Do Justly

Reading Time: 8 minutes

Then the leaders tried to arrest him; but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come. 

John 7:30

Fighting for good will always cause a ruckus. Abolishing oppressive and dangerous statuses will always anger the people who benefit from them. We see this all throughout both the Bible and modern history. If you seek peace, you need to expect the same hatred Martin Luther King Jr. received. If you seek change, expect to find the same tension John F. Kennedy experienced. And if you seek liberation, it would make sense that you experience similar opposition to what Jesus experienced. Signing up to protect and heal is signing up to stand between the hurting and those who are throwing the punches. It takes a special type of conviction and boldness to fight for what’s right but we are all called to. And we see Jesus embodying this here in John 7.

It’s crazy, Jesus has an active hit on His head and people are actively planning ways to assassinate Him. Yet, He is bringing attention to Himself as He upsets the regular procedures of that day, fighting for what He was sent here to do. Jesus is teaching and calling out the oppressive and hypocritical practices of the Pharisees. He is explaining new and more accurate ways of thinking. Jesus is still healing and making life better for the hurting. Some speak favorably about Him while others call Him a fraud and a crook. Some call Him a savior and a redeemer while others call Him a danger to society. And still, He is working. He is causing discomfort in those who made their beds on the backs of the subjugated, and He is causing minds to burst with ideas of liberation in those who finally see a glimmer of hope. Jesus is polarizing, yet tactful. He speaks truth to power, while still going to Pharisees’ houses to eat and meeting them at parks for late-night chats. He is honest about His stance but doesn’t burn bridges, giving ample opportunity for those who have benefited from and even perpetuated wrongdoings to turn, learn and change their ways. He loves both sides, without giving co-sign to the actions both sides engage in. And the man who stands in the middle of the road tends to get hit by both lanes. Because Jesus seeks to fight against a current that has been flowing for years, it is causing some to love Him and others to hate Him. 

I want to remind you that as you allow the character of Christ to flow through you, this is your future. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Blessed are those who are merciful. Blessed are those whose hearts are pure. And blessed are those who work for peace.”  However, He also says, “Blessed are the persecuted,” because fighting against powers contrary to light means you're fighting darkness. People will lie about you. People will mock you. People will trample on your character before they even hear you out. But, this is all to be expected. If they hated Jesus, they will hate the Him in you. 

And it isn't just people. The devil sees that you look like His arch-nemesis. He knows that you will be invincible once you realize that the Person he can't beat is fighting for you. When playing basketball, you don't guard someone who isn’t a threat on the court. Instead, you guard someone you think may score. So why wouldn’t the devil send his best forces to try to stop you from reversing the pain he has caused? The years of trauma, brokenness, abuse, insecurity, addiction, and doubt the devil has tried to cultivate can be broken by a word. The devil believes in God, too. He knows God’s power, which is why it scares Him when you start to realize the power God is mobilizing to fight for you. 

God tells us to actively seek ways to fight for the hurt and oppressed. It doesn’t say we have to agree with how they got there. It doesn’t say to determine whether they can help themselves. It just says to help. Seek to understand people. Listen to their problems and work to help them. Defend them. Fight for their rights. Speak up. We are all learning to better do good for those around us. 

Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.

Isaiah 1:17

You are called to learn to do good. This is a process. You may not get it all at one time. But the Spirit makes things easier. He will lead you into all truth and give you the words and opportunities. Just keep being open. 

Now, I want to correctly define “persecution”. Many people charge the repercussions of them being jerks to others as a side effect of being a Christian. That isn't the persecution I am talking about. I’m not talking about the pushback you would get from not being kind, understanding, or humble. I’m not talking about the pushback you get for forcing or overexerting your beliefs onto others who didn't agree to live with the same moral law as you. I’m talking about the pushback you get for standing in the gap and doing right. The pushback you get for loving those who have been historically hated. There will be pushback because you are fighting to reverse what the devil has tried to have a stronghold in. There is pushback because you are reminding the devil that he has already lost. 

Push back for doing good just means you're on the right track. And everything will be rectified in the end. You will receive a reward for your good work. God also assures us that the present sufferings are nothing compared to the glory that will be revealed to us later (Romans 8:18). It will be worth it. Not just that. There’s peace now. There will be hurt, but there’s peace in the storm.

Let’s go back to our verse. 

Then the leaders tried to arrest him; but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come. 

John 7:30

Wait, so what happened here? What does it mean by “tried”? Did Jesus teleport? Did their arms all go limp? You mean to tell me people actively tried to take Jesus out and it didn't work? Not just that it didn't work, but they couldn’t touch Him?

People may hate you, they may want you gone, they may want you to fail. You will have haters. But no weapon formed against you will prosper. Oh, they will form. I'll assure you of that. People will be primed and ready to take you out. They will try to get you fired, replaced, or blackballed, but they don't have the final say. Leaders may try to silence you, but they won't be able to. Peers may try to discredit you, but your light speaks louder than words. 

Jesus was doing His thing, people were actively trying to kill Him, and He wasn't fazed. Why? We see it here. I think He knew they couldn’t touch them. They could form weapons but nothing could stop what God spoke into existence. God called light before He made a sun and if He can do that, when He says your best days are ahead of you I would believe it. Persecution will come. But your time to stop hasn’t. 

Do you know what’s even crazier? So we know the end of the story right? You could be like, “ok so they did not touch Jesus but it says it’s because His time hadn’t come yet. At some point, it’ll catch up to me. They’re going to get me eventually!”

However, let's really look at this. Jesus’ story doesn’t end with death. It wasn't time for Jesus to die yet here, but we know that whenever He decided to let them catch Him and die, He would've just got back up again right? What type of confidence does it give you when you know you can't die for real? Imagine knowing that no matter how bad your persecution was, no matter how bad people talked about you, no matter how bleak the situation looked, it's not the end… You can continue to fight through the pressure when you know it won't kill you. But that’s not just for Jesus, that’s for us. 

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. 

Romans 8:11

Persecution will come. Life will get hard. But not only will no one be able to touch you. There's a fight and those against you should be scared. There is resurrection power flowing through your veins. Keep fighting. You're on the right track. Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. Greater is He that is for you than he that is against you.

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