To the natural minds, Jesus’ ministry ended in failure on two counts: (1) a failure in Galilee when most of His followers turned away from Him, and (2) a failure in Jerusalem when His disciples deserted Him and He was put to death on a cross.
But the work of Christ went on.
Jesus was raised by His Father and ascended to God’s right hand. But He didn’t retire, nor was He detached from the world. Instead, He began His present-day ministry, where He became powerfully present with His followers.
His followers weren’t to carry on Jesus’ work in His absence. No, Jesus shared His ministry with them (Mark 16:19–20; Acts 1:1–2).
The work of God today is still the work of Christ. He carries it out in His enthroned state, withdrawn from visible sight but active in Spirit in and through His followers.
The book of Acts would be more accurately called “The Acts of the Risen Christ through His Apostles.”
While Christ is no longer visible to unaided human sight, He is still powerfully active through His disciples. Jesus doesn’t operate us by remote control. He’s present with us by His Spirit. He’s not a Clockmaker who sets the work going and then leaves it to go on by its own momentum. No, Jesus keeps it going Himself.
Jesus still is—present tense—the visible image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15). When we see Jesus operating through His people, we see God. Jesus is still the human face of God.
True Freedom
As our mediator, Jesus carries our names on His shoulders and breast just as the high priest of the Old Testament carried the names of Israel on his shoulders and breast.
Christ’s position of sitting at the right hand of the Father signifies rest – it denotes a completed and finished work. There’s no more to be done. Jesus’ blood was completely and eternally accepted by God the Father.
Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was once and for all, but His ministry of intercession is eternal. He is the Son of God and Son of Man eternally.
As high priest, Jesus makes intercession on the basis of His own spotless perfection. It’s as if He says to the Father, “Receive Me for them. Forgive all of their imperfections on the basis of My sinless perfection.”
In the presence of God, the mighty perfection of Jesus is the answer for our sins. Hence, we don’t come before God the Father in ourselves. We come to God in Christ, by Christ, and through Christ. And God is satisfied with us in Christ (1 Cor. 1:30).
For this reason, Jesus is the author of our eternal salvation (Heb. 5:9).
So when we speak of Jesus interceding for us, Jesus isn’t reminding the Father about what He did. (How could the Father forget?) Nor is He pleading His sacrifice before a reluctant God.
Christ’s very presence in heaven as the Crucified One constitutes the greatest prayer and intercession. The wounds of Christ are the unceasing prayers of Jesus. By them, He has secured constant and free access to God’s throne (Heb. 4:16).
A guilty conscience, a conscience stained by sin, cannot be purified by anything else but the blood of Christ. No other sacrifice for the sins of humankind is necessary. Jesus’ death was a once-and-for all sacrifice (Heb. 9:26).
Jesus has passed into a realm wherein we have access. We don’t have to wait to die to enter it: eternal life begins now. The veil has been torn and the way into the holiest opened.
More remarkably, our great high priest, Jesus, leads our worship “in the midst of the ekklesia.” Through the Spirit, Christ comes into our midst and offers our praise and worship to a welcoming Father. Through the church, Jesus sings to His Father, leading our praises (Heb. 2:12; 8:2).
So Jesus is the perfecter not only of our faith, but also of our worship.
This relates to our prayer life as well. We enter into the fellowship that the Son has with His Father (1 John 1:1–3; 1 Cor. 1:9). Jesus is not only the object of our prayers, but He’s the means. As our high priest, Christ by the Spirit prays in and through us (Rom. 8:26–27).
According to the New Testament, prayer is in Christ, through Christ, and to Christ.
Written by Frank Viola author from his book Jesus Now
Learn more about Frank Viola author on his LinkedIn page