How Jesus silenced the accuser and set sinners free

A Courtroom on Anglesea Street

I remember going to court to support a young man who had got into trouble with the law. I walked with him to the Cork Courthouse on Anglesea Street, a judicial facility in Cork City Centre that deals with criminal matters.

That day was filled with trepidation—both for him and for me. The atmosphere was heavy with shame, guilt, anger, and fear. This was the place where the saying “do the crime, do the time” became painfully real.

Here, the law of the land would expose you for what you had done. If you were found guilty, there was no hiding. It was black and white.

Strangely, I almost felt guilty for something I never did.

 
The Human Sense of Guilt

Have you ever experienced that sudden wave of guilt when a Garda stops you—only to realise he’s checking your tax disc? It’s fleeting, irrational, but very real.

Why do we react like that?

Because guilt is wired into the human condition.

According to God’s Word, we are guilty before a far greater authority than any earthly court. We have rebelled against God, sinned against Him, and rejected Him. We fall short of His glorious moral perfection.

The Bible tells us that, by nature, we are God’s enemies.

 
The Verdict of the Ultimate Lawgiver

God is the ultimate Lawgiver, and His verdict is just. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Apart from Christ, we would have to pay the price for our sins for eternity.

Justice demands punishment.

And that is precisely why the Gospel is such good news.

 
The Cross and the Defeat of Satan

In mercy and love, the Lord Jesus Christ took the punishment for our sins upon Himself at the cross. He stood in our place.

The accusations that stood against us were nailed to the cross with Him.

At Calvary, Jesus disarmed the barrister from hell—the accuser, Satan—who held our sins over our heads. We had no advocate before God, but Christ became our defender.

The cross silenced the devil.

 
The Only Way to Be Reconciled to God
Jesus’ death on the cross is the only way mankind can be reconciled to God. It is the only way God can declare guilty sinners righteous in His sight.

When you stop and think about it, you see the extraordinary love of God: He handed over His innocent Son so that we might go free.

For those who receive Christ as Lord and Saviour, God declares them not guilty. Justice has been fully satisfied because Jesus paid the price in full.

Oh, what a Saviour He is.

 
Freedom From Accusation and Fear of Death

That day, the young man’s court case was re-scheduled for technical reasons. But for humanity, there is only one way to silence Satan’s accusations and be freed from the fear of death.

It is to call upon the name of the Lord.

Jesus Christ desires to save. His blood, applied personally by faith, cancels the legal debt written against us. That debt has been nailed to the cross. The accusations are buried with Christ.

And just as He rose again in newness of life, so too can we receive new life in Him. Our sins are removed forever.

 
An Invitation to Respond
What an amazing God we serve.
What an amazing Gospel.

If you have not yet turned to Jesus Christ, I urge you to do so today. Call on His name and be saved.