The First Gospel: The Gospel According to Micah | Josh Harrison
The First Gospel: Micah, Justice, and the Heart of Faith
It has become almost commonplace for those of us raised in church to treat the Old Testament as a kind of background—an intriguing, sometimes peculiar, prelude to the main event of Jesus and the New Testament. Many of us are guilty of quietly dismissing it as outdated, less relevant, or even expendable when confronted with the “real stuff” of Christian faith. But in his recent sermon, Josh Harrison rightfully challenged this assumption as part of Citizens Church’s ongoing series, “The First Gospel.” If anything, Josh reminds us, the Old Testament is not only indispensable—it is brimming with the good news that anticipates and gives context to all that comes after. Jesus himself is found woven throughout its pages.
Prophets and the Weight of History
This week, Josh turned our attention to the prophets, in particular the so-called “minor” prophet, Micah. As Josh wryly notes, the distinction between “major” and “minor” prophets is only about word count, not significance—a reminder that brevity does not equate to irrelevance. Micah’s message is directed to Judah in the aftermath of the Northern kingdom’s fall, a period when Israel’s failure to love God fully and enact justice in the world had fatal consequences. The tragic lesson: God’s people were supposed to represent God’s love to the world, and when they failed, it wasn’t just a private tragedy, but a breakdown in the divine plan for blessing the nations.
Prophets like Micah, Josh added, are less fortune-tellers than cultural critics—reading the signs of their times and pointing backwards to warn the present. They diagnose Israel’s cyclical failure: idol-worship (forgetting God) and injustice (failing to love others).
The Divine Lawsuit and an Ancient Question
Micah 6 is set as a kind of divine courtroom drama. God asks, “What have I done to you? How have I burdened you?” and then recounts his unwavering acts of deliverance and blessing. The sense is almost parental; God is bewildered by his people’s ingratitude and rebellion despite his gracious actions. The response comes—likely from Micah himself—asking how Israel might atone for its infidelity: with sacrifice, with ritual, with even the ultimate price? But as Josh highlighted, these proposed compensations are almost tongue-in-cheek, exposing the mistaken transactional view of worship that had crept into Israel’s life: sin, pay, repeat.
What Does God Require?
And then comes the famous answer, the divine verdict, which has echoed across centuries: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” For Josh, this is not just a summary of religious duty, but a reminder of what it means to be truly human—to live in the world God intended. Justice here means advocacy for the vulnerable and oppressed. Mercy, the Hebrew “hesed,” is the fierce, covenantal love that defines God’s own character. And walking humbly with God, Harrison suggested, is both intimacy with and reverence for God—a posture that recognizes God’s holiness but also his invitation to relationship.
The Real Problem: The Heart’s Condition
Yet, as Josh noted, this ancient wisdom is not enough. The problem is not that humans haven’t heard the answer, but that we have been unable to live it. Centuries—thousands of years—have passed since Micah, and still the same failures persist. The sacrificial system was always only provisional, and what is truly needed is not more religion but new hearts. The promise, Josh concluded, is that God himself will do what is needed—he will offer his own firstborn, his Son, to reconcile us. Only grace can transform; only transformed people can fulfill the call to justice, mercy, and humble fellowship.
Four Key Lessons from this Sermon
1. The Old Testament is about Jesus and contains good news.
It sets the stage and provides the themes, stories, and promises that the New Testament fulfills, making it essential for understanding our faith.
2. God desires transformed hearts, not mere religious transactions.
Rituals, sacrifices, and religious activities cannot substitute for authentic justice, mercy, and humility—they are meant to flow from a changed heart, not to purchase God’s favor.
3. Justice, mercy, and humility summarize the faithful human life.
Micah’s prophetic summary isn’t a list for extra credit; it is the core of our calling and a reflection of God’s heart.
4. Only God’s grace, demonstrated in Christ, can empower genuine transformation.
We know what is good, but we cannot do it without the transformative work of the Spirit. God’s love, shown supremely in Christ’s sacrifice, is the only power capable of making us new.
