Jesus Ever Lives

Introduction

He Is Risen, He Is Risen Indeed.

Have you ever stopped and wondered why we proclaim this glorious truth the way we do? He IS risen. Why do we say “is” as opposed to “has”? It may seem like an insignificant nuance. But there’s something to the emphasis placed on the present tense verb, “is.”

This time of year, we rightly consider and reflect upon what Christ has done. This great plan of redemption that the triune God established before the foundation of the world - from eternity past - is acted out and accomplished in time and space. The Son of God actually entered into time and space and came to earth in human flesh as a baby - we celebrate the reality of the incarnation each year at Christmas. He grew up. He lived a life of perfect obedience. He fulfilled all righteousness. He submitted perfectly to the will of the Father in all things - even humbling Himself to the point of going to the cross. He willingly laid down His life for His own. The Son of God died. He was buried. And three days later, He rose from the dead. All historic events that took place on certain days. At certain times. In specific places. The life, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ are not moralistic stories or parables. They are historic realities - this is Paul’s emphasis in the first part of 1 Corinthians 15 when he highlights all the eyewitnesses to the resurrected Christ. Christ died. Christ was buried. And three days later, Christ rose from the dead. These are all historical realities that Christ accomplished in time and space. Things Christ has done.

But, how about right now? Where is Christ? What’s He doing? Well, to answer these questions, I want to just briefly consider a few verses in Hebrews this morning. If you have your Bibles, or you can follow along in your bulletins, please turn with me to Hebrews 7:23-25. [Read text].

So, what’s Christ doing now? What’s He up to this very moment? According to these verses, we see three very specific actions Christ is doing this very moment:

He’s living.

He’s interceding.

He’s saving.

So, first, He’s living. Now this may seem obvious. But is absolutely essential for His other two actions. If Christ is not alive - if He’s not living at this very moment - then He’s not able to intercede for you. And if He’s not able to intercede for you, He’s not able to save you. BUT…HE IS ALIVE. HE IS RISEN. HE IS RISEN INDEED! What a glorious truth this is! This is precisely why we emphasize the present tense verb “is” in the proclamation that He IS risen. Because, although He was raised from the dead at a specific point in history 2,000 years ago, that action has very specific consequences for us today. There are present time realities because He lives!

And don’t you notice how this is the big contrast between the former priests and Christ, our Great High Priest, in these verses? The great contrast is that all the former priests died. BUT... Christ lives. The author of Hebrews highlights this contrast in a few different ways:

Verse 23 - the former priests were MANY in number. And that’s really an understatement. If we were to do a roll call this morning for all the male priests within the line of Levi, we’d be here until sundown. There were MANY priests within Israel. And why was this the case? Because they all died and had to be replaced. A priest would live and serve. And then he’d die. Then he’d be replaced by a priest who would live and serve. And then he’d die. And so on. And so on.

All the MANY former priests had TEMPORARY offices. Their office and service lasted for however long they lived. But without fail, they all died because, just like all of mankind, they all had fleeting lives. Like the grass of this field and the flowers of the earth (DEMONSTRATE WITH EASTER LILIES). Here today and gone tomorrow.

BUT…that’s all the former priests. Contrast the MANY former priests with the One, Most Holy High Priest - the Lord Jesus Christ. Whereas there were MANY former priests who came and served temporary offices, look at verse 24 - the One, Most Holy High Priest holds his office permanently. Why? Because, as opposed to living a fleeting life like the grass of the field, He continues forever.

We have a Savior and a High Priest who has defeated death! Once and for all. Death no longer has any power over Him. Listen to Paul’s words at the end of 1 Corinthians 15, verses 54-57: “When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ ‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting.’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

One of my favorite movies is Cinderella Man - it’s this great underdog story of boxer, James J. Braddock that takes place at the height of the Great Depression. As Braddock is making his Cinderella comeback, he’s matched up with one of the top title contenders by the name of Art Lasky. In this iconic fight in the film, Lasky lands a devastating right hook to the head of Braddock. The shot actually sends Braddock’s mouthpiece flying out of his mouth and onto the mat. Braddock staggers a bit and then begins walking to retrieve his mouthpiece. All the while, you see scenes flashing through his mind. Scenes that remind him why he’s fighting. Scenes of his children without food. Without milk. Struggling to survive. And as he walks to pick up his mouthpiece, he just smiles at Lasky - the guy who just socked him across the jaw. And then you hear the announcer say, “Braddock just took Lasky’s best shot, and it didn’t even phase him.” Braddock bends down, picks up his mouthpiece, and puts it right back in. And you see the blood just drain from Lasky’s face. Here he is. He’s just landed his best punch, and it did nothing to Braddock. In fact, Braddock absorbed the blow and smiled.

Death gave Christ its greatest blow, but the sting was taken out of it. Without sin, the stinger was removed. Christ, the perfect and faithful High Priest, is also the perfect and faithful sacrifice. In offering up His sinless life as a sacrifice, the Father raised Christ victoriously. He swallowed up death in victory. And He lives today! He lives to do the same for those who trust in Him.

And how does he do this? He intercedes for His own. Because Christ ever lives, He is able to ever intercede for His people. What does it mean for Christ to intercede for His own? Well, how did the former priests intercede for the people? They represented the people before God, right? Only qualified priests from the line of Levi could enter the temple on behalf of the people. And only the High Priest could enter the Most Holy Place on the Day of Atonement. So, one man on one specific day of the year could enter the Holy of Holies. And he would do so to intercede for all the people. To stand between God and the people and offer a sacrifice on their behalf. With this substitutionary sacrifice, he would plead on their behalf. “God, look at this sacrifice, not them. Pour out your holy wrath against this animal, not the people.”

Do you realize that, because our Savior lives, this is what He is doing this very moment for every single one of you who are His? This very moment - right now - what is Jesus doing? He’s pleading on your behalf. Standing between you and the Father - or perhaps, better yet, sitting between you and the Father because His sacrificial work is complete - but there He is - between you and the Father - saying, “Look at My righteousness. My righteousness is perfect. Look at mine. He or she is united to me in faith. See me when you see them.” Isn’t that beautiful?

But what if this isn’t enough? You might think to yourself, “Maybe that works for normal sinners, or pretty good people, but you have no idea what I’ve done. You don’t know my sin. Is Christ’s intercession enough for me? Can He really plead on my behalf before the Father?” Look with me again at verse 25 - Consequently - because Christ continues forever - because HE IS RISEN - CONSEQUENTLY, he is able to save to the uttermost. To the uttermost. I love this particular Greek phrase here - because it can refer to a “degree,” meaning Christ is able to save “to the utmost degree” or completely. It can also have a temporal meaning, so it would refer “to the utmost time” or forever. And, it can refer to both - which is what it does here. Christ saves “to the utmost degree” for the “utmost time.” In other words, Christ saves completely and forever. The ESV says “to the uttermost” Pastor Dane Ortlund comments on this verse, “We are to-the-uttermost sinners. We need a to-the uttermost Savior.”

And that’s exactly what we have in Christ. Because He ever lives, He can ever intercede for us, and because He ever intercedes for us, He can and will save us to the uttermost. Many of you are familiar with the apostle Peter. In the Gospel of Luke, when Jesus foretells Peter’s denial, do you remember that conversation. Jesus tells Peter, “Simon, Simon behold Satan has demanded to have you, that might sift you like wheat…BUT - do you remember what comes next? - I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.” I have pled for you. I have gone to the Father for you. And how successful was Christ’s intercession for Peter? What happened to Peter? Yes, he denied Christ - three times he denied him. BUT... his faith did not fail. Why? Because Peter was able to pull himself up by his own bootstraps? Because he had the passion and resolve? Because he had the willpower? Peter was certainly not lacking in passion. It was him Peter, who just prior to Jesus prophesying would deny him three times, boldly declared, “I will follow you to death.” And I believe Peter meant that. But, was this why Peter’s faith did not ultimately fail. No…not at all. Peter’s faith did not fail because Peter had a “to-the-uttermost Savior.” And so, do we. Robert Murray M-Cheyne - “If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me.” This moment – right now – Christ is interceding for His own.

Vs. 25 - Consequently, He is able to save to the uttermost - who? Those who draw near to God through Him - through Christ alone. As we conclude, what’s left for us to do this morning? Draw near to God through Christ. If you’ve never repented of your sins and trusted in Christ, let today be the day! Come to Christ NOW. Cling to Him NOW. Don’t trust in your own strength. Your own resolve. Your own works. We are “to-the-uttermost sinners.” Come to the “to-the-uttermost Savior.”

If you know Christ - God has been gracious to draw you to Him - and you’ve known Christ for year, what’s left for you? Keep coming to Christ. Keep drawing near. Christ is saving you even this moment - sanctifying you and preparing you for your glorification.

Right now, we have a Savior who is saving. Because we have a Savior who is interceding. Because we have a Savior who is risen. He is risen. He is risen indeed!

Dane Ortlund - “The atonement accomplished our salvation; intercession is the moment-by-moment application of that atoning work” (Gentle & Lowly, 79).

“We are to-the-uttermost sinners. We need a to-the-uttermost Savior” (Gentle & Lowly, 82).

Louis Berkhof - “It is a consoling thought that Christ is praying for us, even when we are negligent in our prayer life.”

Richard Sibbes - “What a comfort it is now in our daily approach to God to minister boldness to us in all our suits, that we go to God in the name of one that he loves, in whom his soul delights, that we have a friend in court, a friend in heaven for us, that is at the right hand of God, and interposes himself there for us, in all our suits that makes us acceptable, that perfumes our prayers and makes them acceptable…Be sure therefore in all our suits to God to take along our elder brother…God looks upon us, lovely in him and delights in us, as we are members of him.”

Robert Murray M-Cheyne - “If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me.”