Jesus our Advocate
19th April 2021
1Jn 2:1-2
Who is an advocate ? Advocate is one whose profession is to plead cases in a court of justice. One who pleads in favour of a client accused of a crime. One who argues to defend the innocence of an accused on their behalf. In a court of law an accused person can be his own advocate or appoint a person on his behalf. An advocate is expected to logically and wisely argue based on the evidence presented and is not required to be convinced of the innocence of the client.
What if the Advocate knows for certain that the client is guilty not just based on evidence but based on the client’s own personal confession. Can the advocate continue to defend the client? So here is an opinion of a senior lawyer on the issue of an advocate defending a client known to be guilty “Defending someone who is known to be guilty is not a right thing for an advocate to do because in such an event he has to tell the court untruths knowing that the facts in the case are quite different from what he argues. He cannot call him to give evidence which he knows to be false and he would become a party to his perjury. The defense advocate, like the prosecution, has a professional duty to not mislead the court. If the defense advocate asks the defendant a particular question suggestive of a particular answer already knowing that the truth is quite different, it will be tantamount to misleading the court. If the advocate believes the client is guilty he cannot be effective at the hearing of the case because the duality between his duty to tell the court truth and the need to tell lies to save his client linger on him.”
In Psalm 90:8, the Psalmist knowing the Omniscience of God says “You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.” In the book of Proverbs this is the warning to people engaging in secret sins Pro 5:20-21 “Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress? For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and he ponders all his paths.” Psalm 139 is about this Omniscience of God before whom we cannot hide anything.
How then can Jesus be our advocate knowing without doubt that we are guilty of the worst crime before a Holy God ? Unless Jesus is confident of our innocence Jesus cannot defend us in the courtroom of God. The prosecution lawyer the Devil, is there accusing us with all the evidence of the crimes that we have committed in breaking every law of God. Jesus in order to make us innocent so that He can rightfully be our advocate and defend us before God, “made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” Phil 2:7-8. On the Cross, God did something amazing “by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” Col 2:14 The legal demand, in other words the penalty for our debts was that we incur the wrath of a most Holy God and be separated from all of His goodness eternally. But on the Cross all our debt was nailed on Jesus and God poured His wrath on Jesus and turned His face away from His own beloved Son. In agony Jesus cried out “My God, My God why have you forsaken me ?”. Jesus was forsaken so that He could become our advocate. Not only that Jesus took all of our sins on Himself but in exchange Jesus gave us all of His Righteousness so that we stand innocent before a Holy God. Therefore “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died–more than that, who was raised–who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.” Rom 8:33-34
He lives, the great Redeemer lives,
What joy the blest assurance gives!
And now, before His Father, God,
Pleads the full merits of His blood.
Great Advocate, almighty Friend!
On Him our humble hopes depend;
Our cause can never, never fail,
For Jesus pleads, and must prevail.
Anne Steele (1716-1778)