“Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 7:25
The writer of Hebrews was speaking to a congregation of people who were discouraged. They had begun feeling the cost of following Jesus. They were drifting. Some of them have decided to turn away from the salvation found only in Christ our High Priest, and turn back to their former ways of Judaism. In this section of scripture the writer is comparing the earthly, Levitical priesthood with that of Christ, the perfect High Priest.
In this verse we are given two precious promises we can stand on, Jesus is always able to save and is always interceding.
“… He is able also to save them to the uttermost…” Always able to save… This part of this verse is very special in that it grasps the eternal implications of God’s reach over our souls. Jesus is able to save to the uttermost. Nothing is hindering His reach, no one is outside of His grasp. His salvation is absolute, no contentions can be raised to prohibit. This precious truth is far from the ability of the Old Testament priesthood. They offered sacrifices for the sins of the people, but they were superficial. They only atoned for the external. They had no power to transform the life of the person for which the sacrifice represented. What’s more, the Old Testament priesthood and sacrificial system were only meant to foreshadow the coming perfect priesthood in Christ. He died for our sins, once and for all. No other act, no other sacrifice, or other thing is needed to atone for our sins. And to take it further, His sacrifice has the power to change our hearts. His sacrifice has the power to enable us to obey and follow God’s will for our lives. With this new Priesthood, the salvation that now exists is a total transformation.
“…he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Always Interceding… So with this priesthood, we always have an advocate before God. He is always clearing the path to communion with our Maker. Whenever we face temptation, He is always there to redirect us. Whenever we fall into sin, He is always there to cover us. We are not left to wander in our weakness alone. With Christ as our High Priest we also have an advocate who knows our sufferings first hand. He came to this world, He bore this flesh, He suffered and was tempted in every way possible. Not only does He always intercede for us, He can relate to our sufferings as well.
One of my favorite songs right now has a line that says ‘earth has no sorrow that heaven can’t cure.’ Because Jesus lived the life He lived, because He died the death He died, and because He rose to the right hand of God at the resurrection, we can have a hope and a peace that whatever we are in, whatever we are facing, we have a personal God, we have the supreme God who is able and most importantly willing to help us. The writer of Hebrews was trying to remind his readers that the Eternal Priesthood rests securely in the most capable hands, hands that are ALWAYS able to save, and ALWAYS interceding. I hope you find this an encouraging reminder. God Bless!
bearingwithlove 