“Then the angel showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord. The Accuser, Satan, was there at the angel’s right hand, making accusations against Joshua….Joshua’s clothing was filthy as he stood there before the angel.”(Zechariah 3:1–3)

THE DEVIL IS AN ACCUSER.

Biblically speaking, this might be better understood if we used the word prosecutor. In the Old Testament, we see the devil appearing as a prosecutor before God the Righteous Judge.

“Then the angel showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord. The Accuser, Satan, was there at the angel’s right hand, making accusations against Joshua….Joshua’s clothing was filthy as he stood there before the angel.” (Zechariah 3:1–3)

Satan would love to bring charges against you. He not only tempts you to commit the sin, but once you commit it, he also drags you to court and accuses you before God. Which is why you need a really good defender. And the only defender who has a winning record on behalf of sinners against such an Accuser is Jesus.

And you should have seen your day in court. It was ascension day. Jesus had conquered your sins at the cross, overcame death, rose again, and then ascended into heaven, and became seated at the Defense Table. And the action was court room drama worthy.

Satan showed up with a huge book full of the list of charges, every sin you have committed. He began to present to the court. He begins reading each one. Every time you lied. Every situation where you showed prejudice. Each time you harbored hate within your heart towards another.

You want to crawl under the table…

But then finally after every charge has been brought, Jesus stands up beside you. He addresses the court, “Father, I enter these scars in my hands, feet, and side as evidence that these charges have been paid for in full.”

And the accuser is humiliated and thrown out of God’s courtroom. This is the Sweet Sound of the Good News of what it means to have Jesus defend you. I love the way Romans describes it.
“There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1)

And in Revelation we see a glimpse of this victory as all of the saints are no longer in chains and no longer dressed in dirty rags. They are free and dressed in white robes together in the presence of the Savior.

And the price of His defense to you….free. Free. Free. Free.

Prayer
Lord Jesus, You come to our defense with mercy and grace. You forgive us of all of our sins. And as Satan continues to tempt and continues to try to accuse our case because we have, Your righteousness is thrown out every single time.

We thank You for this gift of freedom, this great defense that we have in Your righteousness. And we ask that You would help us to proclaim Your goodness to all who we see and that You would help us to continue to live in the righteousness that You give to us. It’s in Your holy and precious name we pray. Amen.

ITTT