The two scenes differed in many ways. The courtrooms bore little direct resemblance. The judges were different. The milieu of family, friends, and press that filled the seats were different. There were also similarities. Defendants stood before juries of their peers facing such serious accusations that their entire earthly future hung in the balance. Outcomes unfolding that were framed along the fault lines of cultural tension in our country.

With the advent of modern media coverage for such major legal cases, we were all brought into the solemn space where verdicts are read, and justice tries to manifest itself.

In these two recent national profile cases, it was poignant to witness the moment when judge and accused are required to face one another, and the charges are read followed by a simple declaration of “guilty,” or “not guilty.” Many in the courtroom, and I suspect many watching online or on television screens, were literally holding their breath in anticipation. The defendants in each case stood silently, lips pinched, brows furrowed, and eyes fixed on and searching the face of the judge.

Then the verdicts were announced. After months of argument, the end came swiftly and decisively. For one case, the words “not guilty,” for the other, “guilty.”

As expected, a tidal wave of journalistic pieces deluged America and the world. Some celebrated, some mourned, some raged. Opinions flew in all directions under heavy fire from various corners of the culture. The eyes of the media left the defendants and began searching out reactions and implications elsewhere.

But I couldn’t stop thinking about those defendants. It was nothing short of riveting to see the moment in which a person learned their fate. For one, the rush of emotion and relief literally brought him to his knees. For those in the other case, dawning horror, profound sadness, and growing resignation played across ashen and taut countenances.

What a vivid reminder it was to me of that central and primal foundation of Christian life. By faith in the finished work of Jesus, we have peace with God. The Judge declares, on the basis of perfect substitution, that we are not guilty in the eyes of divine justice. Life in Jesus’ name, as John described in our passage on Sunday, begins here. As we crescendo from Thanksgiving to Christmas, may our gratitude retain the relief and humility appropriate to those who have been delivered so narrowly from condemnation. What a peculiar thing Christian exultation is.

Romans 5:1-2
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.