Abraham was the first great intercessor in the Bible. He had the audacity to plead
with God to change His mind and not destroy the city of Sodom. It was the most
successful prayer ever, for God agreed to his request 7 times as he talked God down
from saving it for the sake of 50 righteous persons to just 10. He got seven yes answers
in a row, and yet the paradox is that it was also a completely unanswered prayer, for
there were not ten righteous people to save, and so the city was wiped out in judgment.
It was great intercession, but it failed to achieve its purpose. So Abraham was a great
intercessor, but he could not save the people by it.
Moses was the great intercessor that saved Israel in the desert when God was
ready to destroy them. He was so earnest that he pleaded in Ex. 32:32, “But now,
please forgive their sin-but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.” God
was impressed, but He could not let Moses pay for the sins of the people. He spared
them for a time, but later they were judged for their sin and destroyed. He was truly
great, but he could not atone for their sin. The Bible makes it clear, you can be a great
intercessor and still fail, for there are limits to the power of prayer. Prayer can never
persuade God to do what is evil, wrong, or folly. He will not be moved to do what is
contrary to His wisdom and nature. And so successful intercessors must learn to live
with failure, or unanswered prayer.
Because God will not answer many prayers, due to their being contrary to His
wisdom, nature, and plan, many conclude that there is no point in praying. This is
folly, for it is a rejection of all the Bible says about the purpose and power of prayer.
Paul did not have every prayer answered, but he was a continual man of prayer and
urged all believers to be such. He wrote,
"I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of
thanks, be made for all men . . . For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our
Savior; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the
truth" (I Timothy 2:1, 3-4).
Paul knew that not everyone that you pray for will be saved, but it is God’s will that
you seek that goal. Everyone is to be a subject of prayer, for all are potentially
children of God. There is no one that does not deserve to be on your prayer list.
Intercession is to be a part of every believer’s life if they hope to be pleasing to God.
He cares for all, and Jesus died for all, and so all are to be prayed for by someone. You
can have a ministry every day of your life by just praying for the people you work with
and contact in every situation as you go through a day. Some Christians feel like they
have no ministry, but this is to be blind to the reality that the ministry of intercession
is with them all the time. Abraham and Moses did not have all their prayers answered,
but they pleased God by trying and that is what made them great leaders. The ultimate
goal in life is not to get prayer answered, but to please God, and those who do that will
have more prayers answered than the average. Such was the case with Abraham and
Moses, and many other great people of prayer.
The great sorrow of history is that their have often been times when there was no
intercessor to stand in the gap and sinners had no hope of salvation. Ezekiel 22:30-31
says, "And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand
in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.
Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with
the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the
Lord God." It is scary to think that God makes us partners in deciding how history
will play out. This means that by not being an intercessor we can let people become
victims of judgment rather than the mercy of God. That is why we hear Samuel saying
to the people of Israel in I Sam. 12:23, “As for me, far be it from me that I should sin
against the Lord by failing to pray for you.” This is a sin we seldom think of, but we
can be sinning against God by not praying for others. Never say there is nothing you
can do, for you can always pray, and by so doing you please God, and you man play a
major role in the salvation and preservation of others. It is a Christian duty to be an
intercessor. An unknown poet wrote,
I Traveled on My Knees
Last night I took a journey
to a land across the sea,
I did not go by boat or plane,
I traveled on my knees.
I saw many people there in deep sin,
and I did not want to send my prayers in.
But Jesus said I should go and see,
how many I could win.
I said, "Jesus, I cannot go and work
with such as these."
He answered quickly, "Yes, you can by traveling on your knees."
He said, "You pray, I will meet the need.
You call and I will hear. "So I knelt in prayer and felt at ease
as I traveled on my knees.
I said, "Yes, Lord. I know I can do the job,
and my desire is to please.
I will heed Your call,"
and I traveled on my knees.
That being the case, that we are all responsible to pray for others, we can assume
that Jesus would be a great intercessor, and this is what we find as we study the Word.
We discover, and it should be no surprise, that Jesus is not just a great intercessor,
but the greatest ever. This book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus is a great many things.
The following list was compiled by Dale Tooley of all the things Jesus is according to
Hebrews-
Heir of all things
The Creator
God's chief spokesperson of the New Covenant
The brightness of God's glory
The express image of God
The upholder of all things
Our sin purger
Possessor of the Inheritance
The Son of God
The first born of many brethren
God
King of a righteous kingdom
Possessor of the oil of gladness
The authority over His enemies
First demonstrator of the Gospel
The Son of Man
Crowned with glory and honour
Set over the works of God's hands
Author of our salvation
First cause of all things
Perfect
Bringer of many sons to glory
He who sanctifies
Our brother
The one we trust
The one to whom we belong
A partaker of flesh and blood
Destroyer of death & the Devil
Releaser of the fear of death
Releaser of lifetime bondage
The one who gives aid
Merciful
Faithful High priest forever over the house of God
Atoner and bearer of our sins
Sufferer of temptation in the flesh
An aid to the tempted
Apostle and high priest of our confession
Faithful to God
Worthy of glory
The builder of the house of faith
Master of the house
The one who speaks to us
Giver of mercy and grace in time of need
Our forerunner
King of peace
Surety of a better Covenant
Savior to the uttermost
Our intercessor
Holy
Undefiled
Higher than the heavens
Minister of the sanctuary and the true tabernacle
Obtainer of a more excellent ministry
Obtainer of eternal redemption
Our sacrifice
Doer of the Father's will
Seated at the right hand of the Father
Our perfector
Remover of need for further offering for sin
Concentrator of the way into the holiest
Remover of an evil conscience
Author and finisher of our faith
Endurer of suffering and shame
The same yesterday today and forever
The Great Shepherd of the sheep
Completer of every good work in us to do His will.
Every one of these is worthy of a message, but in this message we want to focus on
Jesus as our intercessor, and discover why He is the greatest intercessor ever. Our
text reveals He is the greatest because He is-
I. THE MOST PERFECT INTERCESSOR.
Scripture stresses the role of Jesus as intercessor more than we realize, and so lets
look at the number of texts where we see this role emphasized. First we see the texts in
Hebrews.
"Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the
Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot
be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like
as we are, yet without sin." Hebrews 4:14-15
"But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.
Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him,
seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." Hebrews 7:24-25
"For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures
of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:"
Hebrews 9:24
Then we see Paul’s stress on this subject:
"Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who
is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." Romans 8:34
"For through him (Jesus) we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father."
Ephesians 2:18
"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus;" 1 Timothy 2:5
And then there is John:
"My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin,
we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the
propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole
world." 1 John 2:1-2
All of these texts combine to make it clear that Jesus has a very important ministry
in heaven. He has not just been sitting on the right hand of God twiddling his fingers
until we join Him in heaven. He has been active, and is ever active as our intercessor
and advocate. This should not be surprising, for Jesus was our advocate when He
walked this earth, and so why would He cease to be in heaven? In His great and
longest prayer in John 17 we read in verse 20, “I pray also for those who will believe
in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me
and I am in you.” This was His intercession on earth, and doubtless, it is still His
intercession in heaven. Again, we see that even the intercession of Jesus is not always
answered completely, for there is much division of His body, but it does not lead Jesus
to cease to intercede, for there is also much success because of it.
Jesus prayed for all believers who would ever live in the future, and that is us. And
now He ever lives to continue to intercede for all of us. This should be a great comfort,
for there are times when we struggle alone with issues, and they may be too private to
share with others and get them to pray for us, but this is never the case with Jesus. He
knows our every need and struggle, and so we always have one who is praying for us to
gain the victory. He prayed for Peter, and though Peter still fell in denying Jesus three
times, he came back and became a powerful servant. Even Jesus praying for us does
not guarantee that life will always run smooth and that we will never fall and fail. It
does guarantee that the way is always open for us to be forgiven and reconciled to
God. As our Advocate, which is a lawyer, we have a certainty that we will win every
case before the court of God, if we put our trust in Him and call upon Him to
intercede on our behalf.
The good news is that He is the greatest intercessor because He is the perfect
intercessor, for He has already paid the price for all of our sins, and so the Father will
always accept His plea of guilty, but the penalty has already been paid. The High
Priest would carry the blood of an animal into the Holy of Holies to atone for the sins
of the people, but our High Priest, the Lord Jesus, enters the presence of God with His
own precious blood as the basis for atonement, and God will always honor the sacrifice
of His own Son. Who could be a more perfect intercessor than one who has already
paid for the crime? Plus, we read in John 11:41-42, “Father, I thank you that you have
heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people
standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” Jesus then called for Lazarus
to come out of the tomb and out he came. That gives us complete confidence to come
to Jesus, for we know the Father always hears His prayer. You can find no more
perfect intercessor than that. It motivates me to write poetry.
Jesus is our Intercessor,
Who daily before God’s throne,
Carries every faith professor
Whom He has claimed for His own.
He ever lives to intercede,
And this post He’ll never leave.
This is our greatest hope, indeed,
It’s in Him we do believe.
We come to God only through Him;
For there is no other way.
He’s a light that will never dim,
But will guide both night and day.
We will praise His name forever,
He is the perfect High Priest.
For all time He will endeavor
To bring to our hearts great peace.
He will plead to God for our sin
When we don’t deserve to live.
He will plead His blood and thus win.
He will ever give and give.
You’ll never go to court alone.
He’ll be always by your side.
For all your sin He did atone,
And for you was crucified.
He intercedes for you on high,
By His grace you will prevail.
So daily come with sigh and cry
To this One who will not fail.
He is the greatest because He is always able to save those who come to God through
Him. When you knock on His door He always opens to you. He knocks on our door
and we sometimes do not want to let Him in, but He never keeps us out when we come
to His door, for He is the door, and He promises that those who come to Him He will
in no wise cast out. No one ever came to Jesus on earth and was rejected, and that
holds true for all time. He is the only way to God, and there is no need for another
way, for He always succeeds in getting us to God, and getting us reconciled to God.
Secondly, He is the greatest intercessor because He is-
II. THE MOST PERMANENT INTERCESSOR.
The weakness of the Old Testament priesthood was that the priests, including the
High Priest, always died and so their was no permanence to their intercession. They
had to start all over again with a new intercessor. With Jesus as our High Priest we
have perpetual continuity. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. There is
never a sign on the door of heaven telling you that there is a new owner, or that they
are in transition because of new management. His intercession is not like that of the
Old Testament High Priest who only went into the presence of God once a year to
intercede. Jesus is our perpetual and permanent intercessor who intercedes night and
day, and He never faints or grows weary. Jesus interceded for Peter and Paul and all
of the early believers, and then also for those in the second century and third and on
through the Middles Ages, and into modern times, and He will be interceding for all
believers now on the planet, and for all who will be born until history ends. The point
is, He is once and for all. There is not constant change with the times and
circumstance. Jesus taught the need to be persistent in prayer, and we see the great prayer
warriors of the Bible and history were men and women who were persistent, and who
never gave up. Hannah prayed year after year for her child and finally got Samuel.
Elijah prayed earnestly for three and a half years for there to be no rain on the land
and he was heard. Paul urged believers to pray without ceasing. Jesus is the greatest
example of this, for He never dies and so when all others cease to pray, He is still going
strong, and He never gives up. He ever lives to intercede. It is no part time occupation
for our Intercessor. It is permanent and perpetual employment on our behalf. He
never stops praying for us, and expects that we will never stop praying for others as
long as we live. And finally, He is the greatest because He is-
III. THE MOST POWERFUL INTERCESSOR
Scripture declares that the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails
much. (James 5:16). How much more would the effective, fervent prayer of a perfect
and perpetually permanent man avail? Someone said that “Prayer moves the arm
that moves the world.” How much more true this is when the arm that moves the
world is the one that is praying. Our text says He is able to save, and that implies that
He has great power in His intercession. He has connections with the Judge, and He
can assure that all who come to Him will experience success with God.
Great Advocate! Almighty Friend!
On Thee our humble hopes depend;
Our cause can never, never fail
For Thu dost plead and must prevail.
The Apostle Paul makes it clear why Jesus is the greatest intercessor, for he
describes how Jesus has a partner in the business of interceding. The Holy Spirit is the
divine partner, and He works within the believer as they pray with groanings which
cannot be uttered. It is an inside job for the Spirit, while Jesus represents the believer
before the throne of God. This partnership makes their intercession the most powerful
that is possible. Paul writes, "Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we
do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes
intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the
hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the
saints according to the will of God.... Who is He who condemns? It is Christ who died,
and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes
intercession for us" (Romans 8:26-27,34).
Jesus taught that where two or three are met in His name He will be present, and
that where two agree in prayer it will be answered. When two agree it makes a big
difference, and here are the two most powerful intercessor together. It is the most
powerful team possible. And because it is so, we need to come boldly before the throne
of grace and pray for Jesus to intercede on our behalf. It is a prayer for the greatest
Pray-er to pray for us. Janice Stewart gives us an example:
My Great High Priest, My Savior and Lord
Help me today, I can't carry this load
My soul is weary, my mind is confused
But I know if you pray, from this burden I
will be loosed.
Guide me today, by your Spirit I pray
Keep me in your prayers throughout this day.
We lack power in so many areas of life, and without a powerful intercessor we
just cannot live an effective life for God. Jesus has all power in heaven and on
earth, and He wants us to tap into that power by dependence upon Him as our
intercessor. It was by His power that we were reconciled to God, and it was by His
power that we were set free from the bondage to sin. It is also by His power that we
will be able to live a life that is pleasing to God. We need a powerful intercessor to
be backing us up at all times, however, for we are still weak in many areas and still
able to fall off the path of the narrow way. Hebrews stresses that Jesus is able, and
that He has the power to do for us, in us, and with us all that is necessary to live an
effective Christian life. A check without a signature has no power to receive cash
back at the bank, but with the right name on it there is power to produce the
money needed. Our prayers are often like blank checks offered to the bank of
heaven. They need the name of Jesus on them to be cashed. It is His name that
makes the difference, and that is why we need Him to sign our prayers. We need
Him to intercede on behalf of our prayers, and in that sense sign them, for His
name has the power to get them cashed, or answered. We need His backing in
every area of life, for He has the power to make the difference. We are often not
able, but He is always able.
In 2:18 we read, “For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has
suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.” We have an
intercessor who has had the experience of living a human life, and so He
understands the pressures and the need for support.
In 2:14-15 we read, “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their
humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death-
that is the devil...and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear
of death.” In Christ we can be set free from the fear of death.
In 7:25 we read, “Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God
through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” To save completely
means that by his power we can overcome all obstacles and ever press on to be
sanctified more and more and to become more like Jesus. In Him and His
intercession ministry we can find the power to be all that we can be for the glory of
God. That is why Jude could declare in Jude 24, "Now unto him that is able to
keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory
with exceeding joy." In the light of these truths we need to be ever praying for Jesus to be ever
praying for us. We need to have someone who is always praying us through, and it
is not likely that there is anyone who is ever praying for us except Jesus. He prayed
for Peter in his great trial and Peter was able to survive a fall that could have
meant eternal disaster. Only a great intercessor could have done that for Peter,
and this One who was his intercessor is also ours. Thank God for this constant
ministry of Jesus, and be ever praising Him as our Greatest Intercessor.
