Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.’ (Luke 2:10–11, NKJV)

His past had come home to roost. After years of philandering, the now elderly man sat in the dock awaiting the verdict. His barrister had done his best but nothing was certain until the jury had rendered its verdict, nothing except the reality that he was indeed guilty of rape as charged.

The movie had built to a climax. Flashbacks gave the viewers inside knowledge of how it had all unfolded, and it had been just as the woman on the stand had described the event from twenty years earlier. But would she be believed? Was the Crown’s case compelling and unequivocal enough to elicit a guilty verdict?

It was not. The jury foreman was instructed to answer two questions. One, had they reached a unanimous verdict? Yes. Two, was the verdict guilty or not guilty? Not guilty. The man in dock collapsed in on himself like a giant sinkhole, unable to sustain his weight, his shoulders heaving with sobs of relief.

The accused and his legal team had played the game well.

That cannot be the case for you, or for me, or for anyone who stands before the tribunal of the living God. Our sin will find us out. There will be no sighs of relief that we escaped the condemnation due us for our transgressions.