Hope for Justice: Exodus 23:6-7; Acts 24:10-16

This past Monday, January 17, 2022 America celebrated the life and legacy of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King was a leader in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Dr. King was killed by an assassin’s bullet on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. Designed to honor him, MLK Day became a federal holiday in 1983. It falls on the third Monday of every January. Dr King is remembered for his work in bringing justice to every citizen of the United States of America. The nation recognizes Dr. King’s work. People recall his words, his eloquence of speech, his intellect, and his tenacity. For many people Dr. King is a symbol of hope for justice. Because of his work people expect that someday justice will prevail throughout the land. His life gives citizens confidence that justice will become the way of life in America. Can the work of Dr. King give us hope for justice? Can we put our confidence in his words? If we follow Dr. King do we have hope for justice?

Although thousands, maybe millions of people celebrate Dr. King’s birthday I wonder how many of the people really understood him. Was he a civil rights worker? Was he a preacher? What motivated him to do what he did? Yes, he was a drum major for justice, but exactly what is justice, and who determines what is just and unjust? Until we all see justice and injustices in the same way, the quest for justice will continue to be a dream that never comes true. So, let us take a look at who Dr. King was; what motivated him to do what he did; and the power that was in him to press forward with his work.

Dr. King was an ordained Baptist minister. When he first became involved in the civil rights movement he was the pastor of a church in Montgomery, Alabama when a boycott of the bus system was called. Dr. King became the leader of the boycott and subsequently became a leader in the civil right movements. When I looked up his name for information about him for this article, I did not find a lot of information about his call to ministry and pastor. I did not find much about his faith, religion, and his dedication to service for the kingdom of God. This is unfortunate because one cannot fully appreciate Dr. King’s work for civil rights and justice until they learn about his faith in God; his commitment to service for God; and his dependence upon the word of God found in the bible. Let’s look at three examples.

First, Dr. King was often heard saying: “Let justice run down as waters and righteousness as a mighty stream.” How many people think that this statement was from the brilliant mind of Dr. King? How many people that quote Dr. King know that he was repeating the words of the prophet Amos found in the Old Testament book of the prophets—Amos 5:24? What did Amos mean when he said these words? Both Amos and King were saying that justice will not become a reality until the people become righteous. That is the reason that Dr. King called for the nation to live up to its creed that all men are created equal. Righteousness is not a matter of what human beings think. Rather, righteousness is being in right relationship with God, obeying His commands to love God and all people without reservation (See Matthew 22:35-40). The founding fathers of this nation were not perfect. They did not fully understand what God required of them. They did however, understand that their hope for a “more perfect union” was attainable only if they stood in a right relationship with God and if they would seek God’s guidance and direction as they struggled to become a nation of people committed to God.

Secondly, Dr. King talked about the necessity of light in order to extinguish darkness. Again, Dr. King was borrowing from the scriptures. In the bible darkness represents ignorance and evil. Light, on the other hand represents knowledge and good. Although not exclusive to the gospel of John, John tells us that only Jesus is the light that can extinguish darkness. His truth extinguishes the world’s lies. The life of Jesus shows us that we have to change our way of thinking and our way of living if we are to be right before God. “Then Jesus spoke to them saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the Light of life’” (John 8:12, NASB). Again, we can see that Dr. King, a Baptist minister was motivated by his own relationship with God. His brilliance came from God—the words of the prophets and Jesus. Dr. King lived his life following the example of Jesus Christ. Non violence is not natural to human beings. We are naturally bent toward that which is evil (See Galatians 5:17-21). In order to overcome our evil nature we must be led by the Spirit of God which gives us a new nature. “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16, NASB).

Our third example comes from Dr. King’s words that tell us that only love can conquer hate. Again, this is the teaching of scripture. We have already mentioned the two commandments in the Law that Jesus said were the two greatest commandment (Matthew 22:37, 39). In addition, the necessity of love is another theme in the writings of John—the gospel of John; 1 John; 2 John; 3 John). Love for one another was to be the distinct mark of the believing community. First, God loved us, and He gave His Son for us so that our sins might be forgiven and reconcile us to God (See John 3:16-18). Jesus gave His disciples a new commandment to love one another in the same way that He had loved them. In showing love for each other the world would know that they had been with Him (See John 13:34-25). The opposition to righteousness and justice is inevitable because the ways of the world are totally different from the ways of God. “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him” (1 John 3:1, NASB).

So, here it is my fellow Christian brothers and sisters. Our nation celebrates MLK Day every third Monday in January. The holiday began in 1983, but the cry for justice is louder today than it was then. Although the news media reminds us that Dr. Marin Luther King, Jr. was pivotal to the advancement of civil rights and justice the cry of Amos remains a needed cry in our country today. Darkness still rules. Hatred continues to raise its head. Injustices are a reoccurring reality every day. The Christian church must do more than lead a celebration of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The church should not limit itself to quoting the words of Dr. King. The church must tell the world that the words and actions of Dr. King were motivated by the words of the prophets and Jesus. We should begin by teaching justice among the members in our congregations. Justice is not a matter of how we feel about a thing. Justice is a reality among people that know Jesus Christ and hold to His teaching so that truth is known. Truth makes us free (See John 8:31-32). Thus, our hope for justice is found only in Jesus Christ.