The intercession of Christ is an amazing truth in Scripture. In the first part we looked at “Jesus as High Priest”. We discussed Old Testament sacrifices and then Jesus not only bringing a sacrifice but being the sacrifice. With that explained we now move to the mediation of Christ before the Father.
Christ as Mediator
Mediation is the reconciliation between two parties. In this post we are concerned with the reconciliation between a holy God and sinful man. In the Old Testament we see a need for this reconciliation. In 1 Samuel 2 Eli has sons that the Bible calls, “worthless”. They disrespect the priests office by refusing to give the priest raw meat for the sacrifice. Due to their hard hearts their sin was considered “very great in the sight of the LORD” (17). Eli rebukes them and says,
“‘If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?’ But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death,” (25).
You will notice that “who can intercede for him?” is in bold in this text. The reason is that this highlights the need for someone greater than just a human to stand between man and God to reconcile such sinful disobedience. That sinful disobedience also has great consequence when it says, “it was the will of the Lord to put them to death.” With such great sin comes great consequence that’s where Christ’s mediation comes in.
Hebrews 9:15 shows the fulfillment of the need for a mediator when it says:
“Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.”
Here we see that the “first covenant” is addressed. The sacrifices and mediation by human priests could not satisfy the need created by sin. But Jesus’ sacrifice was different.It was pure, it was holy, it was complete as we discussed in the previous post. What I would like to point out here is that Jesus mediates that sacrifice. The act of mediation Jesus’ is eternal (John 1:1) and because of this he is able to mediate for all time for the sins of those that “receive the promised eternal inheritance”.
The mediation of Christ is an extreme need in our lives. The sins that we have committed are a stench in the nostrils of a Holy God. Thankfully, Jesus took care of that need. He gave himself as a perfect sacrifice for sin but also presents that to the Father on our behalf. As I stated in the first post what spurred the discussion of Jesus intercession was the book by John Owen The Death of Death in the Death of Christ and I would like to conclude with these words from him:
“…for there is no doubt but that for that, and that alone, doth Christ, upon the accomplishment of the whole, intercede with him (the Father) about: which was in sum that he might be the captain of salvation to all that believe on him, and effectually bring many sons to glory. And hence it is, having such an high priest over the house of God, we may draw near with the full assurance of faith, for by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified, Heb. x.14.”
Filed under: Christianity, Theology Tagged: Christianity, Intercede, Intercession, Jesus, Mediator, Sin
