April 6th
Jesus the Priest: Still Intercedes for us!
Jesus is Different, Part II
Last week, we went to the Mall of America for a day since it was Spring Break. It never occurred to me until after we were long there that with the Mall and the NCAA Tournaments in town, we were the perfect target for a terrorist attack. Obviously other people thought of it, however. While I was walking through the little Lego store near Campy Snoopy, there was a loud crash. A woman next to me blurted out, “What was that?” I turned to see wide eyes and a horrified expression. My first thought was, “Why in the world did you come to the Mall of America if you expected terrorism. Sales at the Gap can’t be that great!” But my second thought was compassion. I realized that this woman was stumbling under the weary weight of fear, and there is nothing more terrible.
Fear has become epidemic in our country. Teen people recently took a poll of teenagers who overwhelmingly declared that their number one fear is terrorism. They are not a generation that thinks much about the future, but when they do, they say they expect another terrible attack as bad as September 11th or worse in their lifetime. Adults are terrified of old age and death. Just peruse the cosmetics aisle and see how many “anti-aging” products are for sale these days. Check out the thousands of health web sites on the internet; hypochondriacs check daily to find out what’s killing them. People are afraid of living insignificant lives, lives that won’t make a single difference in this cosmic clutter. Folks are terrified of failure--at the office or their lives. People are afraid of rejection by their loved ones, their parents, or their God. We live in a culture of fear, a culture that feeds on fear and markets it to sell us everything from movies to treadmills. What are you afraid of?
More importantly, what do you do about it? Do you just close your eyes and hope they go away? I think back to that woman in the Mall of America. President Bush assured us that the government is doing all they can to prevent terrorist attacks. Besides, there were lots of guards at the Mall; there were even scores of soldiers at the motel where we stayed. Why was she still afraid? Wasn’t that enough?
No, because all these assurances come from men, human, frail, accident-prone men. What in this life can possibly dispel all our fears? What can possibly give us unassailable assurances? Nothing, right?
But Jesus is different. You need not fear if you belong to him. Let’s see why.
Hebrews 7:23-28 23 Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; 24 but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. 25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
He will never leave.
How many parents can identify with this? When Maddie was born, we found a doctor who was compassionate and supportive. Guess what? We could never get in to see her; we had to see the other doctors that nobody seemed to want. If we had to cancel an appointment in July, they looked for an alternate starting in October. As good as she was she couldn’t always be there for us; too many people put too many demands on her time.
The same thing was true of the Old Testament High Priests who served for God’s people in the temple at Jerusalem. They were good men, dependable men, but they couldn’t always be there. They served many people; they needed to sleep and eat; they eventually got old and died. In fact, Josephus, the Jewish historian, counted 83 high priests from Aaron, the first high priest, to the last one serving when the Jerusalem temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. The priests were constantly changing.
This is where Jesus is different. Verse 24 says, “Because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood.” Since Jesus burst death’s bonds on Easter, death has no more grip on him. More continuous than the continents, more resilient than the Rockies, more permanent than the pyramids, Jesus will always be around.
Now, if he were an old grump, a tyrant or psychopath that thought would be terrifying, but that Bible tells us different: “A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.” (Isaiah 42:3) That means Jesus is not only always here; he is always here for you. When you are bruised by the beatings of life or smoldering with fear, he will be there for you. That makes him different than anything you’ll ever find on this earth.
You see, he doesn’t just know your name, your Social Security number or your checkbook balance, he knew you before the world was formed; he loved you long before your fears began. He was there when you were born, he will be there when you die and everywhere in between. He knows your weaknesses because he walks through them with you. He knows your trials because he stands beside you. He knows that secret pain, the torrents of tears when no one else is looking. He knows the pressures that hound you with heartburn. He knows your stress and your pain because he is present.
He is there on the dark nights when sleep is nowhere to be found because you have a million things to do and nothing is going right. He is there at the hospital bed, arms around you as you hold the chilly hand of a dying mom. He is there at the graveside, spilling tears upon the casket of your friend. He is present when your spouse suffers from Alzheimers or cancer. He is there when the big kids tease. He is there when the future is dark and the past depressing. He is always there. That makes him different, doesn’t it?
I can always tell a telemarketer on the phone. They never get my name right. “Hello, is Mr. Doobler there? Hello, may I speak with Mr. Doppler? Hello, Mr. Dopeler, my name is Frank.” Frank doesn’t care about me. He doesn’t even know my name. He wasn’t here yesterday, and he won’t be here tomorrow unless I lie and tell him that Mr. Dopeler isn’t available today. Jesus is different. He knew you from eternity, and he will always be there for you.
I know, when it’s dark and deepest fears cloud your world, it’s hard to see that Jesus is there; but he is. Martin Luther once said: “At such times [of trial] there is no Christ; and you know nothing of Him, even though in fact you are truly in Christ and Christ is in you, since you are baptized and believe.” You may not always feel his presence, but he is there, beside you. He will not leave you because you are his baptized child.
And, as if his eternal presence were not enough,…
He is always talking to God about you!
Maddie has been sending Sam to do her dirty work lately. First, you will hear playing; then suspicious silence. Soon, Sam will saunter into the living room with the cutest expression he can conjure. “Dad, can I have some ice cream?” “Not right now,” I tell him. Then he runs off and yells out, “Maddie, dad said you can’t have any right now.” Now we know who really wants the ice cream. The older sends the younger on her behalf, hoping that Sam will have better luck than she.
If we went to God on our own, we could expect nothing but a swift boot in the rear because God has nothing to do with sinful people. However, Jesus, the pure Son of God, will always have better luck than us. Verse 25 tells us more about that: “Therefore [Jesus] is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” “Intercede” means “to plead with somebody for somebody else.” In other words, Jesus isn’t on God’s right hand, shooting spit balls or playing tiddlywinks with the continents. He is constantly talking to God about you!
First of all, Jesus is always talking to God about your greatest need, our greatest fear: sin. 1 John 2:1 says, “My dear children, I write …to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense-- Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” Whenever we sin, God doesn’t even have a chance to get angry because the Bible says that Jesus defends us. He confidently shows God the hands which were pierced for you and the side which was gouged for you and the lengthy list blotted by his priceless blood. That’s why Romans 8 says, “Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died-- more than that, who was raised to life-- is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” (vv. 33,34) Jesus is different than anything else you find in the world. Who else could constantly stand before God on our behalf?
Besides all this, Jesus is always talking to God about your troubles, worries and fears. Isaiah says, “he took up our infirmities (sicknesses, weaknesses) and carried our sorrows. (53:4)” You thought Jesus only carried our sin? Wrong. He carried your troubles, your worries, your fears on the top of the pile. He constantly prayed for you. He still prays for you today.
Now, the Old Testament high priests spoke to God on behalf of the people, but didn’t always know just what the people wanted or needed. They simply did their best. But Jesus is different. Remember, he’s always with you. He knows every trouble, worry and fear. He knows the limit of your energy; he knows when you’re about to give up. He continually pleads on your behalf.
Right now someone is slouching back, rolling his eyes and whispering, “Big deal.” Big deal? You ever had anyone on the inside, like a brother who flies for the Airlines or a sister who works at J.C. Penney’s? Always nice to have someone on the inside, isn’t it? What about a Savior who knows every fear, every pain, every ache and is on the inside with God? Couldn’t be much better.
What are you afraid of? Jesus knows it; he’s already on it. He’ll talk to God about it. No problems too big…not even terrorists at the Mall of America.
