Wednesday, May 9, 2018
1 John 2:1-2 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.
THE ASCENDED JESUS ADVOCATES FOR US
When was the last time you updated your reference list? Perhaps it has been some time since you last applied for a job. If you were to put together a list of personal and professional references right now, who would make your list? Former employers? Colleagues? Teachers? Family Friends?
What about Jesus? You would probably not list Jesus as one of your references for a job application, but when it comes to your application for residency in heaven, His is the only name that matters. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). That name is Jesus! Through faith in the Holy Spirit, we are given the green light to list Jesus as our one and only reference before God in heaven.
By faith, we who have sinned, have also been given the advocacy of Jesus! Notice all the titles for Jesus listed by the apostle John: The Advocate, the Righteous, and the Propitiation for our sins! Because of His resurrected life, we are promised a similar outcome. Death has no power over us, eternal life is our future. In a world full of doubt and speculation about our origins and our final destination, we have the rock-solid truth of Jesus. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. He is the Advocate! Forever in heaven, the ascended Jesus defends our cause before the Judge, God the Father. He died so that we might live! Jesus Christ the Righteous! Doesn't that have a nice ring to it? Through faith, Christ's righteousness has been ascribed to you-- justifying you-- declaring you not guilty! And finally, He is the Propitiation! The satisfactory payment. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin! (1 John 1:7).
The message of the resurrected and ascended Jesus brings us undeniable joy! Joy in this life as we endure the sorrows of this sin-tainted world, and the joy of the next life where there will be no more sorrow and no more tears! Because of Jesus' death and resurrection, death has no claim on us! Because of Jesus' advocacy, neither does our sin!
My Advocate appears, For my defense on high;
The Father bows His ears, And lays His thunder by.
Not all that hell or sin can say, Shall turn His heart, His love, away.
Should all the hosts of death, And powers of hell unknown
Put their most dreadful forms, Of rage and mischief on,
I shall be safe, for Christ displays, Superior power and guardian grace.
(The Lutheran Hymnal, 220:4-5)
