Intercession

Last week I wrote an entry about Jesus as hour High Priest. In it, I claimed that the qualification of Jesus to be our High Priest is that he made intercession for us. That is an interesting qualification, if you think about it. I’ve been reading through Numbers recently, in a “chronological Bible”, and I find it fascinating how much animal sacrifice was supposed to go on regularly for the people. Daily, monthly, festivals, annually, all the time. Since they ate many of those sacrifices, the Temple would have been one of the best restaurants in Jerusalem.

But what were those sacrifices for? What did they accomplish in the covenant relationship between Israel and Yahweh? That’s not as easy or simple a question as it sounds, because it depends on what you read in the law. Basically though, in one way or the other, these sacrifices are made on behalf of the people. So, in a very practical sense, they are a form of intercession. Therefore, the role of priests, as administers of the sacrifices of the people of Israel to Yahweh, was intercession on behalf of the people.

The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

Hebrews 7:23-25 NASB

The Greek word for “intercession” in the above passage is “entygchano” (Strong’s G1793), which not terribly common in the Christian Scriptures. When it’s used with the Greek preposition “over” (Strong’s G5228), then “entygchano” means to “intercede on behalf of another”, and specifically to intercede to our Creator on behalf of His human creatures.

As common a theme of prayer as that is, you’d think that this word would be more common in the Christian Scriptures, but it’s only used this way three times (2X in Rom 8, and once here in Heb 7). There is actually a compound word made up of both the Greek word for intercession, and the preposition “under” used in Romans 8:26, but that word only occurs there in all of the Christian Scriptures. So, four times total, even so, still more rare than the common practice would suggest. Why is that?

Because the more common way to refer to intercession is “to pray for” someone. Suddenly the common quality becomes obvious, that phrase is used all over, by nearly every Christian author. But now the question becomes, why is “entygchano”, a technical term, different than “praying for someone”? And that question helps us understand the role of Jesus as High Priest.

Jesus is not sacrificing, daily, for the sins of His disciples. He sacrificed Himself, once, and that was all that was needed:

For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.

Hebrews 7:26,27 NASB

Therefore, intercession done by our Savior is not the daily regular sacrifice, even though He “always lives to make intercession for them.” Something else is meant when Jesus intercedes for us as our High Priest. What is it? What does Jesus do in the role as High Priest which intercedes for us?

To answer that, I refer you back to my prior entry, “Why A High Priest” (see the first sentence of this entry). Basically, Jesus offered up “prayers and supplications” on our behalf. It wasn’t presiding over the death and burning of animals, but more the role Moses played in going before God on behalf of the people (see this repeatedly in Exodus and Numbers). Jesus is more a “priest” in the sense of Moses than that of Aaron. Although, Moses’ role is more often thought of as prophet, and Jesus is our Messiah of that type as well.

I believe it’s the right time to state the obvious conclusion. Jesus is our King, Prophet, and High Priest, because each of those designations is simply a different way of saying the same thing. We have needs which categorically fall into each of those roles. Jesus fulfills each and every one of those needs, as He completely fulfills each and every one of those roles. So, once again, through the venue of obfuscating elucidations, we have ended up with a simple answer. Perhaps I should have led with that…

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Why a High Priest?

Jesus is our Prophet, King, and Priest. He is our “High Priest”, but according to the order of Melchizedek. And you may think you know how He is our High Priest, since He became our “sin offering”, as Paul points out (Romans 8:3 and Ephesians 5:2). And notice He offers Himself, according to Paul. Yet, Paul never refers to Jesus as our High Priest. So, what is it about Jesus that makes Him our High Priest?

The writer of Hebrews is, as far as we can tell, the first Christian writer to refer to Jesus as our High Priest. There are several problems with viewing Jesus in this way, even though Paul may allude to it in his “sin offering” references. The biggest issue is that Jesus is not from the tribe of Levi, nor from the Aaronic or Zadok line. And that is more significant than you may think.

Jesus’ lineage is probably the biggest reason for the writer of Hebrews to refer to Jesus as a High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek. But that doesn’t explain how or what Jesus does that indicates how He functions as our High Priest. The writer alludes to Jesus’ death on the cross, but even that isn’t what is used to define His role.

In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 5:7-10 NASB

So, when did this happen? If you are familiar with the Gospel accounts, it may seem like a reference to the Garden of Gethsemane. But there, Jesus prayed for the “cup” of suffering to be removed, and it wasn’t. The reference above sounds like Jesus received what He asked for. Perhaps it’s more likely a reference to the “High Priestly Prayer of John 17. But, honestly, we don’t know. There could have been lots of places where Jesus prayed this way, any given morning, and a good case can be made for the Garden of Gethsemane prayer as well. Not knowing when Jesus did this doesn’t change the fact of it as His qualification.

Jesus prayed and He learned obedience (which sounds weird for someone already perfect) from suffering. Because of these two things, Jesus is “designated” High Priest, becoming the source of eternal salvation. Again, salvation is predicated on “obedience”, so it sounds like “works” salvation, but isn’t. The obedience is “perseverance in faith”, not performing elements of the law for “worship”, “festivals”, and so on.

So, it seems that the role of High Priest isn’t predicated on the self-sacrifice of Jesus, but rather the activity of Jesus in prayer (interceding) for others, and suffering. Perhaps the “suffering” is a reference to His death on a cross, but it may not be. Notice that the “One able to save Him from death” heard Him, and yet He still died. While not definitive against seeing “suffering” as a reference to His death, it does seem a strange way to put it if it were.

Jesus removes the penalty of our sin through His work on the cross. He empowers our life through His resurrection. But it’s His passionate prayers and obedient suffering that fulfill this role of High Priest. If Philippians 2:5-11 is a pattern set by Jesus, then how is this? If Jesus is our High Priest, aren’t we called to be “priests” (see 1 Peter 2)? So, we too are to be passionate in prayer for others, and obedient through suffering. We are to follow this pattern set by Jesus, and, in this way, continue in faithful perseverance.

This is another place that I see I am to be active in my faith, but I am not. I see the call to passionate prayer for others, but it seems I can’t be bothered. I see the call to obedience through suffering, but I’d rather not, I’d rather remain comfortable. What about you? Are you passionately praying for others? Are you pursuing obedience, even though you suffer for it? I need to turn this are of my life around, over to my Master, and commence changing my attitude.

What do you see through your “knothole”?

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation

Passion Week XIXf

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” But he said to Him, “Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!” And He said, “I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me” (Luke 22:31-34 NASB)

God, the Father, has granted Satan’s request to sift Peter like wheat. But Jesus intercedes for Peter, which is Jesus’ role after His ascension. Awesome! With Jesus interceding, Peter can’t fail, right?  Well, not exactly. In fact Jesus doesn’t even pray that Peter won’t fail. How is that even possible? Doesn’t Jesus want Peter to succeed?  And I think we would agree that, of course, Jesus wants Peter to succeed.  So why didn’t Jesus pray that Peter would succeed?  Trick question alert! If you look at the wording above, you see that Jesus did pray for Peter to succeed.

Jesus didn’t pray that Peter wouldn’t deny Him. He prayed that Peter’s faith would not fail. In other words, the definition we have of failure was different than Jesus’. Success as Jesus defined it wasn’t that Peter never make a mistake, but that Peter never let a mistake keep him from Jesus.  That’s an important distinction. Isn’t it true that when we think our mistakes are failures to Jesus that we also think our relationship with Him is dependent upon us? But when we continually repent of our mistakes, our relationship with Jesus remains dependent upon Him; it’s no longer based on  our success rate.

This is proven when Peter declares his unwavering support to Jesus, and Jesus responds predicting Peter’s denial. Jesus knew of Peter’s denial, and prayed that his faith would not fail.  And what Jesus meant by unfailing faith is found in His continuation, “…and when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”  Success for Jesus is Peter’s repentance back to leading his fellow disciples; his return to his calling.

So, success for me in my walk with Jesus is repentance from my mistakes back to my calling in His service.  It is Satan who wants my mistakes to define me. Only the enemy of my soul has a vested interest in using my mistakes to distract me from my Master’s call on my life.  And when I give in to such distractions, I deny my dependence upon my Master for my relationship with Him.  What is true is that I am Matthew Scott Brumage, son of Lloyd, Knight of the Realm, Servant of the King, and that He loves me, He has my back, and I am at His service; and He has called me to wait, worship, and walk before Him. That is what is true about me.

So, what is your view through your knothole this morning?