WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT LAWYERS?

Answer: The Bible does not say anything about lawyers as we know them today. Israel was under the legal jurisdiction of Rome during Jesus’ time, so when the Bible mentions “teachers of the law” (Luke 5:17) or “lawyers” (Luke 14:3, ESV), it is referring to the religious leaders who were experts in the Mosaic Law. The modern-day court system, with prosecuting attorneys and defense attorneys, did not exist at that time. In Jesus’ day the Roman Senate that decided civil matters and executed justice, and throughout the Old Testament there were monarchs who performed the same functions for their people.

Lawyers as we know them today—professional public servants who know the ins and outs of the legal process and can lend their knowledge to resolve various conflicts with clarity and justice—did not appear until after the Middle Ages. However, the concept of prosecuting and defense attorneys, or advocates, is a biblical one. We have a spiritual Advocate in Jesus Christ, the righteous (1 John 2:1). He defends our cause before the Judge, God the Father. There is a prosecuting attorney, too: the Accuser, Satan (Revelation 12:10). The Bible mentions human accusers—those who bring a charge against another in front of a court or magistrate—but they are wounded parties, not lawyers for the prosecution (Luke 12:58; Matthew 5:25). Satan is the only figure in the Bible who brings an accusation against men as a matter of principle rather than to right a personal wrong.

Satan knows the Mosaic Law very well; he knows the Law better than any modern lawyer knows the laws of his land. He knows that man has broken the Law, and he can therefore accuse us. Thankfully, we have an Advocate in Jesus Christ. He is our defense attorney who comes before the Judge with a solution: He has fulfilled the Law for us, so that our punishment can be placed on His shoulders and we can have peace (see Isaiah 53:5).

Whether or not it was intentionally done, the legal system today is a picture of this biblical model. The prosecuting lawyer looks into the law and brings an accusation against the defendant, attempting to show his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Then, the defense lawyer argues for the innocence of his client or points to some extenuating circumstance. In our case, the extenuating circumstance is Jesus’ sacrifice, which paid our debt to the Judge and allowed us to go free, despite our guilt according to the Law (Romans 8:1–5).