I read the familiar verses, and I reach for my dark green colored-pencil to underline the phrase. But then I pause, and instead grab my red colored-pencil.

Behold My Servant, whom I uphold,
My chosen, in whom My soul delights;
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the nations.
He will not cry aloud or lift up His voice,
or make it heard in the street;
a bruised reed He will not break,
and a faintly burning wick He will not quench;
He will faithfully bring forth justice.
He will not grow faint or be discouraged
till He has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for His law.

(Isaiah 42:1-3 ESV)

A thrice-repeated word, justice. A three-peat promise, He will bring it. But I think a two-part fulfillment.

Does God care about justice? I’m thinkin’ . . . It’s why He sent His Servant — His chosen One, the One in whom He delights — clothed in His Spirit.

And there’s a day coming, when He will establish justice in the earth. A day when His reign is established for all to see, a day when justice will be the world-known norm. A day to look forward to, a day to anticipate, a day to watch for. A day to be underlined by my dark green colored-pencil, the day of His second coming.

But the Servant in these first couple of verses isn’t characterized by power, might, and majesty, but by quietness, meekness, and humility. Not by proclamation but by a lowly presentation. And so, I instead pick up my red colored-pencil — the one I use for salvation — and underline the phrase repeated in verses one and two, He will bring forth justice.

Isn’t that what Jesus accomplished on the cross? Justice?

The price paid in full for the transgression. The penalty appropriate for the crime. He who knew no sin becoming sin for us (2Cor. 5:21). Christ, coming as the lowly Servant, appearing “once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Heb. 9:26b).

Cancelling sin’s due judgment through full atonement. Removing any lasting recrimination through full and faithful reparation. Bringing forth justice so that all who trust in His finished work might rest under the judicial declaration, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1)

He has faithfully brought forth justice to the nations! That’s a gospel truth, amen?

But wait . . . there’s more . . .

He will not grow faint or be discouraged
till He has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for His law.

(Isaiah 42:4 ESV)

He will establish justice in the earth. The operative dynamic of heaven will one day be the operative dynamic of earth. That’s a second coming truth, amen?

Okay, time to grab my dark green-colored pencil.

Because of grace. For His glory.