Now, here we must distinguish between what we may speak of as the things for which this Intercessor and Advocate pleads, and the ground upon which He presents His petitions. His petitions may be said to be many, but the ground or plea or argument is one.
One may see this by a careful reading of John 17, in which we have an example of Christ’s work as Intercessor. One may find in that chapter a petition having in view Christ’s own exaltation, another petition for the safe-keeping of His disciples, another petition for their sanctification, another petition for believers who should afterwards appear in this world, and still another petition for the glorification of all believers; but although the petitions are thus many and varied, the ground upon which these petitions are offered is one: ‘I have glorified Thee on the earth; I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do.’
Now it is to this aspect of the intercession, its ground, or the argument made use of, that, at the present time, we wish mainly to call attention. The intercession is, in a word, based upon the sacrifice and upon it alone. That sacrifice is the argument made use of by this Intercessor or Advocate.
The Reformed Divines were wont to make use here of an illustration which, although it may not be pushed beyond the direct purpose for which it is introduced, is fitted to set forth clearly what the Reformed Church taught, and what we believe the Scriptures teach concerning the nature of Christ’s advocacy and intercession.
A certain king, it was said, who lived in days now long gone by, had a devoted subject who, in the king’s service, lost his right hand, so that he was no longer able to act for the king in the capacity in which, so long as he could do so, he with the utmost devotion gave himself up to the king’s service.
This loyal subject, however, had a brother who was of a very different disposition to himself, so that for his misconduct, he was made at length to appear to give an account of himself before the king, who, in those days, was also supreme judge in his own person. It came to the loyal subject’s ear that his brother was thus arraigned, and that it looked as if a decision adverse to his brother should issue from the king, and so in pity for his disloyal brother, he rushed into the court, and, speaking not a word, he showed the judge his own amputated limb.
The king-judge, it is said, called to memory all that he and his country owed to this loyal subject, who had lost his right arm in his country’s service, and thus the king-judge was moved to overlook and to forgive his disloyal subject’s delinquencies. The loyal subject was in this case an intercessor, but he needed no argument to move the king save the sight of the amputated limb.
So it is with Christ. He needs no argument in heaven, but the presentation of the sacrifice offered once for all upon Calvary’s Cross. For does He not appear even in heaven as a Lamb that had been slain? And if He could, after He was alive from the dead, show to His disciples the print of the nails in His hands, and the piercing which the spear had effected in His side, how may He not in heaven in the capacity of an Advocate appear as the Lamb that had been slain?
From a sermon by J. R. Mackay
