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(#45) He Is Interceding for Us

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If Jesus Rose from the Dead, then (#45) He Is Interceding for Us

It is probably true that we do not spend much time pondering the reality that Jesus intercedes for us with the Father. And, I suspect, we seldom, if ever, connect that intercession with the resurrection. However, the Holy Spirit, through Paul, makes that link:

Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who is indeed interceding for us. Romans 8:33-34

Paul connects the fact that Jesus rose from the dead with the fact that He is now present before the Father and interceding for us. Here we find another reason, in our growing list, for how far-reaching the resurrection is and why it was so prominent in the apostle’s preaching and teaching.

But what does this mean, that Jesus is “interceding” for us?

Well, let’s look at a few fundamentals.

“Intercession” means to entreat or petition someone on behalf of another. The word brings our thoughts to a courtroom and several implications:

1. A defendant exists who has had charges laid against him.

2. A judge exists who can either condemn him or eradicate the charges.

3. The defendant is unable to pay those charges nor able to defend himself. 

4. An advocate exists with the credentials to plead for the defendant.

5. The advocate brings entreaty to the judge.

This, of course, is exactly the case for those who are in Christ. 

On one hand, our sins have laid a great charge against us and have separated us from God, making us His enemies. We are unable to pay that debt against us. But Jesus has paid that penalty by His death and resurrection. Since He is God’s Son, He has the credentials to plead for us before the Father and He does so. The Father accepts His atonement and lays on Him the iniquity of us all. Paid in full. We are declared not guilty and His righteousness becomes ours. 

This is most remarkable and worthy of continual praise before God.

On the other hand, for those who are now justified before God by the propitiation of Christ, there are continual charges laid against us in all sorts of ways, chief of which is our adversary, the devil, whose name means “accuser”.

And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. Revelation 12:10

We really don’t understand much of the details of this operationally, but the Scripture is clear that we have an accuser. He is identified in verses 7-9 by all his names and descriptions: dragon, ancient serpent, devil, Satan, deceiver of the whole world. Somehow, and we don’t know how, he accuses us day and night before God. But, those accusations are continually being tossed out of court by our advocate.

"My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." 1 John 2:1

And just to make sure we don’t listen to the accusations ourselves, that Jesus has gotten fed up with you and has washed His hands and left the courtroom and your advocacy, we are told this:

Therefore, He is always able to save those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them. Hebrews 7:25

The Greek word here for “always” is pantote, which means “at all times”. It is a “never halting, never failing” kind of word. Jesus uses it when He says that He “always” does the things that please the Father. It might be a good word for us to memorize and recall whenever the world, the flesh and the enemy try to accuse you: “pantote”… He is never halting, never failing in His advocacy for you. Never.

All of this was prophesized long ago by Isaiah:

He himself bore the sin of many and interceded for the transgressors. Isaiah 53:12

Jesus acts as our advocate, our intercessor and our mediator:

For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 2:5

Dear brother and sister, is it possible for us to catch the tremendous weight of these verses? Can we sense the grace that they represent? Jesus is our Great High Priest. As such He intercedes for us, He advocates for us, He mediates for us. And if Jesus is the one who is entreating on our behalf, then who can bring any charge against us?

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?... Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Romans 8:31-34

No charge can be brought against us and therefore we are secure in His hands:

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. John 10:26

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? The answer of course: No one and no thing: 

Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

The writer of Hebrews brings us to a great conclusion:

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:14-16

My, my!  Are you in need? Then come boldly before the throne of God. Because of the resurrection, your Advocate stands there interceding on your behalf. And when you draw near, you will find grace and mercy for whatever earthly trials trouble your soul.

Amen!

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(#2) The Seal Was Broken
 If Jesus Rose from the Dead, then (#2) The Seal Was Broken [audio] We don’t spend much time talking about the seal that was placed upon the tomb, but I think it is significant. Here is the historical record: The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard. 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In the book of Esther, when King Ahasuerus issued the order to save the Jews, he commanded them to “seal it with the king's ring, for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king's ring cannot be revoked.” (Esther 8:8) When Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den, “… a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel." (Daniel 6:17) In the vision concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, the Scripture says: And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” (Isaiah 29:11) The permanence of a seal against all who were unauthorized to break it was an inviolable part of their world.  It becomes even more apparent when John is caught up to heaven and there beholds the scroll with seven seals. John weeps because there was “no one worthy to open the scroll or to look into it” (Revelation 5:4). Of course, we find that the Lamb, “standing as though it had been slain” (Revelation 5:6), was worthy to break the seals. And when each of those seals were broken, great calamity came upon the earth. Seals in the Scripture mean something. And John had wept, because the seal represented an inviolable wall to anyone who did not have the authority to break it. Seals show authority. They show authenticity. And they show finality for all except the one who had the authority to break them. And so, we now come back to the tomb. The seal, whether it was a Roman seal or the High Priest’s seal, represented a fixed closure that no one was allowed to breach. When it was set upon the tomb, there was a finality, a stamp of ultimate authority, that said, “This tomb is closed.” Ah, but God is not subject to the laws or seals of man. 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In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13) “… it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. (2 Corinthians 1:21) This is God’s seal of authority, authenticity, and finality. You are His, sealed with His guarantee. Oh, my, dear brothers and sisters in Christ! How deep is the steadfast love of God that He should do such mighty things to secure us to Himself and then tell us that He has put His own seal upon you and me? As David writes: “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.” (Psalm 139:6) [previous] [next]     [1]Inviolable /ĭn-vī′ə-lə-bəl/: never to be broken, infringed or dishonored; unassailable; secure from violation or assault or trespass
10
If Jesus Rose from the Dead, then... (#0)
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most important truth claim in a biblical worldview. It is the key apologetic for Christianity. It is the most important event in history. The implications of the Resurrection are so deeply woven into the fabric of our Christian faith that it is important for us to continually embed its truths into our heart and mind such that it becomes an ever-present reality. To do this, I would like for us to ponder fifty compelling arguments and implications that are true if Jesus, indeed, “rose from the dead.” We will look at these, one a day, over the next seven weeks. This will take us through Ascension Day and Pentecost. The latter two are important days of remembrance following the Resurrection and we will highlight them. But more importantly, I want to help people contemplate, on a daily basis, over a sustained period of time, the tremendous significance of the Resurrection. We will do this by considering not only the many proofs, but also the many deep implications. I would encourage you to do this as devotions with your spouse or as a study for your small group and then engage in a healthy discussion (suggested questions will be provided in the daily email). My prayer is that God will use these days to increase faith within the Body of Christ and our ability to provide a "neighborly apologetic" to those who are open to hear as the result of the relationships we are building with them. Paul states that without the resurrection, our faith would be in vain and we would still be lost.  “… if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.”      1 Corinthians 15:17 This is not a minor statement, and it should cause us pause, for it puts this unique historical event into sharp perspective. Without the Resurrection, we are hopelessly lost. We are without a true faith and we are unforgiven, still condemned in our sins. We should probably read that verse over several times before plowing forward. It is easy for me, and possibly you, to treat Easter as another Christian holiday marked by multiple, and possibly extensive, preparations. Church choirs rehearse diligently and on overtime, special services are prepared (think Good Friday and sometimes Sunrise Services), thousands of lilies are tended and provoked to bloom at the right time and are purchased to line sanctuary rails, special meals are planned and prepared and joyously consumed, treasure hunts are created, painted eggs are hidden and Easter baskets are filled with chocolate bunnies, peeps, and who knows what else the market has, and will, come up with.  The point here is that just like Christmas and Thanksgiving and every other holiday, including birthdays, anniversaries, and the multitude of “take-your-boss-to-lunch” kind of days, they are preceded with much preparation, happy execution, and then forgotten except to toss the wrappings into the trash and press on with life as usual. When I was at the White House, the annual “Easter Egg Roll” on the south lawn was a big deal with weeks of preparation, followed immediately by a massive clean-up and the Secret Service hustling folks out of the “compound”. The next day, it was impossible to find any evidence that there had been anything going on. For the Resurrection, however, Paul implies that it is something so critical to our faith that it should be an ever present reality. The astounding cry, “He lives!” should be ongoing, not a one-and-done holiday. Certainly, "We serve a risen Savior, He's in the world today," as the famous hymn states, is an astounding, continual reality. I believe it is important for us to frequently ponder and meditate upon the deep implications that the tomb was really, truly empty and the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is absolutely true. So, we will look at not only these implications, but also the apologetic propositions and the incredible truths that logically follow this unmatched historical assertion. We will generally lay down the apologetic arguments first and then deal with the implications. And hopefully, after working your way through all of this, you will have imprinted these implications and truths deep in your heart such that they will help you with your walk into the darkness we call future. Because it is the Resurrection of Christ that stands not only at the forefront in the apologetic reality of who Jesus is and what God has done for us, but also the enduring hope we have in Christ. As another famous hymn states: "Because He lives, I can face tomorrow." [Next: It Would Have Shaken Everything]
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