Christ intercedes for believers
First of three parts
Since ancient times, people who could not or would not speak to each other directly used mediators and messengers to make contact. Before the era of telephones, fax machines, email, social media and smartphones, distance and borders were difficult to overcome. It took months for a message to be delivered far away.
In Greek mythology, the god Hermes was a messenger of the gods, linking the divine and mortal. When Paul healed a lame man in Lystra, the people thought the gods had appeared in human form. They saw Barnabas as Zeus and Paul as Hermes, for he was the spokesman (Acts 14:12).
Hermeneutics, a theological discipline about the best ways to interpret Bible text, is derived from Hermes, who interpreted the messages of the gods to humans. The gods spoke Greek, so Hermes did not translate, but interpret. Where English Bibles use the word “translated,” it can also mean “interpreted,” as in Mark 15:34.
In the Bible, angels are viewed as messengers of God (Heb. 1:14). The Angel of the Lord is sometimes identified with God himself (Ex. 3, Judges 6); therefore, some scholars think the Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament was the Son of God.
Angels appeared to Abraham, Hagar, Jacob, Moses, Balaam, Joshua, Gideon, Samson’s parents, David, Elijah, Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar, Zechariah, Joseph, Mary, Zacharias, shepherds of Bethlehem, Jesus, Peter, Philip, Cornelius, Paul, John, Mary Magdalene and women who served Jesus.
God spoke to people of the Old Testament through prophets and angels, but when Christ came, he spoke to people through his Son (Heb. 1). Jesus told the parable of the vinedressers to show how God’s messengers were harassed, and his Son killed (Matt. 21).
Despite the rejection of the Messiah, he remains the ultimate Mediator between God and mankind (1 Tim. 2:5). Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
Jesus assured Peter that he was praying for him. The night before his crucifixion, he promised the disciples that he would ask the Father to send the Comforter to them. That same night he interceded for them as their high priest (John 17).
St. Paul was consoled by Christ’s intercession for his followers: “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” (Rom. 8:34). The Hebrew letter confirms, “He is able to save to the utmost those who come to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (7:25).
John comforted his readers: “If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1).
Jacob Van Zyl of Lethbridge is a retired counsellor and the author of several faith-based books.