Day 17 — Jesus: Our Advocate

21 Days of Jesus, A Devotional

by Pastor Michael Gavion

9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. — 1 John 1:9–10

1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. — 1 John 2:1–2 NKJV

What comes to mind when you think about a courtroom?

Do you see a judge and the jury? Do you think about justice or a verdict?What about lawyers and the parties they represent? When a case is brought to the judge, it is in the best interest of both parties — the plaintiff (person filing suit) and the defendant (person sued or charged with a crime), to have a lawyer to serve as an advocate for them. It is the lawyer’s responsibility to speak on behalf of their party. They have the ability to see the case from both perspectives — the law as well as the party they represent. They take time to carefully prepare their case on behalf of their party. They spend time gaining a full understanding of every angle of their party’s stance and the accusation brought against them. It does not matter if their party is right or wrong, they will defend their party to the very end while upholding the ethics of the law. And a really good lawyer will eve make the case their own.

When we break God’s law, we are subject to God’s judgment, our righteous Judge. However, merciful our Judge may be, He is still just. His righteous nature will not allow Him to leave sin unpunished. The minute sin entered the world with Adam and Eve in the garden (Genesis 3 NKJV), God revealed His just nature. God quickly addressed the issue of sin (Genesis 3:22–24 NKJV). God never intended for there to be sin in the world. We were not designed the fulfill the penalty of sin. Being the loving Father He is, God provided an advocate (a lawyer) that would take our case in His court. His name is Jesus. Not only does Jesus serve as our advocate, He did one better — He then stepped in to suffer the penalty required for our sin. (Matthew 5:17 NKJV)

“17 Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” Matthew 5:17 (NKJV)

Jesus is the most ethical lawyer there is. Notice what He said, “I did not come to destroy but to fulfill”. Jesus does not try to justify what we have done wrong. He stands as our advocate, pleading our case before God. Upon hearing the verdict from our Judge, He then reminds God and the court that He stepped in to “fulfill” the penalty. What an advocate!

Lawyers today are human and therefore are subject to lose a case. Know that our Lawyer has a perfect record. He has never lost a case and He never will. Let that breathe encouragement into your soul today. Jesus takes our case personal. Jesus spent time in the earth becoming one of us, even being tempted as we were tempted — yet He did not sin (Hebrews 4:15 NKJV). He understands how it feels to be tempted. He understands how it feels to have pain. Whatever you are facing today, know that your Advocate stood in your place over 2,000 years ago that you can stand before our just Judge forgiven. There is no condemnation in Christ.

Jesus goes to God on our behalf continually reminding God of what He did and reminding the devil of what He did. (Romans 8:34 NKJV)