Jesus As Mediator & Intercessor
Jesus as Mediator on Earth JOHN 14:6; JOHN 17:1-26
Jesus' role as mediator and intercessor for us before God the Father actually began before he ascended back to heaven. In JOHN 17:1-26 Jesus intercedes for, or prays on behalf of, his disciples in what is called his High Priestly Prayer. He prays not only for his immediate disciples, who had spent three years with him, but also in verse 20 "for all who believe in me through their message" - that includes us! Jesus prays and asks Father God to enable them to be with him in glory.
ROMANS 8:34; 1 TIMOTHY 2:5B-6; HEBREWS 7:24-25;9:24; 10:19-22; 1 JOHN 2:1The writer of the Book of HEBREWS described Christ's priestly role as an advocate or intercessor on our behalf, putting our requests and prayers to God the Father in heaven, in a similar way to the way the High Priest interceded on behalf of the Jews before God in the Temple. This is because Jesus is both human and divine. He was conceived supernaturally by the Holy Spirit but born naturally by his mother Mary. So he can sympathise with how we feel as human beings, but he is also wholly divine and able to approach God on our behalf.
Modern Messianic Jewish commentator Dr David Stern, in his JEWISH NEW TESTAMENT COMMENTARY, says that there are at least five ways in which Jesus can act as a middleman, or mediator, for Jews and Gentiles before God.
"Besides being prophet, priest, king and mediator of the New Covenant between God and mankind, Jesus became the ransom paid to redeem us all back from satan's control. He alone is able to bridge the gap between God and mankind caused by our sins by dying for us on the cross and taking the sins of the world upon himself, because he himself was sinless."
Jesus The Only Mediator & Intercessor Between Mankind & God
The Bible makes it clear that Jesus is the only person who can intercede between mankind and God.
When we pray to God as Christians, we pray TO God the Father THROUGH & IN THE NAME OF Jesus Christ the Son GUIDED BY the Holy Spirit. We do not pray to the Virgin Mary, to the so-called 'saints', or idols for one very good reason - none of them died on a cross in our place to take the punishment for our sins and rose again from the dead, so we might have eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. He is the only one, Paul says in 1 TIMOTHY 2:5B-6, who gave himself as a ransom for sinners like us.
When we sin, John writes in 1 JOHN 2:1, we can know the forgiveness of our sins by confessing our sins and asking God's forgiveness in the name of Jesus, because Jesus is our advocate or intercessor on our behalf to God.