That Just One
P.C. Barker Acts 22:14 And he said, The God of our fathers has chosen you, that you should know his will, and see that Just One… Paul here quotes from Ananias a term used to designate Jesus Christ. Its Scripture history as applied to Christ, and its significance as touching some of the deepest aspects of Christ's relations to humanity, are very worthy of some fixed attention. Notice - I. THE SCRIPTURE HISTORY OF THE EPITHET, "THAT JUST ONE," AS APPLIED TO CHRIST. Six occasions in the historical portions of the New Testament illustrate its use, namely, when it comes from the lips of Pilate's wife and afterwards of Pilate (Matthew 27:19, 24); from the lips of the Roman centurion (Luke 23:47); of Peter (Acts 3:14); of Stephen (Acts 7:52); and of Ananias in the special quotation of Paul now (ver. 14). These testimonies are noticeable for the directness of their language, for the special identification of Christ as "this just Man," or "that just Man," or "the Just One," and for the character in each case of those who uttered them. II. THE DEEPER SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SAME EPITHET AS APPLIED TO CHRIST. 1. Christ is the perfectly "righteous" One, and the only perfectly righteous One. All others have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. No other has kept the Law entirely - kept it in deed, in word, in thought, in affection, in zeal. 2. Christ's perfect righteousness is the qualification of the Mediator, that real, solemn, thrilling relationship which he sustained as between God and man. 3. Christ's perfect righteousness constituted the essential qualification of the propitiatory sacrifice. He "suffered for sins, the just for the unjust" (1 Peter 3:18). The "Advocate with the Father, and the Propitiation for out' sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world, is Jesus Christ the Righteous" (1 John 2:2) 4. Christ's perfect righteousness constitutes the perfection of his fitness to be Teacher and Exemplar to men on earth. 5. Christ's perfect righteousness is the stability of his throne of judgment, to be ere very long beheld and approached by every man who is or ever has been. He is "the Lord, the righteous Judge" (2 Timothy 4:8). - B. Parallel Verses KJV: And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. WEB: He said, 'The God of our fathers has appointed you to know his will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice from his mouth.