Is Jesus Your Advocate?

​One of the most amazing and powerful stories in scripture is the story of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:2-11).  Here is a woman caught in the act of adultery, who was on the verge of facing the death penalty.  Her peers surrounded her and were preparing to put her to death for her crime.  It’s a powerful story because it’s one we can all relate to on some level.  Who among us have never committed some sin for which we felt enormous guilt, for which we knew we ought rightly to be condemned by God?  And if our friends knew of it, they would likely condemn us as well.  Or, who among us have never stood condemning someone else for a sin which we ourselves have committed.  Yet, in our self-righteousness and in our desire to conceal our own iniquity we participate in mob justice in an effort to boost our own self-esteem.  What is so beautiful about this story is that the one person who has the right to condemn the woman is the one person who delivers her from the punishment she (and we) are so deserving of.  At the end of the story, Jesus stood up and says to the woman, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"  She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more."  Jesus was her advocate.  Her criminal defense attorney.  And he stands ready to be ours as well, if we would fall at his feet, take him as our Lord and Savior and plead for mercy.