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Jesus as Judge

More than half a million web pages attempt to answer the question “Who is Jesus?” That suggests significant interest in the subject. Much of what the Bible says about Jesus involves metaphors, similes and comparisons. Because He is God, revealing Him is far more complex than describing any other person. One of the ways the Bible tells us about Jesus is by revealing some of the different roles he fills as He relates to us. Today, we’ll look at Him as “Judge” because the Bible clearly indicates that the Lord Jesus plays the principal role in divine judgment when time comes to an end.

John chapter 5 contains some very clear declarations. In verse 22, we read: “For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22). Then, farther along, we read“For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man” (John 5:26-27).

So Jesus is revealed to be “the judge,” but what does that mean to me today? Here’s something to consider. When anyone appears before a human judge, even if it is only related to something as simple as a traffic violation, what is it that the judge demands? It’s the truth that matters. That’s why witnesses must swear to tell the truth and only the truth when they appear in court. The judge is not interested in the defendant’s creativity or verbal skills - just the truth and all of it.

Of course, as God, the Lord Jesus knows all truth. He will not be deceived by lies as a human judge may be. But confessing the truth is important because in telling it, we are reminded of the way things really are. Sometimes, we can deceive and delude ourselves very deeply and for a long time. Telling the truth to Jesus - speaking it out loud in prayer - forces us to confront it ourselves. That is crucial because if we refuse to own our weaknesses, our problems, our sin, we won’t do anything about them.

On another occasion, we’ll see that Jesus is not only the judge of our sin, but also the One executed for it. But today, take a moment and scrutinize your heart for a moment. The Judge is asking for the truth from you. He wants to hear you express it, not because He has something to learn from it, but because you have something to learn from your own words. Once you confess the truth, you own it. When you own something like that, you are in a position to do something about it.

Let me give you an example. Over the years, I have known several marriages that were in trouble. In each case, at least part of the problem lay in the fact that one of the partners could not or would not admit to anything being wrong. The spouse saw it. The children saw it. Close friends saw it. But for one reason or another one partner refused to acknowledge the truth. Sometimes with time and patience, this partner came to the place where acknowledgement of the problem could be made and they sought help. In other cases, things just continued to deteriorate to the point where the relationship dissolved.

As our Judge, Jesus, wants us to both identify and deal with the sin in our life. When we acknowledge the sin, it may be hard on our ego, our self perception, even our reputation, but it is spiritually very healthy. 1 John 1:9 reminds us that “If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The wonderful thing about this Judge, unlike human judges we might have to face, is that Jesus offers forgiveness and wipes the slate clean if we will just confront and confess the truth about the sin in our life. So, though Jesus is our Judge, He is much more than that. He imposes the sentence; then, because He has already served it for us, gives us a full pardon.

Ron Hughes
© July 2006