesus from the dead. Paul, quoting what seems to have been a common confession among Christians in the early church, says that Jesus was “vindicated by the Spirit” in 1Timothy 3.16. He also says in Romans 1.4 that he was declared to be the son of God with power through the resurrection. God justified Jesus as his son. He is the rightful Lord of the world.
This means that Jesus is God’s near kinsman. The world that was lost has been redeemed and restored to his. Also, those who shed his blood deserve death at the hand of the Avenger. This happens when God destroys Jerusalem, avenging the blood of his son (and those united to him, the church), further vindicating the claims of Jesus. Jesus is the Justified One.
Our justification is in the Justified One. We are in the right with God only as we are united to Christ Jesus, resting in the mercy of his propitious sacrifice. God announces this justification in our death and resurrection in baptism and will announce it fully and finally in our resurrection from the dead at the last day. Being justified by faith in Christ means that we are declared true sons of God, rightful lords of the world, ruling and reigning with Christ, with the mission of moving this world from glory to glory. Being justified in Christ also means that Jesus is our near kinsman with whom we inherit all things. As our near kinsman, he will also avenge us of all the wrongs done to us. As we pray with the Psalmists and persevere in that prayer as we are instructed in the parable of the persistent widow, God will justify us through taking vengeance on our enemies and set things right.
Saints, don’t lose heart. There are many who condemn, but it is only the judgment of God that matters. If you are in Christ Jesus, he has already judged in your favor.
