This sermon was preached on the festival of the Baptism of Jesus, 11th January 2026.
Matthew 3.13-end
I don’t know about you, but looking at the news the past few weeks, it feels like there is no shortage of injustices taking place across the world as nations declare violence and war on other nations. In addition to regular features in the news, such as Ukraine and Israel, we have seen Venezuela and Greenland included this past week, too. When we see these kinds of stories circulating in the news cycles, we can find ourselves feeling despondent and hopeless. What can we do to stop these powerful masters of war who create such chaos and destruction? Now, hold this in your mind as I read to you these words about Jesus.
‘The Lord says, “Here is my servant, whom I strengthen— the one I have chosen, with whom I am pleased. I have filled him with my Spirit, and he will bring justice to every nation…He will bring lasting justice to all…he will establish justice on the earth.’[1]
These words are from the prophet Isaiah, speaking about Jesus’ baptism, which took place 700 years later. They tell us that about what will happen when the Lord’s servant is filled with the Spirit of God.
At his baptism, Jesus is lowered under the water by his cousin John the Baptist and lifted back up to symbolise the new life to be found in God and also to mark the beginning of his ministry. As Jesus begins his ministry, we see God’s Spirit descend upon him like a dove and light upon him. ‘Then a voice said from heaven, “This is my own dear Son, with whom I am pleased.”’[2] This is the moment spoken about in Isaiah’s prophecy. Jesus is the Lord’s servant who is filled with the Spirit of God, and will bring justice to every nation.
In a world of injustice, Jesus comes to bring justice not only to Israel but to every nation. To Ukraine, to Venezuela, to Greenland and Denmark. To every nation. He will bring lasting justice to all people, and justice will be established on the earth. In Jesus, we find a hope for peace in a broken world we cannot seem to fix on our own. Jesus’ baptism marks the beginning of the justice we have been longing for in this world.
But if Jesus’ baptism marks the beginning of his ushering in of justice for all the world, how is there still so much injustice 2000 years later? Why do we continue to see all the horrible things happening on the news each day? This doesn’t appear to be what God was speaking about.
In our confusion, we must remember that Jesus’ baptism was only the beginning. There is still more to come. It was the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, and much more would follow in the gospels. But it is also the beginning of God enacting his work of justice for all the world. We have still not reached the end. There is more justice to come as Jesus is at work in the world.
As much as we might be disappointed to see that injustice persists in the world and that powerful forces of injustice remain at play, we must remember what Isaiah said about how Jesus will bring justice to the earth. ‘He will not shout or raise his voice or make loud speeches in the streets. He will not break off a bent reed nor put out a flickering lamp.’[3]
This is not how we expect a saviour to bring justice. That is never how the hero saves the day in the movies. The hero flies in, beats up some bad guys, stops the bomb, and saves the day. But this isn’t how Jesus brings justice. He will not swoop in and beat up the bad guys of this world. But he will work in quiet ways that will move through the world spreading like medicine through the body, rather than the chaos of cutting it in half like an amputation. And I think that is important for us to recognise. That Jesus’ work is more like a medicine working to heal the body rather than amputating the broken part. An amputation would be quicker, but you lose so much in the process. Whereas the medicine can bring healing to the whole body, it just requires more time to work effectively through the body.
If Jesus gave us justice in the way we expect, we would lose so much of the world and its people. Additionally, we would be subject to Jesus’ judgment and justice for all wrongdoing and injustice we commit. You might say, ‘but I am not declaring war on nations as some people do.’ But the truth is that we all fall short and get things wrong. We get things wrong every day, and if God’s justice worked quickly, then none of us would still be around. We would all have faced our justice. But God is merciful and chooses to work his justice in a different way. It does not make God’s justice weak or fallible. It remains perfect and true. However, in his gracious way of working justice as a process, we see that justice becomes an opportunity for healing transformation, like a medicine.
God’s justice might not come as the big swoosh to save the day as we all hope. The people in Jesus’ day expected the same, and they were disappointed that Jesus wasn’t a saviour who would swoop in to defeat the Romans and save Israel. But we know that Jesus was bringing his justice in a quiet and unexpected way through the disgrace of the cross. It was his death and resurrection that brought the justice we needed to be made right with God, and now Jesus has called us to play a part in sharing this gospel with others, and in doing so, we help to share and spread God’s justice across the world.
Have a look at the kind of justice work that takes place in the world and across our communities. We see the hungry being fed through our food banks. We see the sick being cared for by our hospitals, free at the point of use. We see reconciliation and unity among people who have been enemies for generations. We see those in danger supported and rescued by the emergency services, police, social services, and aid workers. It’s not a big hero swooping in to save the day kind of justice, but it is a form of justice that works quietly, like Jesus. It spreads steadily and effectively, like a medicine, not like the quick blade of an amputation.
Jesus’ baptism was not the fulfilment of all justice, but it was the marker of what was to come. It pointed to God’s promise to bring justice to all the earth. It signalled the beginning of Jesus’ justice, which reached its pinnacle on the cross and has continued to yield justice ever since. We are witnesses to all that Jesus has done and to how he is ushering in his just kingdom. However, we often forget that, as Jesus’ witnesses, he has called us to share the good news across the world. This means telling people about Jesus, but it also means going out to share his justice in this world. We go out to share God’s justice as Jesus’ hands and feet in this world. We feed the hungry, care for the sick, resolve divisions, and become carriers of Jesus’ healing medicine in this world. This is the quiet and unassuming work we are called to as Christians, and it is in these ways that we share God’s justice in this world.
Jesus is working his justice in this world. It might not happen as we expect, but Jesus is at work to bring his justice to the whole earth, and we can trust that in the end there will be justice for all.
Amen.
[1] Isaiah 42:1-4 [GNB].
[2] Matthew 3:17 [GNB].
[3] Isaiah 42:2-3 [GNB].
Shakeel Nurmahi 