We face injustice every day—in both little ways and large ones. A rude driver cuts you off in traffic. A coworker takes credit for your work. A thief breaks into your garage and takes your new bike. A friend of mine recently had a potential client express excitement about his design work. Then he met the client in person and suddenly the man’s enthusiasm cooled. My friend was left wondering, Was I rejected because of my race?

When I’m sinned against, I can be frustrated or even angry, but the pain intensifies when someone I love is wronged. As David Schuman writes, “We cry out against injustice. When we witness the powerful taking advantage of the weak or see someone we care about mistreated, the sense of scandal stirs deep within.”

It’s how we should feel when we meditate on Jesus’s trial before Pilate. In his recent article for TGC, Schuman calls that trial “the world’s greatest injustice.” Though Jesus was declared innocent again and again (Luke 23:4, 14–15, 22), he was still mocked and delivered to death while a guilty man walked free (v. 25). “When we hear this story, we ought to feel outrage at the injustice,” writes Schuman. “But we also must look inward and recognize how, like the crowd, we’re complicit.”

Each time we’re the rude driver, each time we nurse resentment against a coworker, or harbor greed, jealousy, and prejudice in our hearts, it’s as if we’re shouting “Crucify” with the crowd. Yet just as he did for that angry mob, Jesus, through the injustice he suffered, has extended mercy to us. Just as Barrabas walked free while Jesus suffered and died, we, though guilty, are declared to be innocent sons and daughters of the Father when we place our faith in Christ. This is God’s mercy through injustice.

And thankfully, it’s not the end of the story. As we’ve just celebrated this weekend, Jesus was vindicated by the Father when he rose from the dead on Easter Sunday. And because of the salvation he accomplished through his death and resurrection, we can be confident that every injustice we face will one day be undone. Praise God! “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Romans 4:25 NIV).

Grateful for his mercy,