In Romans 8 we read:
[31] What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? [32] He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? [33] Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. [34] Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
Notice the judicial language above in the words “bring a charge”, “justifies”, “condemns”, “intercession”.
And now from Hebrews 7:
[22] by so much more JESUS has become a surety [guarantee] of a better covenant. [23] Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. [24] But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. [25] Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. [26] For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; [27] who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.
Isaiah 53:12
Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.
It says in Romans 8 that Jesus is at the right hand of God interceding for us. What is He interceding about? Why is He interceding for us?
Jesus has completed all. He lived His life as a Man on this earth perfectly for us. He has fulfilled all of the law, setting it aside and so established the New Covenant of Grace (Hebrews 10:9). He has sacrificed all, He has bled, He died and all of our wrong has been dealt with at the cross.
And now where is Jesus? , He is at the right hand of God the Father, in the position of highest favor. And in that position of highest favor He is interceding for us. There’s a difference between praying for someone and interceding for someone. Christians often use the two interchangeably, but they are not the same. When we are interceding for someone it’s a lot like a lawyer who is interceding on behalf of his client before the bar of the judge. But in this case it is not that God the Father needs to be convinced to “lay off the sinner”. No, this all the Father’s purpose and desire, it is all part of His great, loving plan. In fact, when Jesus is interceding it is the Father who is in Jesus and is interceding through Him. Jesus said in John 12:49 & 5:19, ““Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.”
This is extremely powerful, because if this was not the case, if there wasn’t the perfect sacrifice of The Lord Jesus and everything accomplished for us and the Priestly intercession for us at the Father’s right hand when we sin and fail there would be no righteous ground for God to have anything to do with us.
In fact, God would utterly cease to be good, because He is standing for injustice and excusing away sin.
But precisely because God is good, Jesus righteously intercedes on our behalf. The Father is vindicated in His justice precisely because of the righteousness and perfection of Jesus, the perfection of His completed work and His perfect, righteous intercession for us!
And because He as our Great High Priest is interceding for us even when we fail, that intercession meets us where we are at and that Holy, righteous, just and good intercession is what makes the righteous difference so that Our Father can happily continue to righteously bless us and righteously have favor upon us. And the greatest blessing is the gift of Himself through the Holy Spirit…. this is what leads to real, lasting life change and a beautiful relationship with The Lord!
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
