Now, again, there is reason for transgressors to come and trust in Jesus Christ, seeing He pleads for them. You never need be afraid that Christ will cast you out when you can hear Him pleading for you. If a son had been disobedient and had left his father’s house, and were to come back again, if he had any fear about his father’s receiving him, it would all disappear if he stood listening at the door and heard his father praying for him. “Oh,” saith he, “my coming back is an answer to my father’s prayer, he will gladly enough receive me.” Whenever a soul comes to Christ it need have no hesitancy, seeing Christ has already prayed for it that it might be saved. I tell you transgressors, Christ prays for you when you do not pray for yourselves. Did He not say of His believing people, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word?” Before His elect become believers they have a place in His supplications. Before you know yourselves to be transgressors and have any desire for pardon, while as yet you are lying dead in sin, His intercession has gone up even for such as you are. “Father, forgive them” was a prayer for those who had never sought forgiveness for themselves. And when you dare not pray for yourselves He is still praying for you: when under a sense of sin you dare not lift so much as your eyes toward heaven, when you think “Surely it would be in vain for me to seek my heavenly Father’s face,” He is pleading for you. Ay, and when you cannot plead, when through deep distress of mind you feel choked in the very attempt to pray, when the language of supplication seems to blister your lip because you feel yourself to be so unworthy, when you cannot force even a holy groan from your despairing heart, He still pleads for you. Oh, what encouragement this ought to give you. If you cannot pray He can, and if you feel as if your prayers must be shut out, yet His intercession cannot be denied. Come and trust Him! Come and trust Him! He who pleads for you will not reject you: do not entertain so unkind a thought, but come and cast yourself upon Him. Hath He not said, “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out?” Venture upon the assured truth of that word, and you will be received into the abode of His love.

I am sure too that if Jesus Christ pleads for transgressors as transgressors, while as yet they have not begun to pray for themselves, He will be sure to hear them when they are at last led to pray. When the transgressor becomes a penitent, when he weeps because he has gone astray, let us be quite sure that the Lord of mercy who went after him in his sin will come to meet him now that he returns. There can be no doubt about that. I have known what it is to catch at this text when I have been heavy in heart. I have seen my sinfulness, and I have been filled with distress, but I have blessed the Lord Jesus Christ that He makes intercession for the transgressors, for then I may venture to believe that He intercedes for me, since I am a transgressor beyond all doubt. Then again, when my spirit has revived, and I have said, “But yet I am a child of God, and I know I am born from above,” then I have drawn a further inference—if He makes intercession for transgressors then depend upon it He is even more intent upon pleading for His own people. If He is heard for those who are out of the way, assuredly He will be heard for those who have returned unto the shepherd and bishop of their souls. For them above all others He will be sure to plead, for He lives to intercede for all who come unto God by Him.

In order that our confidence may be increased, consider the effect of our Lord’s intercession for transgressors. Remember, first, that many of the worst of transgressors have been preserved in life in answer to Christ’s prayer. Had it not been for His pleading they would have been dead long ago. You know the parable of the fig tree that cumbered the ground, bearing no fruit, and impoverishing the soil? The master of the vineyard said, “Cut it down,” but the vinedresser said, “Let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: and if it bear fruit, well.” Need I say who he is that says the axe which else had long ago been laid at the root of the barren tree? I tell you ungodly men and women that you owe your very lives to my Lord’s interference on your behalf. You did not hear the intercession, but the great owner of the vineyard heard it, and in answer to the gracious entreaties of His Son He has let you live a little longer. Still are you where the gospel can come at you, and where the Holy Spirit can renew you? Is there no ground for faith in this gracious fact? Can you not trust in Him through whose instrumentality you are yet alive? Say to your heavenly Father,

Lord, and am I yet alive,
Not in torments, not in hell!
Still doth thy good Spirit strive
With the chief of sinners dwell?

I do not doubt but that between the prayer of Christ for His murderers and the outpouring of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost there was an intimate connection. As the prayer of Stephen brought Saul into the church and made him an apostle, so the prayer of Christ brought in three thousand at Pentecost to become His disciples. The Spirit of God was given “to the rebellious also” in answer to the pleadings of our Lord. Now, it is a great blessing thus to have the Spirit of God given to the sons of men, and if this comes through Jesus’ prayers, let us trust in Him, for what will not come if we rely upon His power? Upon sinners He will still display His power; they will be pricked in their hearts, and will believe in Him whom they have pierced.

It is through Christ’s intercession that our poor prayers are accepted with God. John, in Revelation, saw another angel standing at the altar, having a golden censer, to whom there was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. Whence comes the much incense? What is it but Jesus’ merits? Our prayers are only accepted because of His prayers. If, then, the intercession of Christ for transgressors has made the prayers of transgressors to be accepted, let us without wavering put our trust in Him, and let us show it by offering our supplications with a full assurance of faith, and an unstaggering confidence in the promise of our covenant God. Are not all the promises yea and amen in Christ Jesus? Let us remember Him, and ask in faith, nothing wavering.

It is through the prayers of Christ, too, that we are kept in the hour of temptation. Remember what He said to Peter, “I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not,” when Satan desired to have him and sift him as wheat. “Father, keep them from the evil” is a part of our Lord’s supplication, and His Father hears Him always. Well, if we are kept in the midst of temptation from being destroyed because Christ pleads for us, let us never fear to trust ourselves in His kind, careful hands, He can keep us, for He has kept us. If His prayers have delivered us out of the hand of Satan, His eternal power can bring us safely home, though death lies in the way.

Indeed, it is because He pleads that we are saved at all. 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.” This, also, is one grand reason why we are able to challenge all the accusations of the world and of the devil, for “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” Satan’s charges are all answered by our Advocate. He defends us at the judgment seat when we stand there like Joshua in filthy garments, accused of the devil; and therefore the verdict is always given in our favor—“Take away his filthy garments from him.” Oh, ye that would bring slanderous accusations against the saints of God, they will not damage us in the court of the great King, for “if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” Think, my dear brethren and sisters, of what the intercession of Jesus has done, and you will clearly perceive great inducements to place your sole reliance in your Lord. You who have never trusted Him, will you not this very morning begin to do so? Come, weary heart, take the Lord Jesus to be your confidence—what more do you want? Can you desire a better friend than He is, a more prevalent advocate before the throne? Come, leave all other trusts, and yield yourselves to Him this morning. I pray you accept this advice of love. And you, ye saints, if you are foolish enough to have doubts and fears, come, see how Jesus pleads for you. Give Him your burden to bear, leave with Him your anxieties at this moment that He may care for you. He will carry on your suit before the eternal throne, and carry it through to success. He who engages a solicitor to manage his legal business among men leaves his affairs in his hands, and he who has such a pleader before God as Christ Jesus, the Wonderful, Counselor, has no need to torment himself with anxieties. Rather let him rest in Jesus, and wait the result with patience.

Give him, my soul, thy cause to plead,
Nor doubt the Father’s grace.

So much, then, for the duty of exercising confidence in Him. May the Holy Ghost fill you with faith and peace.

III. And now, in the third place, I pray that our text may inspire us with the spirit of OBEDIENCE TO HIS EXAMPLE.

I say obedience to His example, for I take the example of Christ to be an embodied precept as much binding upon us as His written commands. The life of Christ is a precept to those who profess to be His disciples. Now, brethren in Christ, may I put a few practical matters before you, and will you endeavor by the help of God’s Spirit to carry them out?

First, then, your Lord makes intercession for the transgressors, therefore imitate Him by forgiving all transgressions against yourself. Have any offended you? Let the very recollection of the offense as far as possible pass from your minds, for none have ever injured you as men injured Him; let me say, as you yourself have injured Him. They have not nailed you to a cross, nor pierced your hands, and feet, and side; yet if He said “Father, forgive them,” well may you say the same. Ten thousand talents did you owe? Yet He forgave you all that debt, not without a grievous outlay to Himself: your brother owes you but a hundred pence, will you take him by the throat? Will you not rather freely forgive him even to seventy times seven? Can you not forgive him? If you find it to be impossible I will not speak to you any longer as a Christian, because I must doubt if you are a believer at all. The Lord cannot accept you while your are unforgiving, since He Himself says, “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” If peace be not made thou wilt not be accepted. God hears not those in whose hearts malice and enmity find a lodging. Yet I would speak to thee in tones of love rather than with words of threatening: as a follower of the gentle Christ I beseech thee imitate Him in this, and thou shalt find rest and comfort to thine own soul. From the day in which Christ forgiveth thee rise to that nobility of character which finds a pleasure in forgiving all offenses fully and frankly for Christ’s sake. Surely, the atonement which He offered, if it satisfied God, may well satisfy thee, and make amends for the sin of thy brother against thee as well as against the Lord. Jesus took upon Himself the transgressions of the second table of the law, as well as of the first, and wilt thou bring a suit against thy brother for the sin which Jesus bore? Brethren, ye must forgive, for the blood has blotted the record! Let these words of Scripture drop upon your hearts like gentle dew from heaven- “Be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”

Next, imitate Christ, dear friends, in pleading for yourselves. Since you are transgressors, and you see that Jesus intercedes for transgressors, make bold to say, “If He pleads for such as I am, I will put in my humble petition and hope to be heard through Him. Since I hear Him cry, ‘Father, forgive them,’ I will humbly weep at His feet, and try to mingle my faint and trembling plea with His all-prevalent supplication.” When Jesus says, “Father, forgive them,” it will be your wisdom to cry, “Father, forgive me.” Dear hearer, that is the way to be saved. Let thy prayers hang, like the golden bells, upon the skirts of the great High Priest; He will carry them within the veil, and make them ring out sweetly there. As music borne on the breeze is heard afar, so shall thy prayers have a listener in heaven because Jesus wafts them there. Since thy prayers are feeble, yoke them to the omnipotence of His intercession: let His merits be as wings on which they may soar, and His power as hands with which they may grasp the priceless boons. What shall I say to those who refuse to pray when they have such an encouragement as the aid of Jesus? Tones of tenderness are suitable when addressing the ungodly, when we would persuade them to pray; but if they refuse the intercession of Jesus Christ Himself, then must we add our solemn warnings. If you perish, your blood be on your own heads: we must say Amen to your condemnation, and bear witness that you deserve to be doubly punished. Rejecters of great mercy must expect great wrath. The intercession of your Savior, when refused, will be visited upon you most terribly in the day when He becomes your judge.

Let us imitate your Lord in a third point, dear friends: namely, if we have been forgiven our transgressions, let us now intercede for transgressors, since Jesus does so. He is the great example of all His disciples, and, if He makes it His constant business to supplicate for sinners, should not His people unite with Him? Therefore would I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance, to come together in your hundreds, and in your thousands, to pray. Never let our prayer-meetings decline. Let us, as a church, make intercession for transgressors, and never rest from seeking the conversion of all around us. I trust that every day, so often as you bow the knee for yourselves, you will make intercession for the transgressors. Poor things, many of them are sinning against their own souls, but they know not what they do. They think to find pleasure in sin: in this also they know not what they do. They break the Sabbath, they despise the sanctuary, they reject Christ, they go downward to hell with mirth, singing merry glees as if they were going to a wedding feast: they know not what they do. But you do know what they are doing. By your humanity-scarcely shall I need to urge a stronger motive-I say, by mere humanity, I beseech you, do all you can for these poor souls, and especially pray for them. It is not much you are asked to do; you are not pointed to the cross and bidden to bleed there for sinners, you are but asked to make intercession. Intercession is an honorable service; it is an ennobling thing that a sinner like yourself should be allowed to entreat the King for others. If you could have permission to frequent the Queen’s courts you would not think it a hardship to be asked to present a petition for another; it would be to you a delight to be enjoyed, a privilege to be snatched at eagerly, that you should be permitted to present requests for others. Oh, stand where Abraham stood and plead for sinners: Sodom could scarce be worse than many portions of the world at this hour. Plead, then, with all your hearts. Plead again and again, and again with the Lord, though ye be but dust and ashes, and cease not till the Lord say, “I have heard the petition, I will bless the city, I will save the millions, and my Son shall be glorified.”

I have not quite done, for I have a further duty to speak of, and it is this; let us take care, dear friends, that if we do plead for others we mix with it the doing of good to them, because it is not recorded that He made intercession for transgressors until it is first written, “He bore the sin of many.” For us to pray for sinners without instructing them, without exerting ourselves to arouse them, or making any sacrifice for their conversion, without using any likely means for their impression and conviction, would be a piece of mere formality on our part. According to our ability we must prove the sincerity of our petitions by our actions. Prayer without effort is falsehood, and that cannot be pleasing to God. Yield up yourselves to seek the good of others, and then may you intercede with honest hearts.

Lastly, if Christ appears in heaven for us, let us be glad to appear on earth for Him. He owns us before God and the holy angels, let us not be ashamed to confess Him before men and devils. If Christ pleads with God for men, let us not be backward to plead with men for God. If He by His intercession saves us to the uttermost, let us haste to serve Him to the uttermost. If He spends eternity in intercession for us, let us spend our time in intercession for His cause. If He thinks of us, we ought also to think of His people, and especially supplicate for His afflicted. If He watches our cases, and adapts His prayers to our necessities, let us observe the needs of His people, and plead for them with understanding. Alas, how soon do men weary of pleading for our Lord. If a whole day is set apart for prayer and the meeting is not carefully managed it readily becomes a weariness of the flesh. Prayer-meetings very easily lose their flame and burn low. Shame on these laggard spirits and this heavy flesh of ours, which needs to be pampered with liveliness and brevity, or we go to sleep at our devotions.

“Forever” is not too long for Him to plead, and yet an hour tries us here. On, and on, and on through all the ages, still His intercession rises to the throne, and yet we flag and our prayers are half dead in a short season. See, Moses lets his hands hang down, and Amelek is defeating Joshua in the plain! Can we endure to be thus losing victories and causing the enemy to triumph? If your ministers are unsuccessful, if your laborers for Christ in foreign lands make little headway, if the work of Christ drags, is it not because in the secret place of intercession we have but little strength? The restraining of prayer is the weakening of the church. If we aroused ourselves to lay hold upon the covenant angel and resolutely cried, “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me,” we should enrich ourselves and our age. If we used more of the strong reasons which make up the weapon of all-prayer, our victories would not be so few and far between. Our interceding Lord is hindered for lack of an interceding church; the kingdom comes not because so little use is made of the throne of grace. Get ye to your knees, my brethren, for on your knees ye conquer. Go to the mercy-seat and remain there. What better argument can I use with you than this-Jesus is there, and if you desire His company you must oftimes resort thither. If you want to taste His dearest, sweetest love, do what He is doing: union of work will create a new communion of heart. Let us never be absent when praying men meet together. Let us make a point of frequenting assemblies gathered for prayer, even if we give up other occupations. While we live let us be above all things men of prayer, and when we die, if nothing else can be said of us, may men give us this epitaph, which is also our Lord’s memorial—“He made intercession for the transgressors.” Amen.