Jesus, our only Intercessor

Chapter Sixty-two:

Not only is Jesus our High Priest as He sits at the right hand of the Father, but He is also our intercessor. When Jesus intercedes for us, He is praying on our behalf, as an intercessor is one who prays for another.  Jesus is continually talking to the Father on our behalf.  He is our great defender.  No matter how bad things may seem, we can have the assurance that Jesus is interceding for us.

 Hebrews 7:25 tells us, "Therefore he (Jesus) is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them." While He was here on earth in the form of a man, reclaiming what was rightfully His, He often went away by Himself to pray for His disciples.  He knew they would need God's strength to share the Gospel message after He ascended to Heaven as they would face persecution .

There are several reasons Jesus intercedes for us before the Father:

 He intercedes for unity within the Body of Christ. He prays for unity among His true disciples (John 17:21).  This unity is not as the world or some churches are currently promoting as they ask that we put aside crucial doctrinal differences (ie, Jesus is the only way to the Father, there is inherent sin in the heart of man, the Second coming of Christ) in order to come together as one and usher in a new era of peace on earth. Jesus knows that there will be discord in the world until He returns the second time, so He is praying that we will be encouraged, that we will help one another and we will stand together as His brothers and sisters. 


He intercedes for us when we are tempted. As long as we are in this world, we will be tempted. Jesus knows we deal with temptation and knows the struggles it causes within His followers.  Scripture tells us that while He lived here He "was in all points tempted like we are, yet was without sin." (Hebrews 4:15). 

He intercedes for us when we have sinned.  First John 2:1 tells us "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate (an intercessor) with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One." It is because of what Jesus has done for us that God forgives us of our sins. First John 2:12 says, "...because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name." Not only do we receive forgiveness  and cleansing for sin when we confess and repent, but because of the blood of Christ we are restored into right fellowship with God (First John 1:9).

He intercedes for our protection against the enemy.  John 17:15 says, "My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one."  Satan and his minions will do whatever they can to cause us to sin,  lose hope or become deceived by erroneous teachings so that we will live a life that is displeasing to the Father.  

He intercedes for us to become more like Him and to have less of the world in us (John 17:17). He knows how difficult it is for us to live in this world and that we have to fight against our flesh.  Jesus' ultimate desire is that we become more like Him every day.

He intercedes for those who would hear the gospel so that they will also become His disciples. John 17:20 says, "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message." He earnestly desires that all should come to the Father and He prays that we will be able to spread the Gospel so that as many as possible shall be saved.

Remember, Jesus is our only intercessor before God.  No one else can have that role...not Mary, the mother of Jesus, and not anyone who has been declared by man to be a Saint.  Christ is the only one that has the authority to intercede for us. “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (First Timothy 2:5).   

Jesus prays for us continually.  He does not ignore us or turn away from us when we need help, but eagerly waits for us to turn to Him for help.  When we fall, He does not condemn us but instead He gently convicts us so that our relationship with Him and the Father will be restored.  When we are weak, He offers us His strength.  When we do not know what to say, we simply have to ask. When we struggle with temptation all we need to do is go to Him and ask Him for strength.  Jesus, our intercessor,  is the one who can give us hope and victory. 

Hebrews 4:14-16 tells us that we can boldly approach the throne of grace knowing that Jesus is praying for us so that we can victoriously run this race that is set before us..."Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."