How is Jesus Our Lawyer, and Why is that Good News? #54
Happy Lord’s Day, everybody! Today’s pod will be short, and hopefully sweet as we discuss the powerful truth that Jesus is our advocate. We will be reading Exodus 6, Job 23, Luke 9 and 1 Corinthians 10 today. I’d like to give a shoutout to Lamar, who gave a remarkably encouraging review on iTunes:
Neither bland nor monotonous☆☆☆☆☆Three things going on here: first it’s a Bible reading podcast just as titled, the readings are pleasant and joined with interesting and often very practical discussion. If you’re looking for a reading plan, Chase follows one that will take you thru the Bible in a year also repeating important books. If you’re like me and have repeatedly fallen off yearly reading plans but still feel compelled to read, pick a chapter out of the day’s reading plan (notably the focus passage from the notes) and read it before listening and then you’re cracking a book as well as getting your volume of Scripture input daily. Primarily, this is a daily reading podcast. You typically don’t have to backtrack to benefit as there are few discussions that continue day-to-day and most critical scripture passages will get repeated tho I suspect the discussion will remain fresh. Chase attempts and pleasantly achieves a dramatic and fun reading of scripture and models a good way to read scripture to your children and yet does not offend this listener’s sense of maturity. There is good topical discussion surrounding daily focus passages that is approached with solid biblical theology but is not a theology podcast that wanders into the weeds. It’s a good listen to go along with a great read. LaMaR925 via Apple Podcasts ·United States of America ·02/19/2020
Thank you, Lamar! Today’s focus question comes from our Job passage, specifically verses 1-7 where Job wishes that he could face God in a courtroom, and expresses the hope that he might be found innocent, if only a fully righteous advocate/lawyer could be found to plead with God on Job’s behalf. As a reminder, an advocate is a person who speaks or writes in support or defense of a person.
Then an upright man could reason with him,
Job 23:7
and I would escape from my Judge forever.
This echos Job’s earlier cry for a lawyer/advocate who might intercede with God on Job’s behalf from Job 16:
Earth, do not cover my blood;
Job 16:19-21
may my cry for help find no resting place.
19 Even now my witness is in heaven,
and my advocate is in the heights!
20 My friends scoff at me
as I weep before God.
21 I wish that someone might argue for a man with God
just as anyone would for a friend.
Job realizes that having some sort of upright/righteous/holy lawyer that had access to Heaven would be an incredible help to him – perhaps such an advocate could speak to God on Job’s behalf and intercede for him. The wonderful news for us in the New Covenant era is that Jesus has become the very advocate that Job wished for – even far beyond his wildest dreams. Check out this beautiful truth from 1 John 2:
My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ the righteous one. 2 He himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world.
1 John 2:1-2
Our great trouble is that our lives have missed God’s mark of perfection – we have fallen short of His holiness in every way possible, and our sins have earned us judgment, and the penalty is death. This is terrifying because the Bible teaches us in multiple places that at the end of our lives and at the end of the world all humans will face judgment in God’s courtroom. We already know our plea: guilty. The just Judge has all of the evidence needed to convict us and sentence us to death. However, the Judge is also merciful, and He has provided an advocate for us. That advocate is Jesus, and not only does Jesus ‘represent’ those who are His in the Father’s courtroom, He is also the one who pays the penalty for their sin – IN FULL! – to the court’s satisfaction. No wonder the Bible calls this the ‘Good News!’ I’ll close this short reflection with some fantastic and encouraging words from our friend Charles Spurgeon about the joyful news of Jesus our Advocate:
“If any man sin, we have an advocate.” Yes, though we sin, we have him still. John does not say, “If any man sin, he has forfeited his advocate,” but “we have an advocate,” sinners though we are. All the sin that a believer ever did, or can be allowed to commit, cannot destroy his interest in the Lord Jesus Christ, as his advocate. The name here given to our Lord is suggestive. “Jesus.” (Jesus means Yahweh saves) Ah! then he is an advocate such as we need, for Jesus is the name of one whose business and delight it is to save. “They shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.” His sweetest name implies his success. Next, it is “Jesus Christ”—Christos, the anointed one. This shows his authority to plead. The Christ has a right to plead, for he is the Father’s own appointed advocate and elected priest. If he were of our choosing he might fail, but if God has laid help upon one that is mighty, we may safely lay our trouble where God has laid his help. He is Christ, and therefore authorized; he is Christ, and therefore qualified, for the anointing has fully fitted him for his work. He can plead so as to move the heart of God and prevail.
What words of tenderness, what sentences of persuasion will the anointed use when he stands up to plead for me! One more letter of his name remains, “Jesus Christ the righteous.” This is not only his character BUT his plea. It is his character, and if the Righteous One is my advocate, then my cause is good, or he would not have espoused it. It is his plea, for he meets the charge of unrighteousness against me by the plea that he is righteous. He declares himself my substitute and puts his obedience on to my account. My soul, you have a friend well fitted to be your advocate, he cannot help but succeed; leave yourself entirely in his hands.
C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening: Daily Readings (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1896).