Jesus, our great High Priest, understands our weaknesses and intercedes for His people. This study follows the promise, reason, and lessons of mercy in Hebrews 4:14–5:10.

Christ our High Priest and Intercessor

Christ’s intercession heightens our awareness of our need for Jesus; may God be gracious to us and awaken us to His extensive, extreme, and everlasting mercy. —Jesse McLaughlin

What you believe about Jesus as your high priest, and how deeply you believe it, makes a significant difference in your spiritual life. We know how damaged a plant can become when it is deprived of water. This is like what happens when our thoughts of God’s grace diminish. The truth that Jesus Christ serves as our high priest and intercessor between God and man significantly affects our whole lives, whether we understand it or not. But knowing this truth brings a fresh infusion into our lives from which our spiritual lives thrive. In a sense, it is a truth that leads to understanding mercy, which is seen most clearly when we meet Jesus.

Without Jesus’ mediatorship, we would, in an instant, fall with the devil into the Lake of Fire. We remain in dire need of His great love. Had Jesus not died, risen, and continued to intercede for us, we would fall. This is the truth of “in Christ” sounded throughout the epistles. Our position is secure only because He is alive and intercedes for us. May this truth of Christ’s intercession heighten our awareness of our need for Jesus and, in finding more of His glory, fill us with His amazing mercy and grace. May God be gracious and awaken us to His extensive, extreme, and everlasting mercy.

Many people wonder who Jesus Christ is and what relevance He has in our lives. As our society increasingly breaks down, losing family and societal person-to-person networks, the glory of Christ shines even brighter as a glorious Savior. The author of Hebrews repeatedly points to the supremacy of God’s grace in Jesus Christ. God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world as the means of bringing extreme grace to those who cling to Him. The author of Hebrews highlights the many glorious aspects of Jesus’ saviorship, and, at the same time, he clearly shows the downfall of those who choose to live apart from Him. We are standing on a great precipice that leads to the greatest hope or the most devastating fall. Is believing in Jesus important? Absolutely. But in these verses, he points to several ways Jesus Christ comes to our aid.

Let’s look at three aspects of Christ, our High Priest’s mercy.