What a Wonderful Name: Advocate

In college (after a lot of changes and indecision), I started studying social work. Now, when you become a social worker it is recommended that you go into one particular field (though you can change throughout your career). As I began studying, I had an open mind about what field in particular I wanted to go into. Did I want to work in a school, a hospital, as a counselor? As I studied, I kept coming back to children and the foster care system. There are so many children walking through life alone. There are children with abusive parents, and children without any kind of parent. I read a story about a young boy, two or three years old, who was brought to the hospital covered in bruises and two broken legs. The parents claimed the child fell down the stairs, but this was a red flag for the hospital workers, who called in a social worker to do an investigation of abuse in the home. The social worker found nothing dangerous or suspicious and allowed the child to return home with his family. Not too long after this, the child passed away from abuse. This small child was all alone in the world with deceitful, neglectful parents. He needed someone to stand up for him, someone to be on his side. He needed an advocate. That’s what I wanted to do, be an advocate for those children who don’t have an advocate. I wanted to stand up and show them that I am on their side when they feel that no one is.

Then I realized something, that is exactly what Jesus is for us.

Our Advocate.

This is probably the most important aspect of God, because without it, we would be nothing, non-existent. We would wander the earth hopelessly lost and alone, no light and forever separated from God.

An excellent story about how Jesus is our advocate is found in John 8:1-11. I hope that you take a moment to read this short story from the Bible.

It is about a young woman, caught in the middle of adultery and dragged to the temple in front of everyone. This woman, lost and alone was about to be stoned in the middle of the temple. I cannot imagine the humiliation that riddled her body. The regret she could not escape because she made a bad decision. I do not know what situation or choices led her here, but my heart breaks for this poor woman. She wasn’t arrested by the soldiers and put in prison. No, she was dragged out of her home by a Pharisee, a so-called religious man, through the dirt and most likely half dressed. All he wanted to do was stone her, and she saw no compassion from any human. No one was standing by her, there was no one to defend her. She was in a pit while the entire temple stood around her, soaking her in shame and finding the best stones to throw at her. She faced a brutal death, and she need someone to be on her side. I cannot fathom the loneliness that must have ripped her heart in two at that moment.

Jesus was there, and was being “tricked” by these so called sons of Abraham, who asked Jesus if they should stone this woman. Jesus saw into this woman’s heart. He saw her shame and regret and humiliation. He saw that she needed someone to stand up for her, someone to cover her in compassion. So, our all-knowing and all-loving Jesus decided to be the one thing she needed most, an Advocate. He wrote mysteriously in the dust something that made the people around him so uncomfortable that they began to leave. Scripture does not say what, perhaps they were these people's deepest, darkest sins. Still, the Pharisees pressed him for an answer to their question of whether or not the woman should be stoned. Our wise Advocate simply said, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her,” and continued to write his mysteries in the sand. (John 8:7)

Slowly, the people left Jesus and the woman alone. Christ looked up and saw her standing there. Though He knew already, Jesus asked where everyone went. He asked if they still stood there to condemn her. Meekly and quietly she said “No one, Lord.” (John 8:10-11)

Proceeding are the words that I have no doubt our Adulteress clung to forever, words that rang in her heart so loudly, words that set her free. These words I am sure changed her heart + life and showered her with the compassion she needed so much.

“Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

Jesus was on this nameless woman’s side. When she could not speak for herself + no one else would, He did. He released her from guilt and showed her never ending mercy. Jesus was her Advocate, and He is our Advocate too.

There is something to be learned + gained from understanding that Jesus is our Advocate. First, I think that it is a reminder to us of who we really are.

Needing an advocate is to humble yourself and realize that you cannot do it alone. I know that I can’t. Some days I think that I can, but on those days, the patience runs thin and the irritation runs high. Try as I might, I fail and feel unsatisfied on my own. There might be a moment or two when I complete a task and feel success, like I am independent and strong in myself. However, those moments are fleeting. When it comes to the difficult things like loving the hard to love and making the choices we don’t want to make, we will always fail.

Not only is life itself difficult for us fleshly humans, there is an internal battle wagering constantly within our hearts. For me, I battle against fear and worry, I battle discontent, I battle selfishness. Daily I fight these things off so that I might be a decent person and make those around me feel good about themselves. I fight and don’t succeed, because I can’t do that on my own. The sin that riddles my heart over takes me and I cannot overcome it on my own.

We are overcome with sin and consumed by the world. Our eyes are blinded with the things of the world. The money, the people, and every other thing. The world takes over our desires and it destroys us, and it is never on our side. It may appear to be that the world is on our side and fighting for us, but is sharpening its knives to stab us in the back. The world is fully and completely against us and all that we stand for as followers of Christ. It rips us apart and pulls us down so we can or don’t want to succeed. The world is not going to stand up for us, or be on our side. Yet, we are so consumed with the world every day.

This is kind of crazy right? The world is trying to tear us down, rip us apart, and we are all overcome with desire and fascination with it. It kind of makes sense though, because we are like little children, who love their parents even though they are abusing them daily. We need an Advocate because we are blind and cannot see right from wrong, we have no way of escape. We are the woman in the dust ready to be stoned for our sin, with no one ready to defend or protect us.

Thankfully, the story doesn’t end here. We do have the advocate we need so badly: Jesus Christ. This is the second part of the story, and we can see how Jesus actually Advocates for us daily in God's Word.

1 John 2:1 says, ¨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.¨

Jesus is our righteous advocate, standing on our side, daily fighting our battles with us. Jesus is no weak human consumed with by worldly things, as we are, but He is the all-powerful son of God. He stands strong, ready to defend us. He overcame sin + death on the Cross, the thing that no one could overcome. He did it for us, so that we didn't have to face eternal separation from the Father.

The word of God is here so that we may not sin, as John says, but sin is unfortunately inevitable. It permeates every part of our life no matter what we try to do. However, our Advocate is righteous, and He speaks to God on our behalf, gathering the mercy we need oh-so-badly. He takes care of us, He gathers all that we need and pours it into our life and our hearts. He holds us when we feel alone in this world and carries us through the downpour. He is our Shelter and our Refuge when we have none.

Our Advocate being Jesus Christ is truly overwhelming. I often struggle to wrap my mind around the fact that Jesus actually pleads for me to His Father, who asks for more mercy in my life. This is no figurative speech or spiritual writing. Jesus as our Advocate is literal. Even now as you read this, He is working on your behalf. This is Truth.

One of the most beautiful, encouraging, and mind boggling facts about Jesus as Advocate is that Jesus prays for us.

In Luke 22, Jesus is warning Peter of the struggles and sifting that will happen.

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:31-32

Satan demands to have you as well, and he wants more than anything to sift you and grind you into fine, useless powder.

But Jesus prays for you. Every single day, Jesus goes before His Father advocating for your life. Advocating for your mistakes and your struggles. He prays for you to have more faith, more belief, more strength. In turn, all He asks is that you do the same for those around you.

Whoever is reading this, if you gain anything, please know that Jesus is on your side. He is praying for you to come closer to Him, to have more faith, to be more willing. He wants to use you, so He stands for you. Be empowered with the strength of your righteous Advocate today. Know that you can stand against all because He is for you. Not just cheering you on from the sidelines, but running right alongside you.

¨What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?¨ Romans 8:31

I pray for you today, that you are encouraged by the truth that Jesus is your Advocate and is on your side. Let it soak in and seep deep into your heart. Lock it away so that you will always remember it. And then, learn from Christ's example. Be an advocate for those around them, speak up for them. Most importantly, pray for them. Pray for your friends who struggle, for those who are in darkness. Pray.