Jesus Our Advocate

 I have now adopted four children internationally, the first from Russia and the other three from Ethiopia. It is a complicated process that involves  a ton of paperwork, notary public stamps, communications with foreign  embassies and governments, and a lot of patience. In each instance, we went through an adoption agency who paid people to advocate for us in Russia and Ethiopia. In each case, their representation and knowledge of the  system made the difference between having children and not having  children. When we traveled to both countries, we were dependent upon our  advocates to make sure we completed the process and brought our children home.

While we were in these countries, it was necessary for our advocates to translate everything we said and what the government officials were saying. We did a lot of standing around, feeling stupid and helpless because, as Americans, we were used to making our own way and getting things done.  It was very difficult to rely on others to get the job done.

    Hebrews 5:1"For every high priest is taken from among the people and appointed to represent them before God, to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. 5:2 He is able to deal compassionately with those who are ignorant and erring, since he also is subject to weakness, 5:3 and for this reason he is obligated to make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. 5:4 And no one assumes this honor on his own initiative, but only when called to it by God, as in fact Aaron was. 5:5 So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming high priest, but the one who glorified him was God, who said to him, “You are my Son! Today I have fathered you,” 5:6 as also in another place  God says, “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” 5:7 During his earthly life Christ offered both requests and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death and he was heard because of his devotion. 5:8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through the things he suffered. 5:9 And by being perfected in this way, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 5:10 and he was designated by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek."

In one of the most insightful passages in the Bible on the Incarnation of Jesus, Hebrews tells us that Jesus is our high priest. He acts as our advocate before God, whereas otherwise we would be helpless and lost. And his work goes both ways, because not only is he an advocate for us before God, arranging our adoption into the Kingdom, he is also completely sympathetic to our individual situations, because he is human also.  And while he never rebelled against the will of his Father, he does understand what it is like to be human, with all the frailty and fumbling that goes with it. In addition to acting as high priest, Jesus is unique in another aspect – he is also the necessary sacrifice for payment for our sins. The only way for justice to be served in the case of our rebellion is death – either ours or his. He stepped up and paid the price in his own blood, and set in motion a tidal wave of salvation across this world.

Some of the writers of the early Church considered the Incarnation to be the beginning of salvation, not just simply the crucifixion and resurrection. When God became a man and brought his divine nature into the world, the evil that dwelt there saw the light and fled. And as Jesus walked this earth, he freed people from bondage and healed them, forcing back the creeping darkness. Our high priest came with a mission to destroy the stranglehold sin had over us: by blinding Light, carrying our burdens, translating our pleas,and paying for our adoption as sons and daughters of God.