Christ our intercessor
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The condition of man before the coming of Christ
The condition of man before the coming of Christ
Romans 5:12–14 (NKJV)
12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—
13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.
Every man was under to power of sin and death due to the first man.
Through the first man all died.
Death means:- not just physical death, it was spiritual in the sense that they were seprarted from the presence of God.
There was no free and intimate access to God after Adam had sinned.
God was working and dealing with man within the confines of sin and death.
The problem of sin and death was not dealt with
The first Covenant
God made a covenant with the People of Israel Exodus 24:6, under that covenant. God gave the levitical priesthood, a tabernacle and an atoning sacrifice.
Hebrews 9:1–10 (NKJV)
1 Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary.
2 For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary;
3 and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All,
4 which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant;
5 and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
6 Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services.
7 But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance;
8 the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing.
9 It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience—
10 concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.
Hebrews 10:1–3 (NKJV)
1 For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect.
2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins.
3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.
1 For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect.
2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins.
“The way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest”. In other words this was not the way to God’s Presence.
This was not the way to perfection. That is the complete removal of sin from one’s consience and reconciliation of man with God.
This tabernacle was not given to overcome the problem of sin and hence the problem of death. For the sacrifice given did not and is not able to take away sin.
What was the purpose of the first Tabernacle and Priesthood under the first Covenant.
It was for the forbearance of God. For Judgement of sin to be delayed from year to year until the coming of the true tabernacle, High Priest and Sacrifice of God.
25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,
The priest in the Old Testament knew that their role as mediator was limited.
1 Samuel 2:24–25 (NKJV)
24 No, my sons! For it is not a good report that I hear. You make the Lord’s people transgress.
25 If one man sins against another, God will judge him. But if a man sins against the Lord, who will intercede for him?” Nevertheless they did not heed the voice of their father, because the Lord desired to kill them.
It is the high Priest “who suppose to be the mediater” asking the question.
The high Priest themsleves knew that the levitical priesthood could not truly bring permanent reconciliation between God and man. This is because they themselves are under the power of sin and death, for they too were descendent of Adam.
The forefathers in The OLd Testament understood that the levitical High Priest was not the true mediator between God and man
32 “For He is not a man, as I am, That I may answer Him, And that we should go to court together.
33 Nor is there any mediator between us, Who may lay his hand on us both.
21 Oh, that one might plead for a man with God, As a man pleads for his neighbor!
Job cry, was not only his own but many of the forefathers, for a mediator. One who can plead for man before God. Bring a complete restoration and reconciliation between man and God.
Zacharias reflects in his prophecy the desire and cry of the people of God
Luke 1:68–75 (NKJV)
68 “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people,
69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David,
70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began,
71 That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us,
72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant,
73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
74 To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear,
75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
Zacharia says that the lord has redeemed his people.
the enemies is plural.
The enemies refers to three things, Sin, death and the devil
26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.
8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
The desire was to serve God outside the confine or the viel of sin and death that covered all the people.
Remember, under The levitical priesthood and old Covenant, sin was there, death was there, the devil was there and it had power over the people.
Note : HOld on to the thought of being delivered from our enemies
Isaiah 59:1–20 (NKJV)
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.
3 For your hands are defiled with blood, And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken lies, Your tongue has muttered perversity.
4 No one calls for justice, Nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity.
5 They hatch vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s web; He who eats of their eggs dies, And from that which is crushed a viper breaks out.
6 Their webs will not become garments, Nor will they cover themselves with their works; Their works are works of iniquity, And the act of violence is in their hands.
7 Their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; Wasting and destruction are in their paths.
8 The way of peace they have not known, And there is no justice in their ways; They have made themselves crooked paths; Whoever takes that way shall not know peace.
9 Therefore justice is far from us, Nor does righteousness overtake us; We look for light, but there is darkness! For brightness, but we walk in blackness!
10 We grope for the wall like the blind, And we grope as if we had no eyes; We stumble at noonday as at twilight; We are as dead men in desolate places.
11 We all growl like bears, And moan sadly like doves; We look for justice, but there is none; For salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our transgressions are multiplied before You, And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And as for our iniquities, we know them:
13 In transgressing and lying against the Lord, And departing from our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
14 Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, And equity cannot enter.
15 So truth fails, And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him That there was no justice.
16 He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.
17 For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, And was clad with zeal as a cloak.
18 According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, Fury to His adversaries, Recompense to His enemies; The coastlands He will fully repay.
19 So shall they fear The name of the Lord from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.
20 “The Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” Says the Lord.
The Lord Saw that there was no man. He saw what Job saw, He saw what the High Priest Eli saw, there was no mediator, there was no intercessor.
Through his arm, he brought salvation to him.
The arm of God in a nutshell
Is the Word of God that became flesh John 1:14
It is the body in which God was manifested in
1 timothy 3:16 “16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.”
Colossians 2:8-9 “8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;”
This body is reffered to as the arm of God, the son of God or Christ.
God through his body was going to take on our enemies and give us victory.
Through his body (Christ) he gave us victory over sin, over death and over the devil.
14 “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction! Pity is hidden from My eyes.
The old prophet foresaw this and prophesied in hope.
Micah 7:8–10 (NKJV)
8 Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; When I fall, I will arise; When I sit in darkness, The Lord will be a light to me.
9 I will bear the indignation of the Lord, Because I have sinned against Him, Until He pleads my case And executes justice for me. He will bring me forth to the light; I will see His righteousness.
10 Then she who is my enemy will see, And shame will cover her who said to me, “Where is the Lord your God?” My eyes will see her; Now she will be trampled down Like mud in the streets.
The judge will plead my case.
The enemy will be confounded when she realises that the one who pleads my case is the one to whom she accuses me.
She will be defeated, and trampled in the mud.
58 O Lord, You have pleaded the case for my soul; You have redeemed my life.
17 Indeed it was for my own peace That I had great bitterness; But You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, For You have cast all my sins behind Your back.
Through Christ, the body of flesh, God becomes our Redeemer.
All of the reconciliation is of God
2 Corinthians 5:18–19 (NKJV)
18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,
19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
All of the reconciliation process is of God. The sacrfice if of God, the priest is of God, the intercession is of God.
God was the one reconciling the world to himslef in Christ (the flesh).
John 14:9–10 (KJV 1900)
9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
It was the father, that was doing the works,
It was the father that was interceeding, it was the father that was carrying the sins of the world through Christ upon himslef.
The superiority of the priesthood of Christ from the Levitical priesthood.
This is not exhaustive.
Hebrews 7:1–28 (NKJV)
1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,
2 to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,”
3 without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually. [Introduced in scripture without geneology, father, or mother as if he came from another world]
4 Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils.
5 And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham;
6 but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.
7 Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better.
8 Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives.
9 Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak,
10 for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.
11 Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron?
A priest that does not have a physical mother, or father, nor begining of day or end of life. an Eternal priesthood.
12 For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law.
13 For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar.
14 For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood.
Christ was of the tribe of Judah because Joseph adopted Jesus legally as his own son and hence came from his line.
15 And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest
16 who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life.
17 For He testifies: “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
His priesthood was not according to the weak fleshly ordinances but rather according to the power of endless life (eternal).
His priesthood is not only eternal, but it has power to give eternal life.
18 For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness,
19 for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.
20 And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath
21 (for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him: “The Lord has sworn And will not relent, ‘You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek’ ”),
22 by so much more Jesus has become a surety 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.
Death has no power over him, because his priesthood is not tainted by the sinfull flesh of the Adamic race. He was the Word made flesh.
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.
28 For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.
The body was not only the sacrifice (lamb) of God but also it was the High Priest through whom the Lord interceeds for us.
Christ our Intercessor.
The duty of the High Priest in the Old Testament.
Leviticus 16,
He was to offer up a bull fro his own sins
The High Priest was to offer two goats, one for as an offering and the other as a scapegoat to carry the sins of the people outside the camp into the wilderness
Christ is the lamb that is slain for our sins and he is also the lamb upon whom all the sins of mankind is placed.
He was to offer up incence before the Lord
Incence played a key role in atonement under the levitical priesthood,
42 Now it happened, when the congregation had gathered against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tabernacle of meeting; and suddenly the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared.
43 Then Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of meeting.
44 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
45 “Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces.
46 So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a censer and put fire in it from the altar, put incense on it, and take it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them; for wrath has gone out from the Lord. The plague has begun.”
47 Then Aaron took it as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and already the plague had begun among the people. So he put in the incense and made atonement for the people.
48 And he stood between the dead and the living; so the plague was stopped.
The plague was stopped and those who were alive kept from death because of the intercession of Aaron.
Aaron was offering up incence for the people not for himself.
Jesus Christ when he prayed he was not praying for himslef, he was praying for us.
It was the father that was praying through him for us.
37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.
38 Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”
39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
Was Jesus carrying his own sorrow, just like we carry our own. was he really struggling to submit himself to the will of God.
First of, it is the Father praying through Christ unto himslelf. He is doing a work.
Isaiah 53:1–12 (NKJV)
1 Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.
It is Amazing that this two statement are in one passage. it is not only predicting the misunderstanding of Jesus’s prayer but also revealing the nature of his prayer. it was for our sake he prayed.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
We are not even sorrowful after our own sin, but Christ took it upon himslef.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
9 And they made His grave with the wicked— But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities.
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.
The lord will plead my case said Micah, Jeremiah
When he said not my will, but yours be done. He was representing the will of Humanity and subjecting it to the will of God. So through Christ our human will can be subjected to the will of Christ because of his prayer in Gethsemane
The blood sacrifice
Hebrews 9:11–15 (NKJV)
11 But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.
12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh,
14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Acts 20:28 “28 Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”
15 And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?”
35 “Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?”
36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
8 I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.
Conclusion
Through Christ we have been redeemed from the power of sin and death.
Through Christ our consience has been cleansed from dead works to serve the living God.
Through Christ we receive an eternal inheritance
Romans