Jesus – Our Amazing Advocate

Do you ever think about the court room imagery in the Bible?  Do you ever ponder about your legal standing before God?  It is tough to read First John 2:1-2 without thinking of Jesus Christ as the ultimate defense attorneys!  Hands down, no attorney from Yale, Harvard, or Stanford could compare.  Indeed, no legal mind could eclipse Christ’s.  No orator could defend like Christ.  No penalty could be paid like the one Christ paid.

John writes “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2).

As an advocate, Jesus Christ is the expert mediator, the skilled intercessor, who knowing that we are guilty sets out to defend us before the Judge of all the earth.   As the propitiation, Jesus appeases the wrath of God.  He offers Himself, a sacrificial atoning offering for our sins.  But not only ours, but for the sins of the whole world.

A parallel thought occurs in Romans 3:26.  Paul writes that Jesus is the just, meaning the righteous one, and also the justifier (Rom. 3:26). Jesus was just and right.  He was tempted like man yet kept the law without exception.  The perfect Christ became an offering for the sins of mankind (2 Cor. 5:21).  As the justifier, the sinless Lamb of God suffered for sinful humanity.  He willingly took the full blunt of the wrath of Heaven, the wrath that was justly due to man.  He subjected Himself to the pain and anguish all out of immeasurable love.  The greatest of news has been told!  What a blessing for us to shout it from the mountains!

When you think about advocacy, think about Christ and a court room setting.  Imagine yourself as sitting guilty before the Judge of all the earth.  Imagine Christ knowing thatyou justly deserve an eternal penalty (Rom. 6:23).   Imagine the world’s greatest defense attorney in action.  Imagine Him reading your case and analyzing all the angles of the prosecution.  Imagine Him knowing the prosecution would be right in every element of evidence presented (Rom. 5:8).  Imagine Him laying all the documents down, and Him running to your aid himself, standing in the gap of wrath, all for you and me!

The supreme Advocate knew the only way to satisfy justice was to pay the price and penalty for us.  And so Jesus willingly and lovingly died. With all His integrity, chivalry, and love, He personally put the wheels in motion to set us free.  From bloody offering to savvy defender, Christ did it for you and for me.  Hallelujah! What a savior!

Charles Wesley penned it perfectly “Amazing love! How can it be, That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?”

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