11.20 The prayer of intercession
There are two powerful examples of intercession in the Old Testament. When Abraham interceded for Sodom (Gen 18:16-33), God agreed to spare the city if 10 righteous men could be found. Abraham had pleaded with God not to destroy the righteous along with sinners. Even when God proceeded to destroy Sodom because there were less than 10 righteous men, He spared Lot because of Abraham’s intercession (Gen 19:29).
On another occasion, God was about to destroy Israel when they worshipped the golden calf and sinned. Moses interceded for the nation on the basis of God’s covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and God spared them (Ex 32:11-14). The intercession of one man turned away God’s wrath and saved a nation.
JESUS, OUR PRESENT-DAY HIGH PRIEST AND INTERCESSOR
In the Old Testament, the High Priest would make intercession for the nation on the Day of Atonement with the blood of the animal sacrifice. The High Priest represented the people before God. The fate of the nation depended on the High Priest.
In the fullness of time, Jesus came to reconcile man to God by His blood. He entered the true Holy of Holies as our heavenly High Priest. Today, Jesus is seated at the right hand of God in His present day ministry as our perfect High Priest and Intercessor (Rom 8:34; Heb 7:25). He has been interceding for His Church for the last 2,000 years.
INTERCESSION IN THE NEW COVENANT
In the Old Testament, intercession frequently had to do with the withholding of judgment. In the New Testament, Jesus has already dealt with all sins and judgment. What remains is for the world to receive His forgiveness and to walk in the blessings of His New Covenant.
As Jesus has reconciled us to God, we have a ministry of reconciliation for the unsaved world (2 Cor 5:18-19). Our role is to get people reconciled to God, so that they can also walk with Him. We achieve this through intercession, in addition to sharing the gospel.
Our function as a priest is to intercede on behalf of others on the basis of the New Covenant. It is our responsibility to intercede for our unsaved families and those who do not know Jesus. We also use intercession to pray for the backslidden, and for all believers to enter into their full covenant blessings in Christ.
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