Guess what I got in the mail the other day? I received the dreaded jury summons for a trial in my city. Sometimes it feels like I get them often while my husband never receives them. It must be the luck of the Irish. I did get a chance to postpone it once due to a prearranged trip. But now my excuses exhausted, so off I went on a cold and blustery day to do my civic duty.
My Trial Experience
Jury duty involves a lot of waiting. First, everyone gathers in the jury room to wait for a call to a courtroom. This process takes hours or even days, depending on the number of trials for the week. Then, up in the court, the proposed jurors wait for motions and issues to be decided. The final step before the panel gets selected involves the lawyers asking each juror many questions. All in hopes of picking a jury of fair-minded individuals to hear and decide the case.
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”
2 Corinthians 5:10
The case I sat for involved a murder. After two days of intense questioning, the lawyers picked me as part of the group released from service. So I did not participate in the rest of the trial. I learned about our legal system through this process. Our practice is not perfect. But, I believe it offers most offenders a fair opportunity, especially compared to many other countries I visit during my mission work.
Other Trials
My jury service caused me to think about other famous trials. And, since Lent and Easter loom before us, I thought of the trial of Christ. As I read through the Gospel accounts of the event, we learn not everything happened within the letter of the law. The High Priest, interrogated Jesus, not in good faith but in hopes of trapping Him with His own words. The trial occurred at night, constituting an illegal meeting. And, several false witnesses testified against Jesus with conflicting claims. All this without any legal evidence of any crime. Jesus died an innocent man under the laws of the day.
“This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.”
Romans 2:16
In our current legal system, mistakes can happen, and innocent people can and do go to jail in error. But in Jesus’ case, everything happened according to God’s master plan. Jesus’ wrongful conviction and death on the cross brings us freedom from our own eternal death sentence. God takes what man meant for evil and turns into our victory over death.
The Final Trial
Each of us will face at least one more trial. We find a description of our final judgment in the Book of Revelation (see Revelation 20:1-15). God will judge all people for their actions in life. In my mind, I picture God sitting on His judgment seat as He listens to all the evidence Satan presents about our sins. We hang our heads as the charges mount. Just when everything seems hopeless, Jesus jumps up with an objection. He holds up His nail-scarred hands and declares us innocent because our name is in His book of life.
He paid for our sins with His wrongful conviction and death on the cross. Jesus bought us freedom and declares us innocent in the final judgment. We will spend eternity celebrating our release from sin and death as we praise our Savior. What a glorious day that will be for us who believe in Jesus.
While I hope no one ever receives a wrongful conviction in their trials here on earth. I am thankful God allowed this one to happen. Revelation 21:4 reminds us; “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Amen.
Blessings,
Yvonne M Morgan, #Blogger, #Speaker, #Writer
Matthew 28:19 “Therefore, GO and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
100% of the proceeds from sales of my book, Turning Mountains Into Molehills, go to help the orphans at Orphan Relief Effort, Inc
Additional Resources:
There are a lot of lessons to be learned from trials. Trials in a courtroom and daily trials can teach us.
Yes they teach us a lot. Thanks and God bless.
I am so thankful that God wipes our sins away!
Me too. Thanks and God bless.
Someday all trials will end. So good to have this reminder. God bless!
Thanks Nancy
I love this verse – “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” What a beautiful vision that ought to inspire us to live with an eternal view and hope.
It inspires me to live my best life too. Thanks and God bless.
I’m also exceedingly glad that God allowed that kangaroo-court of a trial to happen, so that Jesus could fulfill the mission for which God sent him — our redemption. I recently had jury duty as well, and was released early. Like you, I gleaned a lot from the process. Thank you for sharing this and for relating it to Jesus’ trial and to the coming trial when we appear before the judgment seat and are declared innocent all because of our Savior and Redeemer. Praise God!“ This is a favorite verse of mine: He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Amen! Won’t that be a wonderful day! Thank you, Jesus!
Thanks Melinda. It is a beautiful verse to think about during our struggles. God bless
What an excellent teaching, Yvonne! I have often heard people try to explain the gospel message through a courtroom analogy. I believe it is one of the best ways to really understand what we deserved and through Christ’s sacrifice what we were given instead. I loved this imagery:
“In my mind, I picture God sitting on His judgment seat as He listens to all the evidence Satan presents about our sins. We hang our heads as the charges mount. Just when everything seems hopeless, Jesus jumps up with an objection. He holds up His nail-scarred hands and declares us innocent because our name is in His book of life.” Thank you, Jesus!
Thanks my friend. I really appreciate and value your thoughts. I am so grateful for Jesus’ sacrifice for each of us. God bless
I always get picked too! My husband has NEVER been summoned! How does one do that?
Anyway, I find them fascinating. My last one was a murder trial as well. He was so guilty. I remember that last day when we handed down the verdict, how sad I felt. Sad that this young man made a decision that affected the rest of his life. A stupid decision for a quick high. I prayed for him that night that he would make another decision in his life. A smart decision for his eternity. I wish I could send him your blog. 😘
That is very sad. I am glad I did not have to decide a young man’s future even if they are guilty. If they only realized how one minute can change everything. I pray your young man and mine both find Jesus, the best judge.
Such a great analogy. Glad you were released from active jury duty. I’ve never been called up. How true Jesus paid our debt as an innocent man who died for us even though He did nothing wrong. Your post reminded me of:
We were dead in our trespasses…but God made us alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
See Colossians 2:13-14
Get verse reference Karen. Thanks for your comments. God bless
I love this analogy! Thanks, Yvonne! Grateful for a savior who rescues us no matter what we’ve done.
Me too. Such a blessing for us. Thanks and God bless.
I’m glad you got the chance to spend hours in our juror processing because this great post is the outcome. I love how you said that Jesus defends against our accusations with His nail scarred hands. Amazing image. How blessed and thankful we can be when we trust in His innocent death to pay the penalty for our sins.
Amen Stephen. We are so blessed that He paid for our sins. Thanks and God bless.
Such a great perspective, especially in a world crying out for justice. We, as mankind, gave Jesus an unjust trial. Yet God gives us mercy and grace in the midst of that. I too am thankful for the outcome, as horrible as the process was. Praise Jesus for His love for us!
Yes, praise His Holy name. Thanks and God bless.
I was selected for a jury trial once, and when it came down to choosing the 13th juror (as the one to step down and not get to participate in the final judgement, after hearing the entire court case), I was chosen. I had a voice that was never heard in that case, and felt disappointed that I would not be able to provide input.
I learned a lot along the way, too, and I agree that I our US court system is as fair as it can be, this side of heaven. But in the case of Jesus’ trial? Yeah, thank the good Lord He didn’t demand justice on His own behalf. Retributive Justice is what was served that day, praise the Lord!
You are so right Lisa, I’m so glad He did not demand justice for Himself. Jesus went like a lamb to slaughter. Thanks and God bless.
Such a great analogy!
And to think that the most important trial here on earth, while having serious consequences, still isn’t as serious as the eternal consequences of standing before the Great White Throne Judgment.
Thanks Ava. I appreciate your thoughts and feedback. God bless