I was standing in the courtroom, when I heard the judge’s gavel resound on the soundboard beneath it. The courtroom was empty, because this was not a jury trial. I had entered the plea of not guilty and waived my right to a jury, hoping that this judge would be fair when he had heard all the evidence surrounding my case.
The public defender did the best job possible, with all the information I had provided, along with the court documents. The judge did not look happy, and when I heard the words, “The defendant is found guilty as charged,” I understood the judge’s grimacing face. This courtroom drama was so surreal that I had to remind myself to breathe as I got light-headed and felt my knees buckle.
Guilty as charged. Those three words seemed to echo and bounce around in my head for what seemed like minutes but was only seconds in real time.
The gravity of the moment was like a wave that had just knocked me over and taken away my breath. I felt as if I was being held under the water and was beginning to drown.
Steadying myself by placing my palms on the table seemed to help keep me from actually fainting. Then, I heard the faint sound of the public defender’s voice asking me if I were OK.
All the color had left my face, leaving me pale, sweaty and almost lifeless. As my eyes revealed utter hopelessness, my heart was pounding to my brain. The gavel’s sound brought me back as my mind began ticking again, and I felt blood pulsating through the vein in my neck. The judge was about to pronounce my sentence as I tried to recover from those three words that he shared earlier.
My eyes began to focus again as I saw the judge’s lips move: Because you have been found guilty, I am now pronouncing your sentence: death.
“Death” was all I heard, as I fell to the ground and recoiled into the fetal position. The public defender was standing over me, pulling me back to my feet as he said, Everything is going to be OK.
I couldn’t speak at that moment, but I was thinking, Are you insane?
How could he say or even think that everything was going to be OK? He leaned in and said with a very calm voice: I didn’t tell you earlier, but I am related to the judge. He is my father.
He asked the judge for permission to approach the bench. I watched in stunned amazement, as the public defender made his way back to my table. And then he addressed the court.
Judge, he said, then added: Father, I will take his sentence upon myself. I will take his place.
I found myself standing, but the public defender was blocking my view of the judge on the bench. This public defender, this advocate on my behalf, was willing to take my sentence and my place.
In an instant, the judge agreed and dismissed me as I watched his son, my advocate, being led away to take my punishment. My feet betrayed me, and I couldn’t move; I was glued to that spot.
This dream state I was in, this courtroom setting, translates into a parable for today. It is the true story of what Jesus Christ has done for me and anyone who stands guilty in the courtroom of heaven. God is the judge who has pronounced that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God; we are all guilty. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
He took our place and the death sentence willingly because of his love. Jesus, the innocent Lamb of God, was the only one who could have redeemed us from the penalty of death. His blood; His life; His love.
The advocate of our souls took our place on the cross, because of love. We are forgiven by the grace of God through Jesus Christ. He loves you so much that if you were the only person in the world, Jesus would have come and died just for you.
The Rev. Dr. Mitch Weissman is senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Midway. He is a completed Jewish believer who has been faithfully preaching the gospel for more than 30 years.