The one who died as our substitute now lives as our advocate.

替我们受死的耶稣，已成为我们永活的中保。

If anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 1 John 2:1

若有人犯罪，在父那里我们有一位中保，就是那义者耶稣基督。-约翰一书2章1节

From a Florida prison cell in June 1962, Clarence Earl Gideon wrote a note asking the United States Supreme Court to review his conviction for a crime he said he didn’t commit. He added that he didn’t have the means to hire a lawyer.

在1962年6月，美国佛罗里达州监狱的一名囚犯吉迪恩（Clarence Earl Gideon）写信给最高法院，声称自己没有犯罪，要求重审他的案件，并表明没有能力聘请辩护律师。

One year later, in the historic case of Gideon v. Wainright, the Supreme Court ruled that people who cannot afford the cost of their own defense must be given a public defender—an advocate—provided by the state. With this decision, and with the help of a court-appointed lawyer, Clarence Gideon was retried and acquitted.

一年后，美国最高法院重审吉迪恩的案件，同时也规定，自此之后，凡是无力支付律师费的贫穷人，州政府都必须为他们指派一位公设辩护律师。吉迪恩因着这项决议，得到法庭指派的律师协助申辩陈情，最后得以无罪释放。

But what if we are not innocent? According to the apostle Paul, we are all guilty. But the court of heaven provides an Advocate who, at God’s expense, offers to defend and care for our soul (1 John 2:2). On behalf of His Father, Jesus comes to us offering a freedom that even prison inmates have described as better than anything they’ve experienced on the outside. It is a freedom of heart and mind.

但如果我们真的有罪，那该怎么办呢？虽然，使徒保罗说世人都犯了罪，但我们知道天上的法庭早已预备了一位辩护者，就是中保耶稣基督，祂已牺牲自己使我们罪得赦免，祂还在天父面前为我们陈情（约翰一书2章2节）。天父差遣耶稣赐给我们自由，就连狱中的囚犯也认为这样的自由胜过他们在牢房外所经历过的自由。那是一种心灵的释放。

Whether suffering for wrongs done by us or to us, we all can be represented by Jesus. By the highest of authority He responds to every request for mercy, forgiveness, and comfort.

不论我们受苦是因为自己犯错，或是别人的缘故，耶稣都会替我们代求。上帝凭着那至高的权柄，以慈爱、宽恕与安慰，回应每一个请求。

Jesus, our Advocate, can turn a prison of lost hope, fear, or regret into the place of His presence.

耶稣我们的中保，可以让一个失去盼望、恐惧战兢与痛苦懊悔的地方，充满祂同在的荣光。

Father in heaven, please help us to know what it means to have the freedom of Your love and presence. May we experience this freedom even in places that we have only seen as our confinement!

天父，帮助我们体会祢的爱及同在所带来的自由，即使觉得处处受限制，心灵仍然自由！

1 John 1:8-2:2New International Version (NIV)

8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

2 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

整理：于姊妹