Our court-appointed defense attorney

We have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 2:1-2).

In 1977, Disney Pictures released a musical called "Pete’s Dragon"; it concerned itself with an orphaned boy who tries to flee from the evil care of his foster family because they treat him like a slave. In a seaside cave he discovers a dragon named Elliott and becomes best friends with this gentle giant. At the end of the film, all seems lost as the evil foster family shows up with a legal document proving their authority to take Pete away with them. When Pete’s dragon comes to rescue his friend, the villains defiantly wave their legal papers in Elliott’s face, but to the joy of the movie audience, Elliott promptly incinerates the papers with a puff of his fiery breath.

This climactic scene from a children’s movie can serve as an illustration of the day when you stand before God for judgment. You have just died; you have been brought before God to have your eternal destiny decided. We can picture it like a courtroom. Behind the judge's bench sits God the Father. Satan is the prosecutor and you are the defendant. Satan comes forward with a legal document—it accuses you of every crime that you have committed throughout your life. Satan reminds God that the laws you have broken are the laws established by none other than the Mighty Judge Himself. You are accused of many things—fudging on the truth, disobeying your parents and teachers, saying hurtful words to others, and many, many more. The recitation of crimes is seemingly endless. Finally, Satan stops reading. The Devil does not need to call any witnesses; the divine Judge, who sees all, already knows the charges to be true. With an arrogant flourish, Satan demands that you, the defendant, be found guilty on all counts and be remanded to the prison of hell, to be held in solitary confinement forever.

Then it is Jesus’ turn. Jesus is the court-appointed defense attorney, willing to represent everyone who will accept Him as their advocate. Thankfully, in life you had accepted Jesus’ offer to be your counselor. Now, the Son of God steps forward. He smiles at you reassuringly. He holds out a nail-scarred hand, one of the hands that was affixed to the cross. A drop of blood drips from the wound and lands on the Devil’s list of your crimes. Instantly, the entire paper bursts into flames; all that remains is illegible ash. Jesus turns to His Father and says, "the blood I shed on the cross has done away with all these charges—I move for acquittal." And then, even though you were indeed guilty of everything the Devil accused you of, because of Jesus the Judge will say "I find you not guilty. Welcome to paradise."