Jesus the Judge

He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.
–Acts 17:31

What is the highest court in the world? Most people would say the International Court of Justice, commonly known as the World Court. It was established after World War II to encourage countries to settle their disputes by the law rather than by war. The World Court consists of fifteen judges from around the world who sit in an ornate building in The Hague, Netherlands. Of course, these judges are humans, subject to the same biases and limitations as anybody else. And despite the court’s grand name, it does not have the authority to enforce its judgments.

But there is a court coming that will consist of a single perfect Judge, one whom everyone will be forced to submit to. Paul identified Him in Acts 17:31: “[God] has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” The only Judge who meets that qualification is Jesus Christ, and in the end times He is revealed to be the true Judge of all the world.

This contradicts many people’s idea of Jesus. When the average person today thinks about Jesus, they picture a tiny baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, a wise rabbi teaching on a hillside, or a benevolent physician healing the sick. Very few people imagine Jesus as a judge. After all, they argue, wasn’t it Jesus who said, “Do not judge so that you will not be judged” (Matthew 7:1)? But in the end times, Jesus is going to judge everyone–including believers.

Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body” (2 Corinthians 5:10). The Greek word translated as “judgment seat” is bema, a raised platform that was used at athletic contests. Winners would go before the bema to receive their rewards. The bema was also used in the judicial system. In Acts 18, Paul was brought before the judgment seat of the proconsul in Corinth because of his teaching. Paul used this familiar imagery to tell the Corinthian Christians that one day all believers will stand before Jesus the Judge to give an account of their lives.

Today’s devotion is adapted from “Jesus the Judge,” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2015.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.