The RunawayVzorec

Day 3) He Represents Them In Trials

Three Reasons Why Jesus Is The Perfect Lawyer

1) He Knows The Judge

Our heavenly Father is a righteous judge, and He made His law clear when He communicated it to Moses on Mount Sinai. From the moment it was given, humanity failed to meet the standard. A perfect judge cannot let disobedience go unpunished, so what did Jesus do? On our behalf, He came to this earth as a perfect representative to plead our case before the judge. In Paul's case, his unique relationship with Philemon provided an open door for him to communicate uncomfortable truth.

2) He Overcame The Accuser

Satan, the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10), has been at the core of humanity’s depravity since Genesis 3, whispering lies into the ears of God’s children. However, unlike Adam and Eve, who succumbed to the enemy’s temptation in Eden, Jesus overcame His temptation in the wilderness (Luke 4). In doing so, He showed that He would succeed where humanity had failed. Paul could have allowed his imprisonment to discourage him, but instead, he chose to care for Onesimus and plead his case before Philemon.

3) He Takes The Punishment

Again, a righteous judge cannot allow lawlessness to go unpunished, so where would the punishment go? Should it go to Jesus, the only one who never sinned? Amazingly, Jesus welcomed the punishment He didn’t deserve so that we would not have to endure it. Similarly, Paul advocated for Onesimus in his letter to Philemon, even though he was sitting in prison for a crime he did not commit and was not the one who had run away.

Big Idea

In our trials, Jesus acts as our perfect representative, standing before the righteous Judge and securing our freedom. Just as Paul advocated for Onesimus, Jesus pleaded our case, overcoming the accuser and taking the punishment we deserved so that we could be reconciled to God.

Let’s Think About This:

Question 1) How does the idea of Jesus representing us before the righteous Judge change the way we approach our trials and struggles?

Question 2) In what ways do you see Jesus overcoming the accuser in your own life, and how can you apply His victory over temptation to your personal struggles?

Question 3) How does understanding that Jesus took the punishment we deserved impact our perspective on forgiveness and extending grace to others?