The privilege of a Seated Intercessor
The Privileges of the Kingdom of God Bible-Study Series
I heard a song by Mercy Culture Worship called Fortify My Faith for the first time, about a month or two ago, and there’s a part of the song that says, “I know the High Priest prays for me, He prays for strength to rise in me, He prays for faith to rise in me,” and then, “I’ve got an intercessor…Jesus the High Priest!” In typical me fashion, I had that song on repeat for the next two weeks and as I sang my little heart out something in me started to shift, not emotionally, but spiritually. I suddenly became deeply aware of Jesus not just as the Saviour who died for me at a moment in past time, but as my High Priest in real time; one that is actively present, actively involved, and actively representing me before the Father. What started as a song lyric, became a revelation that grabbed my attention. I found myself thinking about all the moments in my life when I had felt exhausted, confused, or spiritually weak, the seasons where I didn’t even have the strength or clarity to pray properly, and yet somehow I was sustained. I thought about the times I felt carried when I should have collapsed, and strengthened when I knew my own capacity had reached its limit. Even in the good seasons, among the moments of peace, clarity and stability, there has always been this quiet sense that something beyond my own effort was keeping me.
Coming to that awareness led me to a truth that really comforted me - I have a High Priest who is always praying for me. Scripture says Jesus “always lives to intercede” for those who come to God through Him (Hebrews 7:25), and when that truth settled into my heart, it began to change how I understood prayer, access to God, salvation, and what it actually means to belong to the Kingdom of God. That moment is what led me into this study, and what I’m sharing here is simply what I’ve been discovering as I’ve gone deeper.
As I began to study the idea of intercession in Scripture, I realised I needed to understand what the word itself actually meant in a biblical sense. I had always thought of intercession as simply praying for someone else, but the more I studied, the more I noticed that Scripture presents intercession as something much deeper than just prayer. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew language paints a more vivid picture of the word. One word used is pāgaʿ, which means to intervene or step in between. It’s the idea of approaching God to plead on behalf of someone else. Scripture also uses the expression ʿāmad ba-pereṣ, which means “to stand in the gap.” This word describes someone who places themselves in the broken place between God and man to prevent judgment and seek restoration. The other word, pālal, carries the meaning of mediating or representing someone before God in prayer. Essentially, these meanings show that intercession is representation; it is standing in the place of someone else, speaking on their behalf, asking God for mercy, restoration, or help where there would otherwise be judgment or distance.
Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would “bear the sin of many and make intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12), which reveals that intercession would be at the very core of Jesus’ work. Paul then explained that even when we do not know what to pray, the Spirit helps us in our weakness and intercedes for us according to the will of God (Romans 8:26–27). When I paused to reflect on that, it really changed my perspective. It means Jesus is never distant (even though at times we may feel that He is) because He is constantly representing those who belong to Him. Again, it made me wonder how many moments of strength, endurance, and spiritual preservation in my life were not simply the result of my own faithfulness, but the result of a faithful High Priest interceding on my behalf.
Intercession appears throughout Scripture way before Jesus arrives in the New Testament, and the pattern is evident. There are so many instances in the Old Testament in which individuals stood between God and people, asking for mercy or restoration when God wanted to release His judgment on people. Abraham stood before God to plead for the city of Sodom and for the righteous who might be found there (Genesis 18:22-33). Moses repeatedly interceded for Israel when their rebellion provoked God’s anger and judgment. He stood between a holy God and a sinful people and appealed to God’s mercy and character (Exodus 32:9-14; Numbers 14:13-20). Even Job was instructed to pray for his friends after they spoke wrongly about God (Job 42:7-10). Studying the scriptures helped me understand that intercession exists because there is a separation between humanity and God that is caused by sin, and throughout Scripture someone (a righteous representative, not just anyone) is continually stepping forward to stand in the gap. However, I also realised that every human intercessor of the Old Covenant was temporary, limited in capacity, and imperfect in nature. They could plead for mercy, but they couldn’t permanently remove the problem that created the need for intercession in the first place. The examples in the Old Testament were, for me, almost a pattern that was pointing to a more necessary and permanent solution… you get it?
Humanity’s greatest issue wasn’t, and still isn’t moral failure or lack of guidance; it is separation from God. Sin produces guilt, guilt produces distance, and the holiness of God can’t overlook what contradicts His nature. There has to first be reconciliation, and reconciliation requires a mediator who can fully represent both parties.
Que Jesus…
Scripture says there is “one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5), and honestly it wasn’t until I had a more accurate understanding of what intercession is and its purpose that I really understood why Jesus had to be both fully God and fully human. As a man, Jesus represented humanity in all its weakness and limitation, but as God, He represents divine holiness and authority. In Jesus, the gap between God and humanity was not just managed, it was bridged. Hebrews explains that Jesus mediates a better covenant than the old priesthood, which is highly significant because the old priesthood relied on repeated sacrifices that could never fully remove sin (Hebrews 8:6; Hebrews 9:15). Under the old covenant, priests continually offered sacrifices because the problem remained unresolved, but Jesus offered Himself once (on the cross) and secured eternal redemption. When Jesus said, “I am the way… no one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6) He was not speaking symbolically; He is literally the only access point through whom reconciliation with God becomes possible.
The detail that really did it for me me in this study was the significance of Jesus being described as seated. Hebrews tells us that after making purification for sins, Jesus sat down at the right hand of God (Hebrews 1:3; Hebrews 10:11-12). Now at first glance this does seem like a minor detail, but I remember years ago hearing Dr.Matthew Stevenson of ANWA say that even the smallest details in scripture holding great value and I haven’t found him to be wrong about that yet. The more I studied, the more meaningful the adjective ‘seated’ became and here’s why; under the old covenant, priests never sat because their work was never finished; sacrifices had to be offered continually because sin was never fully removed. The fact that Jesus is seated reveals that His work of atonement (removing sin and restoring relationship fully) was made complete. Finished. The sacrifice was made once and for all, the way to God was opened forever, and nothing further needed to be added. Yet at the same time, Scripture says Jesus continues to intercede. His seated position speaks of a finished redemption, while His ongoing intercession speaks of an active relationship and continual representation before the Father. Not only is the work that secures our access to God is complete, but the One who secured it continues to represent us. What a privilege for real.
The privilege we have in Christ is not just forgiveness of sins, but access to God because of a seated High Priest who has finished the work of redemption and yet continues to represent us before the Father. Jesus’ position (seated at the right hand) means the barrier between God and humanity has been permanently removed, the price has been fully paid, and our relationship with God is secure. Yet His intercession means we are never left to navigate this life alone. We are continually upheld, continually represented, continually sustained. Oh how I love that for us.
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P, xo
