What do you think? Injustice resolves injustice?

• Can injustice demand injustice to remedy it?
• Does my experience of injustice qualify me to demand “justice” through injustice inflicted upon another?
• Can I require you to pay another’s debts to me?
• Can I attribute guilt to you for a crime that you did not commit against me?
• Doesn’t the Bible require Christ followers to do justice?

Tremors of Injustice in Christian Community

These questions identify tremors unfolding within the Christian community. Ethnic minorities plead for retributive justice from today’s Christians for injustices committed hundreds of years ago.

Ethnic abuse victims suffer life-long injury from the injustices which professing Christians inflicted upon them and made worse by its callous, complicity, and concealment. Claims of injustice arise, too, over disparities of income, status, and education.

Although some victims can identify their offenders, popular movements today place guilt upon huge segments of the Christian community through postmodernism’s cultural relativism: standards of right and wrong that depend upon one’s cultural beliefs, not a Biblical, objective standard of truth. They demand repentance, retribution, and reparations today from innocent people for injustices committed, in some instances, centuries ago.

In the process, these “social justice” warriors transfer culpability upon Christians now for injuries committed in the past. This contradicts the truth that 2 wrongs do not make a right.

Zacchaeus’s Gifts and Restitution

This popular movement seeks to justify its claims based upon the familiar story of Zacchaeus, a Jewish publican. It occurred during Christ's last year of earthly ministry. (1) Jesus headed towards Jerusalem for the last time before the religious leaders would crucify Him. As He passed through Jericho, crowds lined the path hampering Zacchaeus’s view of Jesus.

To enhance his view, Zacchaeus climbed a Sycamore tree to enable him to see Jesus as He passed by. When Jesus came to the tree that Zacchaeus had climbed, Jesus spoke to him saying, “Zacchaeus, come down from the tree and take me to your house."

Somehow, through his meeting with Jesus, Zacchaeus experienced a life changing transformation. As a result, he told Jesus that he would give half of his riches to the poor.

Further, Zacchaeus said that he would restore 4 times the amount of money he had defrauded people. In that day, tax collectors stole taxes in excess of the proper tax from their subjects.

Christ commented that salvation had come to Zacchaeus.

Purpose of the Story

Why did the Holy Spirit prompt Luke to include this story in his gospel?