JESUS CHRIST: OUR GREAT INTERCESSOR

1. Introduction. (Rom. 8:34, Heb. 7:25)

Romans 8:34 “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”

Hebrews 7:25 “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”

The Bible says that Jesus Christ is always making intercession for those that belong to Him. If you are truly saved, Jesus Christ is always making intercession for you.

What, however, does that mean?

Well, we are going to endeavor to answer that today by answering some other questions that will help us answer what it means that Christ is always making intercession for those that truly believe.

2. What is intercession?

If we are to know what it means for Christ to always be interceding for us, we must first know what intercession is, and what we are concerned with is a biblical definition of intercession.

In the Bible, intercession is the act of pleading with God on behalf of another person, group, situation, community, or church.

In your life as a Christian, if led by the Holy Spirit, you can literally intercede on behalf of almost anything.

The word intercession comes from a Latin word meaning to intervene or to go between. When you intercede on behalf of someone or something, you are literally going between that someone or something before God.

Intercession always involves a sacrifice of time and focus, and it is a way to show love for others.

Literally, when someone asks you to pray for them or a situation, he or she is asking you to intercede on his or her behalf, but many of us give lip service to that request instead of legitimate intercession. When interceding on the behalf of someone, if a sacrifice is not involved, it was just a religious exercise.

In the Old Testament, Moses interceded on behalf of Israel, and Abraham interceded on behalf of Lot, but I want you to see to me what is the best example of intercessory prayer in the Old Testament.

If you read Dan. Chap 9, verses 1-19, you will see the characteristics of intercessory prayer.

Intercessory prayer is always in response to God’s Word (v.2).

Intercessory prayer is fervent prayer. Daniel prayed for three straight weeks (v. 3).

Intercessory prayer involves personal sacrifice (v. 4).

Intercessory prayer is identification unselfishly with God’s people (v. 3). Literally, Daniel owned the sins of Judah as if they were his sins.

Intercessory prayer is dependent upon God’s character (V. 4, 7, 9, & 15).

The goal of intercessory prayer is God’s glory (v. 16-19).

As you can see by the characteristics of intercessory prayer, most of our prayers do not reach the level of intercession, yet we are commanded by God to intercede on behalf of others. We are to pray as Daniel prayed for what God commands.

Did you know God’s Word tells us for whom we are to intercede?

We are to intercede for all in authority (1 Tim. 2:2).

We are to intercede for preachers and pastors. (Phil. 1:19).

We are to intercede for Jerusalem (Psa. 122:6).

We are to intercede for friends (Job 42:8).

We are to intercede for our fellow citizens (Rom. 10:1).

We are to intercede for the sick (Jas. 5:14).

We are to intercede for our enemies (Jer. 29:7).

We are to intercede for those who persecute us (Matt. 5:44).

That is not an exhaustive list, but when was the last time, according to the Bible definition, you interceded on the behalf of these that we have listed?

All Christians are called to be intercessors, and the Bible is specific as for what we are to intercede. It is a sacrifice of our time and focus, but imagine the positive impact our intercession could have.

3. Why do we need an intercessor?

The answer is simple and found in Scripture.

Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”

Job 25:4 “How then can man be justified with God? Or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?”

Job 9:32–33 “For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, And we should come together in judgment. Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, That might lay his hand upon us both.”

God is holy. Mankind is sinful. As a result, mankind could never approach God without an intercessor.

Do you remember how Moses had to approach God at the burning bush?

Exodus 3:3–4 “And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.”

Exodus 3:5–6 “And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.”

Moses could not approach God, and neither could we if we did not have an intercessor.

Mankind is evil in the eyes of God.

Romans 3:10–12 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”

There is not a person here who could ever into God’s presence as you are because we are not good people. Sin darkens our soul.

Take Billy as an example. The other night when we had our testimony service many of you stated how much Billy meant to you and how highly regarded he was in your life. It was obvious that Billy was something special in your eyes, but in God’s eyes, there is nothing good about Billy. That is why Billy and all of us if we want to have a relationship with God must have an intercessor.

Who you and I view as good people are like filthy rags in the presence of God.

Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all as an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; And we all do fade as a leaf; And our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

Dear friend, until you and I see ourselves in the way God sees us, we will never be what God wants us to be. You see, when Adam sinned, mankind was separated from God. Man could never approach God without a mediator paving the way. That mediator had to be both Man and God, and there is only One that has ever been born that was qualified to be what we needed.

4. Why is Jesus the only One qualified to be our intercessor?

Let me share an incredible passage with you that explains why.

Romans 5:10–12 “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”

The One who could intercede between man and God was and is Jesus Christ.

He is the only One qualified because He is the only One who is both God and Man.

Jesus Christ is different from us in that He did not have a human father. If He was going to be sinless, He could not have a human father, but in everything else, He was a Man, a Man that did not have the nature to sin because He was born of the Holy Spirit.

Luke 1:35 “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”

Hebrews 4:15 “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

Literally, Jesus Christ is the only One who could make mankind acceptable to God. He is the only One who can bring man to God, and that is because as God, He became a Man.

Job says that man needed a daysman before God.

A daysman is an umpire, arbiter, or judge who acts as a mediator between two parties. Jesus Christ is that daysman. He is man. He is God. He is the only One who can mediate between man and God.

Do you know what gives people the most problems regarding salvation?

John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Dear friend, there is no other way. Jesus Christ is the daysman. He is the only One that settle the differences between sinful man and a Holy God. Jesus Christ, because He is God and because He is man, can link God with man, and that is exactly what He did as He hung on the Cross. He, forever, bridged the gap between man and God.

5. Why is Jesus always interceding on our behalf?

I will give you the Cliff’s notes version of this.

Because Jesus Christ was resurrected and ascended into heaven, He is always making intercession for us.

Revelation 1:18 “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”

We have a living Savior who always and will forever be our intercessor.

But why does a Christian need an intercessor?

A. As Christians, we sin.

Technically, if Christ was not interceding for us as Christians, every time we sinned, we would be lost again, but because Jesus is alive,we are wrapped in His righteousness never to be lost again.

1 John 2:1–2 “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

When I sin, I have an Advocate, Jesus Christ, with the Father, and His righteousness covers my sin because I have placed my faith in Him.

How many of you here do not sin? Well, aren’t you glad that you have a righteous Advocate with the Father?

When I sin, it is the righteousness and the blood of Jesus Christ that comes before God. There are many wonderful passages that describe it, but this is my favorite.

Romans 8:38–39 “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Do you realize what Paul is saying? It is our love, our faith in Jesus Christ, that makes loving God possible, and if we put our faith in Him, nothing will ever separate us from that love. It is a love that solely based on our intercessor, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is our daysman.

B. The Devil is always accusing us before the Father.

It is one of the most unclear parts of God’s Word to me, but for some reason, Satan has access to earth and heaven.

Actually, it is better to say that earth is Satan’s domain, but he has visitation rights to heaven as of now.

The Devil accuses you before God, and that is why you need someone to intercede on your behalf, and Satan works tirelessly to accuse you.

1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”

Job 1:6–7 “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them. And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.”

Both passages paint us a picture of Satan’s activity level.

Satan paces back and forth looking for a Christian to pounce upon to devour. He tirelessly scours this earth to accuse you before God the Father, but every time he accuses you, Vanessa, you have an advocate before the Father who intervenes.

Romans 8:33–34 “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”

I am telling you this truthfully. We are to be on guard for the Devil, but we do not need to give him too much credit.

Did you know there are only two reasons why Satan can even bother you at all? Do you want to know those two reasons?

1. When you sin, you give the Devil legal permission to attack you.

Ephesians 4:30–31 “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:”

When you grieve the Holy Spirit by sinning, you give the Devil permission to set up a residence in your life, and from that residence, he will hit you with everything he has. When a Christian sins, the Devil gains access to that Christian’s life, and you better believe he knows when you sin because he is constantly seeking Christians to devour.

To get rid of him in your life, you must agree with God about the sin in your life. That is what confession means, agreeing with God.

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Did you know some Christians never get rid of the Devil’s influence in their lives? The reason is because they refuse to say about a particular sin what God says about it, but dear friend, until you agree with God about sin in your life, the Devil will not stop attacking you, but when you confess your sin, the Devil has no chance.

James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

I promise you this. If you try to tell Satan to leave you alone when you have not submitted to God’s authority in your life, the Devil will laugh right in your face because he has legal authority to do so.

2. God allows Satan to test you.

There are many examples in the Bible, but two are really familiar to you.

Job 1:8–12 “And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side?

Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.”

Luke 22:31–32 “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”

In Job’s case and in Simon's case, the Devil was given permission by the Lord to test them, but Satan could not take Job’s life, and Peter had an intercessor, Jesus Christ, that was praying for Peter as he was being sifted like wheat by Satan.

Dear friend, Satan has no power over you if you are saved because you have an intercessor who comes between you and God, and that intercessor is Jesus Christ.

If you read John 17:13-20, you will even see that our Daysman, Jesus Christ, prayed for us while He was on earth, and all of Jesus’s prayers will be answered.

Jesus Christ is our Intercessor, and we are commanded to be intercessors, but I believe we fail in our intercessory duties because we do not want to make the personal sacrifice that intercession demands, but praise God, Jesus Christ was willing to make the sacrifice to be my Intercessor.

Is He your Intercessor? Have you, in faith, accepted the sacrifice He made for you? He has done it all for you, but you must come to Him in faith. Will you do that today? Christian friend, are you ready to own your responsibility as an intercessor? Are you willing to make the sacrifice needed to do what God commands?