He Is Our Lord
Despite our cultural baggage, making us shy away from terms like “master” and “slave,” nothing more accurately reflects the inequity between ourselves and the sovereign control Christ should have in our individual lives (cf. John 13:13). When the New Testament speaks of a “lord,” it means one who is possessor or owner and one who is in a position of authority. Both senses reveal who Jesus is. He bought us with blood, but He only has full control if we allow Him. He has been given all authority by the Father Himself (Colossians 1:16-18), but the more we let Him have control of us and the more we submit to Him the more we appreciate Him and have peace within ourselves. But, the slave does not tell the master what to do, how to run things, or sneak around trying to subvert his wishes. Our every effort should be to try and please Him.
He Will Be Our Judge
Many times the New Testament tells us we will appear before the judgment seat of Christ. He is a consummately fair Judge. In fact, He comes into the proceedings not wanting to find anyone guilty. What is more, He once died to keep us from being found guilty. He loves every single defendant from Adam to the last person born before His second coming. But, He will judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:31). He will not allow into heaven those who refused to obey Him (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; Revelation 20:11-15). But to those who obey Him, He will say “well done” and “come home.”
He Is Our High Priest
He is called this ten times in the book of Hebrews and only in that epistle. To fully appreciate the work of the High Priest, we need to read the first five books of the Bible. But, the book of Hebrews gives a great overview of Christ as our High Priest. Three adjectives, “faithful,” “merciful,” and “great” (2:17; 4:14), describe this High Priest. But the textbook definition is in Hebrews 5:1, “selected from among men” and “appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.”
Our High Priest was selected from among men (5:4-6), but Christ was perfect for the job because He has no weakness or sin (9:7). Despite knowing our many weaknesses and sins, He is gentle.
Our High Priest represents us to God. The role of High Priest exists for the welfare of the people. There is a great distance between ourselves and God because of our nature and our sins. But there is also a deep feeling on God’s part to have fellowship and relationship with us. While He had no weakness or sin, He came to know suffering (4:15; 5:7). Who could be a better advocate than God who became man and now represents man to God. Our High Priest made atonement for people’s sins. If you mark every time the word “atonement” appears in the Pentateuch, you will use a lot of ink–it is found 76 times just between Exodus and Numbers. Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, is better known as the “Day of Atonement.” We were united to God, we broke the union by sin, atonement (making right or holy) was needed, and an acts is made to bring us back into union with God. Under the Old Law, there was no permanent act the High Priest could per- form to take care of sin once for all (9:28-10:5,10). To understand Jesus is to understand One who willingly left heaven to provide this act that brings man and God back together (7:25-27).
It is incomprehensible, but the High Priest and the sacrifice are one and the same. Let us never fail to stop and ask, “Why would He do this?” This helps us to better know Jesus. As the song suggests, it was “because He loved me so.”
He Is Our Intercessor
The Bible says Jesus makes intercession for us (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25). Like atonement, intercession can seem like a difficult concept. Intercession simply means, “An act of pleading on somebody’s behalf, petition, or act of trying to settle a dispute.” A defense attorney is an intercessor, and so is an arbitrator. Remarkable, Christ is both at the same time. He passionately defends us, but He is as much God as He is man. So, He has as much standing in heaven as He has concern for men on earth.
As our intercessor, He allows us access to the Father. In prayer, God listens to us but also hears His Son pleading on our behalf. The question to ask is, “Do I know Jesus like that?” If I do not, I am depriving myself. When we fail to pray, we miss out on this. The greatest part of Jesus’ intercession is that our case will never be turned over to another representative in heaven. Christ ever lives to make intercession for us. So He wants to represent us, is able to, and ever lives to do so. We draw near to God through Him.
He Is Our Friend
We could have no better friend than Jesus. He is willing to befriend people most people would not befriend (Matthew 11:19). He looks out for the best interest of His friends (John 15:15). He spares no sacrifice for His friends (John 15:13). Friendship means devotion, genuine care, and longing for our best interest. Jesus offered His friendship when we were undeserving, undesirable, and ungodly (Ephesians 2:5). The question is, “What kind of friend am I to Jesus?” (cf. John 15:14).
How do you know Jesus? Is He friend, acquaintance, or stranger? We sing another song, one sung as if Jesus were saying it to us. One verse reads, “I’ve suffered much for thee, more than thy tongue can tell, of bitt’rest agony, to rescue thee from hell; I’ve borne, I’ve borne it all for thee, what hast thou borne for Me?” What kind of friend have we been to Jesus? He has done so much for us! May our greatest desire be to come to know Him better every day!
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