Lesson for the Lord’s Day
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 1 John 2:1
Among the many unusual stories that I encountered during my years of reporting on court cases was that of an employee of an automobile dealership who was charged with embezzling funds from his employer. His lawyer was standing before the judge, urging that the charges be dismissed on a technicality. I could tell that the judge was less than impressed with the lawyer’s abrasive attitude. While the lawyer was speaking to the judge, the court sergeant spoke up and asked the judge for a brief recess. The judge agreed, and a deputy sheriff entered the courtroom and presented the lawyer with a summons to appear in court the next day on a charge of helping his client to embezzle the funds. I glanced at the judge, who was still sitting at his bench, and noticed him trying to stifle a grin of amusement. The man facing the embezzlement charges looked shocked and dismayed. The man who he had looked to as his advocate turned out to have dirty hands and a poor relationship with the judge! How different the Advocate that you and I have when we commit a sin against God.
What a lovely title for our Advocate: Jesus Christ the righteous! This is not the only occasion where He is accorded that title. The centurion in charge of the crucifixion of Christ declared of Him, ‘Certainly this was a righteous Man’ (Luke 23:47). Both Pilate and Herod had also found Him innocent, with Pilate declaring, ‘I find in Him no fault at all’ (John 18:38). God Himself testified concerning Him at His baptism, ‘Thou art My beloved Son, in Thee I am well pleased’ (Luke 3:22). What better advocate could you and I have than Jesus Christ the righteous, with His impeccable character and His perfect relationship with the Father?
And we do need an advocate. Our enemy the devil accuses us every day before God in his vile role of the accuser of the brethren, described in Revelation 12:10. The devil watches us and takes our sins before God to challenge our right to righteousness. That’s where our Advocate comes in. Because He has paid the great price of the punishment that our sins deserve, Jesus Christ can challenge Satan’s accusations with the proof of payment, His own precious blood. The hymn writer Samuel Gandy describes it well by saying, ‘What though the accuser roar, of ills that I have done. I know them well, and thousands more; Jehovah findeth none’. And yes, dear brother, dear sister, we do sin, although we don’t make a practice of it. Our flesh is weak, regardless of how willing our spirits may be. And sinning breaks our close relationship with God. Some say that our text is for the unbeliever being called to repentance. But this is not so, because John addresses his readers as my little children, a term of endearment and close relationship. The same advocate Who pleads our cause with the Father also pleads the case with us, urging His dear children to a restored relationship with His Father.
Our Advocate is Jesus Christ the righteous. How amazing is that? -Jim MacIntosh