Jesus Intercedes for Us

Thinking about Steve McVey’s statement of how God relates to us from a posture of forgiveness made me wonder about Hebrews 7:25 which says Jesus lives to intercede for us. This might be another one of those verses we read through and believe we understand what it means. But as our old friend Inigo Montoya reminds us, I do not think it means what you think it means. Some, or even many, probably think of Jesus standing before God the Judge, begging and pleading on our behalf that the angry God won’t yell “Off with their heads!”

If we start at the beginning of what we know about God, we must remember he is love, which means everything he does emanates from love. And then when we remind ourselves that Jesus’ work was finished on the cross, it makes no sense that he would need to constantly plead for our forgiveness.

Two online commentaries and present this perspective: “Jesus’ intercession on our behalf is not a matter of placating an angry Father who wants to destroy us. It is not a matter of continually chanting prayers on behalf of His people. It means that He continually represents us before the Father so that we can draw near through Him, and that He defends us against Satan’s accusations and attacks” (enduringword.com). He intercedes “now in heaven; not by vocal prayer and supplication, at least not as in the days of his flesh; or as if he was supplicating an angry Judge; nor as controverting, or litigating, a point [in] the court of heaven; but by the appearance of his person for them; by the presentation of his sacrifice, blood, and righteousness” (biblestudytools.com) [emphasis mine].

Even though these commentaries try to put the intercession of Jesus in terms we can understand, it is still a mystery. It’s also a huge subject and I make no claims to be an expert, but for me, reading Jesus’ prayer for the disciples and for us in John 17 helps me understand in words how it might go within the Trinitarian discourse. It’s a beautiful prayer for unity, joy, holiness and protection. The Passion Translation puts it beautifully and I recommend you read it with the perspective of our living Savior always interceding (NIV), sticking up for us (MSG) and continually praying for our triumph (TPT).

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Author: ttkach

Writer, cyclist, paper-crafter, mom, gardener.

One thought on “Jesus Intercedes for Us”

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