Although ignorance of the law cannot make anyone innocent, knowledge of the law removes any excuse - as sin is brought to the surface and guilt is exposed. The miracles and teaching of Jesus were so unique that everybody should have recognised that God was amongst them. But the reaction of most people was to resist His authority over them, thus confirming their guilt. In a few hours after saying these words, Jesus would be the object of vicious hatred as He was unfairly tried, cruelly beaten and crucified to death.

What evil had He done? What lie had He told? None! Prophetically, King David had written, “With words of hatred they surround me; they attack me without cause.” (Psalm 109:3) But why such hatred? They had refused to believe that Jesus was God the Son, and would not submit to His authority. Therefore He was a threat to their arrogant independence. That is why they wanted Him dead. Yet that also confirmed their guilt.

One of the first things that happens when people listen to the Gospel is that they feel uncomfortable; the more they hear about Jesus they begin to realise they are guilty before Him. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would ensure that guilt is exposed (John 16:8-9), making people realise that they are not worthy of God’s love. The fact is that the Gospel can only make sense if we realise that we are guilty sinners and need a Saviour. We should rejoice when people are under conviction of sin, yet some well-meaning but inept believers try to comfort people that they are not all that bad. The truth is that we are all far worse than we dare to imagine and only the blood of Christ is sufficient to atone for our sins. The Gospel is God’s good news in answer to the appallingly bad news of our guilt, which Jesus speaks about and the Holy Spirit brings to the surface of our hearts (www.crosscheck.org.uk).