Christ Our Intercessor
Intercession is the present day ministry of Jesus. In Hebrews 7.25, the Bible says: “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.” Usually when we think of intercession, we think about prayer. Is Jesus on His knees praying for us? I think not. The word intercession means spanning the gap. Inter means between and cession is a gap. In other words, intercession is the forming of a bridge. There is an abyss that separate man from God and Jesus serves as the bridge that spans that abyss. On one hand, Jesus identifies with us in our humanity and at the same time identifies with God in His divinity. For this reason He is able to save us to the uttermost. In fact, He is the only one that can be a bridge so we can come to God.
Jesus said it another way when He declared: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14.6) He lives always to make intercession. Jesus is not the goal, but the way to the goal. He is the way not the end. He takes us from our lost, decrepit state, washes us with His blood and brings us to the Father. Paul uses the word, mediator, to describe this present day ministry of Jesus. He says: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ.” (I Tim. 2.5) A mediator is one who speaks on behalf of another; who represents one before another.
John explains the intercession of Jesus as if we are in a courtroom and were being accused of our sin. The devil is the accuser and Jesus is our advocate. On our own basis, all of us are guilty, for all have sinned. Jesus, as our lawyer, defends us before the Father on the basis of His redemptive work on the cross. He took upon Himself our sin and was condemned in our place, so that His blood could serve as the price needed for our salvation. Because of His intercession we are deemed innocent. Once again, Jesus spans the gap and brings us to the Father. What we could never accomplish on our own merit, He did on our behalf. Jesus is our intercessor.
Intercession is a ministry that we also can participate in. It is when we come before God in prayer on the behalf of someone else. It requires identification with the person’s need or condition and identification with the Lord and His promises. Moses preformed such a ministry on behalf of the people of Israel. While in the desert, the people had provoked the wrath of God, because of the hardness of their heart and their returning to worship idols. God determined to destroy the people and begin a new nation with Moses. Moses stood in the gap and pleaded on behalf of the people. He appealed for mercy and forgiveness, reminding the Lord of His promises and His reputation among the nations. Daniel, also, identified with the sins of his people, by saying: “We have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled.” (Dan. 9.5) He did not place himself above the people in his prayers, but identified with them, with their sins and the sins of his forefathers, and pleaded for mercy. God heard his prayers and released Israel from slavery.
As Jesus continually serves as a bridge to the Father, we too can stand in the gap for those who do not yet know Him. As we identify with the sin and condition of the one we are praying for and cry out on his behalf, we serve as an intercessor. With one hand we touch the need and with the other we touch the answer. God is looking for such a one who will day and night stand in the gap.Scriptures to meditate on:
Heb. 7.25; 9.15; 12.24; I Tim. 2.1, 5; I John 2.1-2; Ez. 22.