Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as an advocate, a term which has the legal connotation of a defense attorney. In this sense the Spirit is our heavenly intercessor, the one who pleads for us before the judgment seat of God. The Spirit, then, is a protector of the righteous, the one who takes up our cause and defends it. But there is much more to the meaning of the term as used in the Gospel of John. The Spirit is a witness to Jesus and a spokesman for Jesus to the world. The Spirit is a mediator between God and us, between Jesus and the world. The Spirit teaches us the truth and is a prosecutor of those who refuse to accept the truth. The Spirit comforts us in our time of need and consoles us in our sorrow.