An accuser is someone who accuses someone of a crime or offense—says that they are guilty of it.
The person against whom the accusation is made can be described with the adjective accused. Accused is also used as a noun to refer to a person or people who have been charged with a crime, often as the accused.
Jesus was often accused; here are some examples from the Gospels in the New Testament.
Matthew 12:9–12 A Man with a Withered Hand
[9] He went on from there and entered their synagogue. [10] And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse him. [11] He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? [12] Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” (ESV)
Here we find religious leaders who considered restoring a person to health on a Sabbath day, from Friday evening to Saturday evening, unlawful.
Mark 15:1–5 Jesus Delivered to Pilate
[1] And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate. [2] And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” [3] And the chief priests accused him of many things. [4] And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” [5] But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed. (ESV)
Luke 23:1–2 Jesus Before Pilate
[1] Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate. [2] And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.” (ESV)
Jesus was accused of many things, and this incident before Pilate directly led to Jesus’ being crucified.
Luke 11:53–54
[53] As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, [54] lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say. (ESV)
John 7:53-8–11 The Woman Caught in Adultery
[1] but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. [2] Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. [3] The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst [4] they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. [5] Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” [6] This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. [7] And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” [8] And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. [9] But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. [10] Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” [11] She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”]] (ESV)
Now then, if Jesus was accused by religious leaders during His ministry, how could it be that His followers should not be accused?
Revelation 12:7–12 Satan Thrown Down to Earth
[7] Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, [8] but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. [9] And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. [10] And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. [11] And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. [12] Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”
The passage from Revelation 12 describes Satan’s work as the “accuser of our brothers.” And the accusing is relentless, “day and night before our God.” However, such accusations have no real teeth since Satan has been stripped of his power.
The passage is somewhat confusing. Though the strength of Satan is at minimum lessened, it (I do not like giving Satan the respect of using the term “he.”) still continues the accusing agenda, and this aimed at or directed at followers of Jesus. What do we make of this?
One point, we can expect to be accused, and sometimes we earn this by doing that which is against the Word of God. Yes, I am still a sinner despite the fact that all my sin, from day one, till my last day, has been all bundled up and placed upon Jesus when He bore our sins on the cross. This is a fact.
Does it seem strange that even the sins I have yet to commit have already been atoned for by the shedding of Jesus’ blood on the cross? Certainly, it does. Let me attempt an explanation. And this requires the explanation of a biblical paradox.
There are two words used in the Greek New Testament for time. One is Kairos and the other is Chronos. Kairos is God’s time, which is always now, and Chronos, and from which we get the word chronology, or the passing of time that we live in. In Kairos time, God’s time, all my sin was placed upon Jesus on the cross. How this happens is beyond our understanding for sure but correct biblical doctrine all the while. I experience my sinning as time goes on, chronos time, but God is not bound by my experience of time. God is outside of time.
So, then the paradox is evident: all my sin has been forgiven, yet it is up to me to ask my Savior to forgive me of this ongoing sin. If you are still perplexed, join the crowd.
Satan is stuck in now time, and forever. And thus, it accuses us of our sinfulness, hoping to harm, even crush us. But that will not do as we know it’s agenda.
Over the years, almost sixty years of being a saved sinner, I have committed some egregious sins. I have to admit these are more awful for me now to recall than when I sinned them. I am not sure how this works, but it is how it works for me, and as a pastor for fifty-two years, I have found the same in so many of these in my congregation(s).
And this is precisely why I am writing this essay. I know precious folks who yet suffer under the weight of grievous sins they have committed in the past, near or far. For over 34 years I did ministry out at San Quentin Prison, just a 10-minute trip from where I am writing this essay. Eighteen of those years I was as the baseball coach, first our team’s name was the Pirates, then the Giants, and finally the A’s. (Two long and boring for an explanation of how the name changes occurred.) The years before that was cell to cell ministry out of the Protestant chapel, and Earl Smith was the chaplain during those years. I spent hours assuring grieving convicts that in the saving work of Jesus, all their was gone, forgiven, and forgotten.
Right now, I am trying to encourage a man who played three years on the baseball team at SQ and is now at another California State prison, who is hoping after nineteen years, to be granted parole. He is a follower of Jesus now, and his sins, which were many and awful, are causing him great dismay. Over the phone I try to tell him sin is gone from the perspective and reality of the Great Judge. He has such a hard time grasping this and will sometimes break down on the phone.
The reason for this essay is to proclaim that in Jesus, all our sin is gone, buried, and no accuser can touch us once we grasp this. But, I have to admit I am not completely there yet, gaining some ground, but it seems that as I grow in Christ, those awful sins I have committed and still fall into, cause me deep inward anguish and pain. Sometimes I wallow in it and get confused about it all, wondering how come I am not farther along. And when these moments come, I think my Lord lets me stay here so that I continue to be aware of my sinful tendencies, which helps keep me humble.
In these, my later years, grasping this reality, helps me to remain calm, both knowing my sin is all gone, and that at the same time, I know I am not above sinning. And with that comes the great promise that we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is alone is our righteousness.
Let me close with 1 John 2:1. “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”[1]
[1] The if, highlighted in the passage, is a third-class condition meaning that we probably, even most assuredly, will sin again.