In an episode from the first season of The West Wing, White House Deputy Communications Director Sam Seaborn is on his way out of the office for a weekend away when he runs back to his desk to answer one last phone call. It’s an old high school acquaintance, now a defense attorney, calling to plead the case of a federal death row inmate seeking a stay of execution. 

The defense attorney needs someone with the ear of the President, so he calls Sam. The condemned man doesn’t just need an advocate, he needs an advocate with power and influence to present persuasive arguments to the one man who can grant a reprieve. 

We need an advocate, too. We are condemned by our sin, and the punishment we deserve is death (Romans 6:23). But the Lamb of God who was the redeeming sacrifice for us and reconciled us to God is now seated at the right hand of the Father. What is He doing as He sits there? He’s advocating for us.  

“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.” (1 John 2:1)

Jesus has the evidence needed for our forgiveness. John describes our advocate as “Jesus Christ the righteous.” Jesus is not only our redeeming sacrifice, He covers us with His righteousness. He advocates for us to the Father based on the perfect life He lived for us, not any good that we have done. 

Jesus not only has the righteousness needed, He also has the ear of the Father. Romans 8:34 tells us that Jesus Christ is at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us. The Father has given the Son the exalted place at His right hand, and we benefit from it. We have a Savior who has the ear of the Creator and Judge, saying, “She’s mine. She’s covered.”

Because of our righteous advocate, “when we enter into the presence of God, we go not to hear his justice prosecute us but to hear his love plead for us” (William Barclay, The Letter to the Hebrews, p. 19). 

No matter what you face this week, Jesus Christ came to be your righteous Advocate. 

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I got my first credit card when I was in college. It was meant for emergencies only, but I became very relaxed with my definition of “emergency.” Is going out to dinner with friends an emergency? What about not having something to wear for a special occasion?

By the time I graduated, I racked up more than $1000 in credit card debt and had no way to pay it. The debt weighed on me—I felt the burden of it every day. Finally, I had to tell my soon-to-be husband that he was marrying into this debt. He was gracious about it, and we used wedding gifts to pay it off. But I regretted starting married life with nothing positive to offer our financial situation.  

Last week we saw that Jesus came to be a redeeming sacrifice for us. Our relationship with God was broken because we couldn’t pay the debt our sin required. But Jesus didn’t just wipe the slate clean, put us back at zero, and leave us to prove ourselves to God on our own. In His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus Christ did all that was necessary to fully reconcile us to God: 

“For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” (Colossians 1:19–20)

We have peace with God because of the blood Jesus shed on the cross. This is why the baby was born in the stable—to pay our debt and fix the devastation our sin caused in our relationship with God. These verses tell us that His redeeming sacrifice had the power to reconcile all things on earth or in heaven. 

Because the fullness of God dwells in Him, Jesus Christ has the power to reconcile you to God. You don’t need to worry about paying your own debt of sin or getting yourself on God’s positive side with your good works. Christ’s work is sufficient to bring you into a reconciled relationship with your Heavenly Father. 

No matter what you face this week, Jesus Christ came to fully reconcile you to God. 

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The week after Thanksgiving, most of us fall into one of three groups: those who are feeling great about our Christmas preparations, those who are trying not to panic, and those who are blissfully optimistic that Santa and his elves will make, wrap, and deliver the perfect gifts for their loved ones on Christmas Eve. 

When you’re buried neck-deep in shopping lists, tangled tiny lights, and wrapping paper, it’s easy to lose sight of why God the Son came to earth and was born in that Bethlehem stable. 

I’ve got good news for you—He didn’t come just to give you more to do every December. Over the next few Mondays, we’ll look at some of the reasons Jesus came. We’ve been in John 1 for the past few weeks, so let’s start there in John 1:29: 

“The next day [John] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’” (John 1:29)

In this verse, John the Baptist proclaims one reason the Son of God walked on earth—to be the Lamb of God who takes away our sin. 

The Lamb of God lived the perfect life. God’s justice requires a perfect sacrifice—a spotless lamb without blemish. Jesus Christ perfectly obeyed His Father and met the standard of righteousness that we fail to reach. 

The Lamb of God died for you. Romans 8:32 says God did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all. After living the perfect life, Jesus Christ took the punishment for your sin as He suffered and died on the cross. 

The Lamb of God rose again. First Corinthians 15:55 reminds us that the Lamb of God defeated death for us: “Oh death, where is your victory?” When Jesus Christ rose again, He proved His power to give eternal life to His redeemed people. 

In His life, death, and resurrection, the Lamb of God accomplished all that was required for your redemption. He came with a mission, and He completed it. Now that’s a reason to rejoice as we prepare to celebrate His birth!  

No matter what you face this week, Jesus came to be a redeeming sacrifice for you. 

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