We Believe In Jesus: The PriestExemplo

Jesus’ Intercession: Hebrews 7:24-25

Intercession is mediation or petitioning for favor on another’s behalf. This is something that characterized Jesus’ earthly ministry, and that continues to characterize his ministry in heaven.

I’ve a friend who has asked me, “Well, if Jesus gets us to God, why do we still need Jesus? Why don’t we just dispense with him now that he’s gotten us to God and just pray to the Father? We don’t really need Jesus anymore.” Well, that misses the ongoing role of Jesus. Because the New Testament says that Jesus is the one mediator between God and man, present tense, the man Jesus, and that he lives forever to intercede for us. It doesn’t mean in the least that Jesus’ atoning work on the cross was insufficient in some way. To be sure, Jesus’ atoning work is once-for-all, it’s complete; nothing ever needs to be added to it again. But Jesus still has an ongoing, personal, relational role that he plays in our lives as our advocate, our mediator, our representation. He’s our lawyer that daily, continually goes before the great judge and pleads our case. The great news is because of his atoning work he never loses a case. He’s always appealing to his perfect, completed work on our behalf in his intercessory role as our Great High Priest, and it’s always successful, it’s always effective. But it’s ongoing, and relational, and dynamic. And so Jesus, based on his finished atoning work, continues as our mediator, and our intercessor, as our Great High Priest. – Dr. K. Erik Thoennes

One of the most explicit examples of Jesus’ intercessory work in the Bible is his prayer for his disciples on the night of his arrest and trial, recorded in John 17. In fact, this prayer is typically called his “High Priestly Prayer.” In this prayer, Jesus included many petitions for the apostles. And in John 17:20-21, he also prayed on behalf of those who would become his disciples through their evangelistic ministry.

Jesus continued his intercessory work in the action of his death on the cross, where he mediated between God and humanity in the most effective way possible. And now that he has ascended into heaven, we’re told that he continues to intercede for us in the heavenly temple by presenting his own blood on the altar and pleading before the Father on our behalf. As we read in Hebrews 7:24-25:

Because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them (Hebrews 7:24-25).

Our salvation is permanently secure because Jesus, our Great High Priest, is perpetually interceding on our behalf, asking the Father to accept the merit of the Son’s death in payment for every sin we commit.

Jesus perfectly fulfilled the function of the Old Testament priesthood. He provided leadership, performed ceremonies — including the most important ceremony of all time, his sacrifice on the cross — and he offered intercession for his people. In fact, he continues to perform these basic functions today, through his church and through his high priestly work in the heavenly courts. So, as his followers, it’s our responsibility to acknowledge and to rely on Jesus as our only access to the Father, and submit to his ministry as he prepares us to enter God’s special holy presence.