What did Jesus say about social justice?
By Jessica Brodie
I was nearing the end of kindergarten in May 1980 when my teacher took me aside and said we’d be getting a new little girl in class who didn’t speak any English. She and her family had just moved here, to Miami, Florida, from Cuba, and my teacher wanted me to be her special buddy and make her feel welcome. I was honored—Mrs. Alexander had singled out me for the job, and I got to make a new friend.
I don’t remember the new girl’s name, but I remember she was skinny with super-stringy black hair and the deepest, most liquid brown eyes I’d ever seen. Also, she liked to run and play outside, which suited me just fine. I wanted to make sure she liked my school, liked my class, and felt at home. After all, that’s what I would have wanted. We became fast friends, even though we didn’t speak the same language. Then the school year ended and I never saw her again.
What I didn’t learn until much later was my friend was a Marielita, one of roughly 135,000 Cuban refugees who came to Miami from Cuba's Mariel Harbor that spring, summer, and early fall. I remember hearing a lot of complaints back then about “all these refugees” coming here, taking our jobs, why didn’t they bother to learn our language, and all that. I just remembered my kindergarten buddy, and how she’d looked so scared after coming with her family from so far away to live in a strange new place, and my heart went out to her and the other Marielitos. Of course they should be allowed to have jobs, have a safe place to live and go to school, and be treated with kindness and respect, I figured. I’d want that.
Anyone would want that.
That’s what I think about when I consider the term “social justice.” Dictionary.com defines social justice as fair treatment of all people in a society, including respect for the rights of minorities and equitable distribution of resources among members of a community. Basically, it’s just treatment of all people under the law.
Recently, I was asked to speak on Jesus and social justice, and it got me thinking: What did Jesus say about social justice?
I’ve concluded Jesus cared a great deal about social justice, and if we call ourselves followers of Christ, we must care, too.
All have worth
For us as Christians, as children of God, the law we are concerned with is God’s law. Thankfully, in America and in many nations, the law of the land is also generally in accordance with God’s law. Take a look at the constitution of the United States, which begins: “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare….”
And then there’s our Declaration of Independence, which begins, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness….”
Our nation is not perfect. It’s not heaven. Over the years, we’ve realized how many people were left out of our founding documents, whether intentionally or unintentionally, including women, African Americans, and other people of color. We’re still a work in progress.
But God’s law is clear.
God’s law tells us all people are worthy no matter their gender, skin color, ethnicity, sexual orientation, ability, disability, or anything else. All humans are created in God’s image (Genesis 1:26–27). That’s right: All.
And God knows each one of us intimately and perfectly.
As it says in Psalm 139:1-4, “You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely” (NIV).
Our God is not just the God of His people but the God of the universe. And all are His children if they choose to believe. Some people don’t yet know God, or have chosen not to follow Him.
But whether they are or are not His children does not mean they are not worthy of care, justice, or protection.
When asked what is the greatest commandment in the Law, Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40).
Our neighbor is thus anyone in our proximity with whom we can share God’s love. We are called not only to love those who are similar to us or with whom we are comfortable, but all who God places in our path.
God cares about justice
God cares about justice. Throughout the Old Testament and the New, and through the works of His Son Jesus, we see how important justice, fairness, mercy, compassion, and care for all people is to God.
The Hebrew word for “justice,” mishpat, occurs in various forms more than 200 times in the Hebrew Old Testament. Its most basic meaning is to treat people equitably. It means acquitting or punishing every person on the merits of the case, regardless of race or social status. Anyone who does the same wrong should be given the same penalty.
But mishpat means more than just the punishment of wrongdoing. It also means giving people their rights.
The Old Testament shows how God was always acting throughout history to set relationships right, defend the poor, the weak, and the oppressed. God is the very manifestation of justice and mercy.
As it says in Isaiah 61:8, “For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing. In my faithfulness I will reward my people and make an everlasting covenant with them.”
God lays out his directives for social justice in Exodus 23:1-9, including that we should not spread false reports, show favoritism, deny justice to the poor people, accept a bribe, oppress a foreigner, and much more.
There are several statements throughout the Bible about how obeying these directives will lead to blessings. For instance, “Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you,” says Deuteronomy 16:20, and Proverbs 21:3 says, “To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.”
But more importantly, we are commanded to uphold justice.
“Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow,” Isaiah 1:17 says.
Isaiah 56:1 continues, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed.’”
And in Micah 6:8, “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
What did Jesus do?
Jesus did this—Jesus showed justice. Jesus, as the son of God, repeatedly said he was about his father’s business. He pursued justice; he physically and spiritually rescued those in need.
Jesus’s acts of justice involve not only healing the hurting but also confronting those who has been doing the hurting.
Jesus began his public ministry with a call to repent (Mark 1:15)—turn from injustice and alienation and turn toward life.
Then He put this into action, healing lepers (Matthew 8), caring for a woman caught in adultery (John 8), and interacting with those of “low status,” including tax collectors and sinners (Matthew 9:10-13).
Indeed, Jesus’s’ manifesto in Luke 4 suggests that the Good News is especially for the poor, blind, and captive. His life and teaching back this up repeatedly. As we see in Luke 4:16-21:
“He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’ Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’”
And in one of my favorite Scriptures, from Matthew 25, Jesus indicated that treating others well in His name is how we love and honor for Him, whether that is feeding the hungry, tending the sick, visiting those in prison, and clothing those without.
“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40).
How does this apply today?
Today, we can do the same. Social justice can take many forms. Centuries ago, it might have been advocating against slavery, smuggling, or child labor. Today it might look like doing what we can to advocate for equal access to housing, education, employment, medical care, legal rights, or physical protection. It might be standing up against hate speech and violence or opening our arms to religious minorities, immigrants, people with disabilities, people formerly incarcerated, those with HIV/AIDS, people with mental illness, or those struggling with sexual orientation or gender identity.
Whatever it is, I urge you to err on the side of love. Love like Jesus would, with open arms and care in spite of sin or social status.
Love knowing all people have value and worth in the eyes of God.
That’s social justice.