Romans 8:34 — Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

I once had a neighbor take us to court. Despite all my efforts to live peaceably with this individual, they were unreasonable, irrational, and looking to have issues with us. The complaint lobbied against us was that the installation of a pool at our house had changed how water drained on our property and caused damage on our neighbor’s property. This wasn’t true at all, and we later learned this neighbor was notorious in the court for suing people (lucky us!). The neighbor sent us a letter listing a bunch of things supposedly damaged by our pool installation and demanded $17K in order to avoid court. I was dumbfounded.

We had to hire a lawyer to represent us. The day of court arrived, and I nervously sat awaiting our case. When the judge entered the room and the case began, our lawyer did all the talking for us. We never had to say a word. When our neighbor launched complaints against us, our lawyer defended us and showed the fallacies of the accusations. The judge threw out the case and we left the courtroom exonerated of any wrongdoing. 

Christian, you have one who represents you. Our passage today reminds us that nobody can condemn us of sin or wave our debt in front of us. Jesus has paid it. He died and rose again to defeat Satan, sin, and death. He erased our record, expunging it forever. Even now He sits at the right hand of God. What is He doing there? He is interceding for us. He is defending our case. In doing so, He is not touting our goodness or righteousness, but crediting us with His. We don’t have to say a word. We do not have to defend ourselves. Christ intercedes for us. He steps in on our behalf. We are cared for. We are heard. We have a defender.

Reflection & Journal:

- Why is it a comfort to us to know Christ is interceding on our behalf? 

- How should Jesus’ intercession shape our prayer lives each day?

- What is the danger of not having Christ as our intercessor? Why can’t we stand alone?