Do you have someone praying for you?
You do; someone is interceding on your behalf every day. The writer to the Hebrews, speaking about Jesus as our Great High Priest, writes in Hebrews 7:25, “Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”
Jesus is no ordinary high priest; He is the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace, majestic, mighty, and holy. When Saul encountered this Jesus on the road to Damascus, he fell down and was blinded by his glory (see Acts 9). When John saw the vision of Jesus, he fell at his feet as though dead (see Revelation 1). This is Jesus today, awesome in power and majesty (see Hebrews 7:26).
This same Jesus invites us to come near and talk with him; he invites us into a growing relationship with him. If only we could fully understand the privilege we have of knowing Jesus, the creator God.
If we fail to grasp his majesty, we won’t value the opportunity to know him.
Because Jesus shed his blood and died on the cross as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the World (see John 1:29), he is able “to save to the uttermost.” This means that he has the power to save anyone who comes to him in repentance.
Verse 25 continues, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” Jesus lives to make intercession for those of us who have believed in him for salvation.
Jesus our Intercessor
Intercession is the act of praying on behalf of others, “standing in the gap” between God and someone in need of mercy, healing, or guidance. We intercede for our unbelieving family and friends, the sick, and the nations. We should be interceding for our nation daily.
Isn’t it incredibly encouraging that our savior brings us before God the Father daily in His presence (see Hebrews 8:1-2). Jesus is the only human mediator between God and man. It is pointless to pray to Mary or another deceased Christian; only Christ has the power to intercede for us before the throne of the Almighty (see 1 Timothy 2:5).
Jesus is interceding for you, the King of Kings, who names your name before the Father when you are struggling with temptation, trials, and the hardships of life. You have a mediator – someone who is interceding for you.
Jesus our Advocate
But that is not the only role that Jesus has; in 1 John 2:1, we read, “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.”
An advocate stands with the accused in a courtroom and defends the guilty party. An advocate brings the guilty party before the judge.
Jesus is interceding for you even when you are not aware you need it. He loves you, and he is bringing your life before God the Father, even when you are sleeping or relaxing.
But if you do sin, Jesus jumps in as our advocate. The Bible says that Satan is the accuser; he is accusing you and me before God the Father (see Revelation 12:10). Satan may be the prosecutor, but Jesus is your advocate.
Jesus advocates for us when we are accused, and there is no doubt that we are guilty, but Jesus replies to the accuser and says, “I paid for that with my blood.” (see 1 John 2:2). Jesus paid for our sins in full; he felt the full weight of our sins on the cross. Christ is always going before the Father on our behalf.
Bunyan wrote in his book, The Work of Jesus Christ as an Advocate.
“Christ, as Priest, goes before, and Christ, as an Advocate, comes after.
Christ, as Priest, continually intercedes; Christ, as Advocate, in case of great transgressions, pleads.
Christ, as Priest, has need to act always, but Christ, as Advocate, sometimes only.
Christ, as Priest, acts in time of peace; but Christ, as Advocate, in times of broils, turmoils, and sharp contentions; wherefore, Christ, as Advocate, is, as I may call him, a reserve, and his time is then to arise, to stand up and plead, when his own are clothed with some filthy sin that of late they have fallen into.
Jesus doesn’t discard us when we sin, waiting for us to get ourselves back in his favor by doing good things. No, Jesus comes to us; he is near when we sin, he is ready to embrace us as we repent and cry to him for forgiveness. The reason he does this is that sin causes pain, pain in our lives and pain in the lives of those around us. Jesus draws near to offer us forgiveness and grace as we repent and turn to him.
However, our natural inclination when we sin is to excuse it, make light of the sin, or blame someone else for our sin. But all the while, we are still falling short of the glory of God – we are still in sin – until we turn to the advocate.
An advocate who loves us unconditionally and who ever lives to intercede for us (see Romans 8:31-39).
What sin do you need to confess to Jesus today?