We Have an Intercessor and Advocate in Jesus

I still have a letter my grandmother wrote me when I was in college. She was in the Holy Land at the time. She wrote, “While I was viewing the ‘Place of the Skull’ where traditionally Jesus was crucified and the tomb where He was buried, you came especially near to me. You were the only one that came to my mind. Then again as we were seated in the garden where the tomb was and having communion, you came to me again. I don’t know why out of nine grandchildren you were the one I thought about. I lifted up a prayer for you.”

I can’t fully explain the impact that letter had on me. No matter what I was facing at the time, I knew I had a grandmother halfway around the world praying for me. And I had a Heavenly Father leading her to pray for me. I was overwhelmed with a sense of how much each of them loved me. 

Knowing that I had someone interceding for me made a huge difference. 

The Bible says that Jesus is doing that for each of us right now. Hebrews says Jesus is our Great High Priest, far superior to any old Jewish high priests. In the Old Testament, the high priest was a man who represented the people to God and God to his people. He presented sacrifices from the people to God and prayed to God for the people. 

Jesus does all of that, but he does it perfectly. Here’s what Hebrews says:

Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)

The key word there is “intercession.” The Greek word is a picture of someone standing between two people, intervening on behalf of one of them. The same word is used by Paul in Romans 8:26-27 when he refers to the Holy Spirit and a few verses later when he mentions Jesus:

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 8:34)

What does it mean that Jesus intercedes for us? For one thing, just his very presence in heaven is intercession. His being there alive is evidence that he successfully made the payment for our sins. We’ve been declared “not guilty” by God, and we’ve been forgiven of all our sins, past, present, and future. That Jesus is in heaven after his death is a constant statement that we are innocent. That alone should lead us to break out in praise. But the intercession of Jesus means even more than that.

Jesus is constantly making prayer requests for us. Jesus is right this very minute at the right hand of the Father, continually praying to him for you. Do you ever ponder that? Have you ever thanked him for that?

Jesus always prays for us according to the Father’s will, so we know his requests will be approved. When we neglect prayer, Jesus prays. When we don’t know how to pray, Jesus prays. He prays about dangers that we don’t even know about, things we don’t even know we should be praying about. He also takes the prayers we pray and makes them perfect. 

Sometimes, we’re so devastated that our brains can’t function. In our shock and horror, we can’t even form sentences. We can’t force our minds to form a prayer. Sometimes, all we can do is cry out, “Jesus.” And that’s enough. It’s more than enough because Jesus gives you everything you need at that moment.

If you want to see Jesus praying for his followers, read John 17. Bible scholars even call it the High Priestly Prayer. If you want to know some of the prayers Jesus is praying for you, read this prayer of Jesus for his disciples. 

On the night of his arrest, Jesus was with his disciples at the Passover meal. Peter, as usual, was a little bit full of himself, and just before Jesus told Peter that he would deny Jesus three times that night, Jesus said this to him:

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:31-32)

Jesus was saying, “Peter, you’re about to go through a really difficult time, but I’ve already prayed for you and your faith.” There was never any doubt in the mind of Jesus that Peter would turn back after his failure. That’s how Jesus prays for you.

There’s another word the Bible uses to describe this work of Jesus — “advocate.”

Years ago, we received a letter from the IRS stating that we owed thousands of dollars. Somehow, someone at the IRS had checked a box on my return that I had received money from a railroad retirement. My copy of the return showed that the box wasn’t checked, but have you ever dealt with the IRS? What I needed was someone to come stand beside me and represent me to that agency. What I needed was an advocate.

Here’s something the Apostle John wrote:

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)

John calls Jesus our “advocate.” He knows this word well, as it’s the same word translated as Comforter or Helper in the gospel he wrote, specifically John 14:16. In that verse, Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the Helper. In 1 John, John uses that word to describe Jesus.

So, how is Jesus our advocate? Jesus, our Great High Priest, stands beside us as our representative. Where an “intercessor” stands between two people, intervening on behalf of one of them, an “advocate” stands beside someone, acting on behalf of someone, partnering with someone. 

John says that Jesus is our advocate with the Father. He stands beside us as our representative, proclaiming our innocence and forgiveness. He’s standing with us as a reminder that the salvation he paid for is complete.

Timothy Keller, in his book Forgive, gives us insight into Jesus’s role as our advocate. The law of God shows us how we’ve sinned, and it demands that we be punished. But now the law of God is suddenly on our side. Before the death of Jesus, God would have been perfectly just in punishing us for our sins. In fact, he would have been an unjust God if hadn’t punished us. 

But Jesus, in his great love for us, died, paying our penalty. Now it would be unjust for God to punish us for our sins, because they’ve already been paid for. If God punished us today, then he’d be doing it twice. So Jesus is our Advocate, calling not for mercy on us, but justice for us. As Keller says, “We have both his law and his love for us. We could not be more secure.” (Timothy Keller, “Forgive,” New York, Viking, 2022, p. 81)

The danger in this teaching is that we’ll get the idea that Jesus is pleading for us before a reluctant Father. But the Father isn’t a harsh judge itching to condemn us. He’s not our judge at all; that was settled at our salvation. He’s now our Father, who because of his incredible love for us, gave his Son on our behalf. Remember, the Father and Son planned from eternity past for our salvation. The Father, in his great love for us, provided a way for us to be forgiven. The Father and Son are of one heart and mind when it comes to us. We are loved and forgiven.

As our advocate, then, Jesus stands beside us, proclaiming our eternal forgiveness. When we sin, all hope is not lost. At the moment of our salvation, we were justified. We don’t need another justification from our judge. We need forgiveness from our Father so we can continue to grow in holiness. That’s exactly what we receive! Jesus, the crucified and risen Son, acts on our behalf, and his very presence in heaven as the One who paid our penalty is his constant advocacy for us. The salvation which he secured is absolute. 

Jesus is our Advocate and Intercessor. Our eternal future is secure. And in our present, as we travel through this life, we know what Jesus is constantly praying for us. So, in the coming days, when you face a disappointment or a failure, when you’re discouraged, or when you’re going through a dark storm, take comfort in knowing that Jesus is right there beside you, praying for you constantly. 

Thank you, Jesus!

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