Nov 09 – The One Who Intercedes for Us!

“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 8:34).

The risen Christ speaks to us on the one hand, and on the other, He intercedes for us before the Father. He is with us, and at the same time, He is seated at the Father’s right hand, making intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered.

Many years ago, a young man created a great sensation by brutally murdering nine members of his own family. The whole world was enraged with him, and even his own family members rejected him. But his lawyer defended him and pleaded on his behalf. How grateful that accused man must have been to his lawyer!

However great a criminal a person may be, or however great a sinner he may have been in this world, there is redemption for him when he comes to Christ with genuine repentance and a broken and contrite heart. When someone humbles himself and confesses, “Jesus, forgive all my sins,” Christ presents His wounds and His blood before the Father and pleads on that person’s behalf.

In Old Testament times, the priest stood between the guilty sinner and the righteous God. He offered a sin offering on behalf of the sinner and interceded with God, saying, “O God, forgive this person’s sins and remember his iniquities no more.” Today, Christ stands as our High Priest. On the one hand, He speaks to you, saying, “Go and sin no more.” On the other, He speaks to the Father on your behalf and secures for you the joy of salvation.

“Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come” and entered the Most Holy Place once for all, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption for us (Hebrews 9:11–12).

When Satan asked permission to sift Simon Peter as wheat, Christ stood before the Father and prayed for Peter so that his faith would not fail (Luke 22:31–32). Jesus, who had spoken to the Father on Peter’s behalf, later said to Peter, “And when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”

Children of God, look to Christ, who stands with authority at the right hand of the Father, interceding on your behalf.

Verse for further meditation: “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word” (John 17:20).