OUR ADVOCATE


My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
(1 John 2: 1 – NAS)


John again mentions the “why” of his letter. He had opened with the urgency of an eye-witness, reminding the readers that he had actually seen Jesus Christ alive, in action, in the flesh – had touched the Lord, spoken with Him. Now the old man (as he would have been at the time of this letter) uses “my little children” to convey his live and affection and his paternal concern that the followers of Christ understand their faith clearly. In particular, he is driven by the awareness that sin separates us from God, from the love of the Father and fellowship with the Son. And John does not want to see anyone so separated.

Thus, “I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.”None of us care to be on the receiving end of scolding lectures. It doesn’t matter what our age is, we squirm and grimace when someone decides that “for your own good you need to hear this.” It may be true that we do need to hear it, but most such lectures end up being delivered in a manner that distances us from the lecturer. The person scolding us usually wants to be objective, but unfortunately only ends up coming across as disengaged, remote and judgmental. John, however, takes a different manner. “My little children” from a beloved old man carries such a stream of love that we stop and listen. He loves us. He is anxious for us. He sees us heading toward a door leading to disaster and has only his words to halt our progress through that portal.

“My little children.”

He wants us to listen to his words so that we will not sin. But he also immediately tells us that even if we do make that mistake, if we do trip up and commit errors, all is not lost.

Sin separates us from the love of the Father, and with that separation the weight of judgment falls upon us. The consequences of our actions will follow us around, often with dire results. To be separated from God removes the only shield between ourselves and the harshest evaluation of our deeds. And this is particularly true for those believers who let go of their commitment to the Lord.

But John says that even if we do sin, believers have an Advocate with the Most High, someone who will speak up for us, plead our case and gain mercy for us. And that Advocate is no one less that Jesus Christ, the very Son of God, who is one with God.

John is not saying that believers can sin willfully and with impunity and still stand secure in the presence of God. I’m sure there are many who would like to think that. They want to believe that once they formally say “Jesus in Lord” they are absolved of all future sins, and can happily go about doing whatever they want. But that’s not what John means.

Let us remember that he’s just spent a deal of time telling his readers that only genuine confession of sins can keep someone in fellowship with Christ. We all make mistakes, we all sin. “Anyone who says they do not sin is a liar.” It is crucial for us to confess the sin and repent of it because we do understand that such actions can separate us from the holy and loving presence of the Father.

We’re not very good at being our own advocates. When we confess our sins, we’re admitting that we knew we were doing wrong and yet we still did the wrong thing. It’s rather difficult to be standing in front of a judge going “Yes, I knew it was wrong and I still did it. But I’m asking you to have mercy on me.” We need someone to speak up for us, as a character witness perhaps, but certainly as an advocate who will say that we are deserving of mercy, if only by way of the grace of love. We need that advocate, because our own actions have said that we made the mistake of not properly valuing the Grace and Love of God.

But, our confession of our errors and mistakes, of our sins, does win us an Advocate before the Most Holy Judge. And that Advocate is Jesus Christ. John goes to the trouble of adding “the righteous” to the name of our Advocate (though you would think “Christ” would be enough).

Jesus Christ the righteous will speak on our behalf. For all our sins, big and little.

Jesus: that man who lived and walked and ate and slept among us in flesh and blood. The person John had talked with and walked with. They had traipsed the countryside of Judea during Jesus’ ministry. They had eaten meals together in the homes of friends. They and the rest of the company of the close disciples had been out on the Sea of Galilee fishing together, laughing as they hauled in nets filled with fish. This was not some abstract phantasm surrounded by a holy glow. It was someone who got dusty from walking, who got wet from splashing fish, who shared meals, who sat by wells and asked for drinks of water. It is someone who knows exactly what it is like to be alive as a human being. Our Advocate.

Christ: the Holy One of the Almighty, the one who came to save us. Our Messiah, savior, shield. The one who went so far as to die in our place, to take our punishments upon Himself. Our Lord. The priest and sacrifice that was needed to allow us to even approach the presence of the Most High. Our Advocate.

“The righteous”: the one who knows how to live rightly according to the desires of God the Father. The one who knows and chooses to do what is right in the eyes of God, who does those things with love and joy. Our Advocate.

That is who will speak on our behalf before the Father. Not some fly-by-night lawyer who will look for every loophole possible. No, our Advocate is Jesus Christ the righteous.

“My little children” – you have stepped into the Royal Arena of Creation, you are out of your league, you don’t have a chance on your own. Except that Jesus Christ is on your side.