First Samuel chapter 19, please. Verse one. We'll look at seven
verses tonight. And Saul spake to Jonathan his
son and to all his servants that they should kill David. But Jonathan,
Saul's son, delighted much in David. And Jonathan told David
saying, Saul, my father seeketh to kill thee, Now therefore I
pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning and abide in
a secret place and hide thyself. And I'll go out and stand beside
my father in the field where thou art and I will commune with
my father of thee and what I see that I will tell thee. And Jonathan
spake good of David and saw his father. and said unto him, let
not the king sin against his servant, against David, because
he had not sinned against thee, and because his works had been
to thee very good. For he put his life in his hand
and he slew the Philistines, speaking of Goliath, and the
Lord wrought a great salvation for all Israel. Thou sawest it
and didst rejoice, Wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent
blood, to slay David without a cause? And Saul hearkened unto
the voice of Jonathan, and Saul swear, as the Lord liveth, he
shall not be slain. And Jonathan called David, and
Jonathan showed him all those things. And Jonathan brought
David to Saul, and he was in his presence as in times past."
Now, these seven verses are absolutely remarkable. Not only do we see
Jonathan here interceding for David, So we're also given a
very powerful and revealing glimpse of Christ intercession for us. That's what this is about. Christ
interceding for his people. The king confided in Jonathan
and his servants, declaring his plan against David. What was
it? Verse one tells us that they
should kill David. However, verse two quickly reveals
that Jonathan, the son of David, greatly loved David. But Jonathan saw, but Jonathan
saw his son delighted much in David. Think about that for a
moment. I titled our last study in 1
Samuel chapter 18, verse 30, The Greater David. Tonight's
study is concerning the Greater Jonathan. If I was going to give
it a title, that would be the title that I give it. The Greater
Jonathan, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. And what a picture we
have here of Christ delighting in His chosen people. Did you
know, child of God, that Christ delights in you? What a picture
this is. Years later, when King David
inquired whether there was anyone left from the house of Saul that
he might show the kindness of the Lord to, the kindness of
God to, he made it clear that he wished to do so for Jonathan's
sake. You remember that? God, the King of the universe,
still today says, is there any of the house of Adam any of the
house of Adam that I can show kindness to for Christ's sake. We often pray for Christ's sake,
and it is. Everything God does for us is
for Christ's sake. It's to give Him the honor and
the glory for our salvation. So do you see the picture? Look
back in the previous chapter, 1 Samuel 18, verse 1. We're told here that Jonathan
loved David as his own soul. And friends, if you and I belong
to Christ, then he delights in you and loves you as his own
soul. And that's just a remarkable thought. In Ephesians chapter
five, verse 28, Paul wrote, so ought men to love their wives
as their own bodies. And he said, he that loveth his
wife loveth himself. And Paul is reminding us here
that when Christ loved his bride, his church, his people, he was
loving himself. Why? Because she's united to
him. She's bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. And a man
ought to instinctively care for and nourish and protect his own
body. And we do for the most part. And I know there are some
that neglect the care of themselves. And we all have at one time or
another. But a man ought to instinctively
care for his wife and his bride. And at the same time, he should
love and care for his wife in the same way that he cares for
himself. And in loving and caring for
his wife, the husband's doing good to himself. For in God's
design, the two have become one, Ephesians 5, 29. That's a great mystery concerning
Christ in the church, but a man and his wife are one in the eyes
of God. And this points us to that profound
and profound it is. It's a profound union that Christ
has with his people, his church. He loves them as his very own
soul. And that's difficult for us to
fathom because we're pretty unlovable and we know that we are. And
again, we look within ourselves and say, how could he love me? But he does. He does. What a profound union it is.
He loves us. Christ loves us. We're united
with him. We're one with him. And in verse
two of our text, we see that Jonathan warned David saying,
Saul, my father, seeketh to kill thee. Now, therefore, I pray
thee, take heed to thyself until the morning and abide in a secret
place and hide thyself. And did not the Lord Jesus warn
us? Does he not warn us in the scriptures? The father's wrath is against
us because of our sin. Against thee and thee only have
we sinned and done evil in His sight. God is justified when
He judges us. God is clear of any guilt when
He points out our deserving of death. Our sin produces
the wages, the earning of death. That's what we deserve. We deserve
death. The soul that sinneth shall surely
die. What are sin's wages? Death.
And Jonathan told David to go find a hiding place. Jesus Christ is our hiding place. He's our refuge. He's that place
in whom we hide. Oh, that I might win Christ and
be found in Him. That's where my safety is. That's
where your safety is. Found in Him. And compared to
the excellency of the knowledge of Christ, everything else is
dung, Paul said. You know what dung is. And that's
pretty much what it is. I want to be found in Him. Every child of God does. Not
having my own righteousness, that righteousness Paul said
that's of the law, by trying to keep God's law, which we cannot
do. There's no righteousness there.
It winds up being nothing but self-righteousness because we
brag about keeping the law. Oh, I could, you know, we've
all heard it. I've said it many times, you
know, people say stupid things like, well, I'm good on seven
or eight or maybe nine of the 10 commandments, and you haven't
kept the one of them. Not the way God requires them
to be kept, and that's perfectly. The righteousness is of the law. It'll do you no good. No good
at all. but the righteousness which is
through the faith of Christ. Not my faith in Christ, but the
faith of Christ, which is of God. That little word of, so
important there. It's the faith of Christ. It's
of God. His faith's my faith. Hey, His
righteousness is my righteousness. That's why when God looks at
me, he finds no fault because he sees the righteousness of
my righteous Savior. My faith is the faith of Christ. My righteousness is the righteousness
of God. And when Jonathan here intercedes
for David, he's not asking his father Saul for a favor. He's
reminding Saul of David's character. Did you notice that? Again, verse
three is David's intercessor. Jonathan says, and I'll go out
and stand beside my father in the field with our heart and
I will commune with my father of thee and what I see that I'll
tell you. And Jonathan spake good of David
unto Saul, his father. And he said unto him, let not
the king sin against his servant. David, your servant, father. Don't sin against your servant,
against David, because he's not sinned against you. And because
his works have been to thee were very good, for he did put his
life in his hand and he slew Goliath the Philistine. That
was for your good, that was for my good, that was for the good
of all Israel. Did not Christ do the same for
us when he slayed the giant sin? That was for my good, your good,
and the good of all God's people. And the Lord wrought a great
salvation for all Israel, verse five. Thou sawest it and didst
rejoice. Wherefore then wilt thou sin
against innocent blood to slay David without a cause? Now, Jonathan here's not asking
for a favor. He tells David, he tells Saul,
David never sinned against you. David's always done what is right. He says, very good. And that's
what Christ does for us. He asks not God his father for
a favor, but these things cannot truly be said of us like they
were said of David. I've never done anything good,
much less very good. Only in Christ's finished work
for us, these things can be said. In Christ, I have done very good.
I've done perfect. That's the only hope that you
and I have. Because of what He's done for
us, His people, He can say, they've always been good. They've always
been good. They've never been bad. I had
an exceptional young man from Texas call me last night and
ask me if I cared for him to list me as a reference for a
job that he was applying for, a specific job. He started out
by asking me very cordially, very humbly. He said, Brother
David, he said, would you care to do me a favor? And in a sense,
he was asking me to mediate for him. That's what interceding
means. It means to mediate. It means
to arbitrate, to plead a petition, to intercede on the behalf of
another. Now, this young man wanted me
to speak a good word on his behalf. He was appealing to me to speak
a word for him that would no doubt be a favor to him. But
when Christ intercedes for the ones that He loves, He's not
asking for a favor. Now, stay with me, this is a
blessing. His intercession arises from
His own provided atonement. His intercession has to do with
what His atonement actually and fully accomplished for us. It's
not a favor. That's what Paul meant when he
wrote, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?
It's God that what? Justified. Who justifies? God does. It's God who declares
his people righteous and not guilty in his sight. That's not
a favor. That's something that he wrought,
died, wrought and died for. Only God has the right to declare
us in a righteous. Paul went on to say, who's he
that condemning? Who can condemn one of God's chosen people? It's Christ that died. It's what
Christ did, not what I've done. He's not asking God for a favor
to sweep my sin under a rug. He's paid for that sin with his
own blood. He appeals to God upon the righteousness
that he himself provided for his people. Paul said, who's he that condemns
as Christ that died, yea rather that is risen again, who's even
at the right hand of God, who does what? Who also make an intercession
for us. Christ died taking the punishment
of our sin. I hope we never just, Take that
for granted. You know, you ask somebody today,
you know, what is salvation? Jesus died for my sins. Well,
that's true, but I hope we never just take that for granted. It doesn't stop there. Christ
rose from the dead. His resurrection proves that
he conquered death. He has power over the grave.
It confirms that God accepted his sacrifice. After rising from
the dead, Christ ascended. He's now at God's right hand. That's a place that symbolizes
power and authority and honor at the right hand of God. Christ
now reigns as king and high priest, and he intercedes on our behalf. This is the intercession of Jesus
Christ. We in and of ourselves are totally
depraved. There you go again, talking about
our sin. If you never see your sin, you'll
never see your need of Christ. We need to talk about it. We're
depraved. We're totally depraved. And we're like one dying of thirst. We drink iniquity like water. But when Christ intercedes, he
not asking God to forgive me for no reason, he is pleading
for me according to my union with him. You follow me? This
is such a blessed teaching of the word of God. He's telling
his father that because of him, he's always been good. Chris
Cochran's always been good. Well, I asked Sharon about that. If you ask God, and God is saying,
Christ, he'd always been good. Why? Because the Lord paid for
all his sin, past, present, and future. And he paid them in full. Because all of my sins, past,
present, and future, have been charged to the Lord Jesus Christ.
He paid them all in full. And according to the scriptures,
I'm a new creation. creature in Jesus Christ, old
things are passed away, and what? All things have become new. New. They were all charged to
His account. But that's not all. At the same
time, Christ gave them, His people, His perfect righteousness. And
because of this, when Christ mediates for his people, when
he intercedes for them, he can say of me, he's always done that
which is good in my sight. He's never done that which is
evil. And that's the reality of the finished work of Christ.
That's the point I'm endeavoring to make. That's the reality of
the gospel. Who doesn't love the high priestly
prayer of the Lord Jesus in John chapter 17? One of the most amazing
chapters in all the scripture. In verse nine, the Lord Jesus
said, I pray for them. For them. Who are them? His people. I pray for them. He's representing
his beloved. He's speaking of every believer
there. Are you one of them? How can
you know? Who are they? Next time you read
John chapter 17, they are them that God the Father gave to Christ,
according to verse nine in John 17. They are those to whom He
gave eternal life, verse two of John 17. They are them who
know Him and His Father, verse three. They are them to whom
Christ manifested God's name, verse six. They are those God
gave to Christ out of the world. Verse six, they are them that
have kept his word, verse six. I've kept his word. In Christ,
I've kept every jot and tittle. I've kept it perfectly. They are those who know that
Christ came from God, verse eight. They are them who believe that
God sent Christ, verse eight. They are them that belong to
Christ, verse eight. Those in whom Christ is glorified,
verse 10. They are them who are in the
world, who are no longer in the world, verse 10. Them whom God
keeps. That's the most amazing thing. Not only does God, by His grace
and mercy, save us, not by any works of righteousness that we've
done, but by the same power God keeps us. What did the Lord Jesus
say? No man can pluck them out of
my hand. Listen, you can't jump out of
His hand either. You might try. We are prone to
wander, aren't we? Prone to leave the God we love,
but you can't jump out. He's got a life grip on you.
It's not death grip. He's got a life grip on you.
You're not going anywhere, child of God. These, them, are those
in whom Christ is glorified. Them whom God keeps, they're
ones that God makes one with Christ, verse 11. Those that
have the joy of Christ, verse 13. Do you have the joy of Christ?
Well, not like I should, and not all the time, but we should.
We ought to be the happiest people on earth. There are them whom the world
hates, verse 14, and they are them who are no longer in the
world. That's why the world hates you. If you were of the world,
the world would hate you, but you're not of the world. And
if you were of the world, they would love you because you're
not of the world, they hate you. Are you one of them for whom
Christ prays? He said, I pray for them. I intercede
for them. Are you one of those for whom
Christ died? That's who he prays for. He prays
not for the world, but for them. for them. And if you're not,
do you desire to be? You can be one of them if you
so desire. Well, I thought you believed
in election. I do. I don't have any problem
reconciling election with whosoever God will, he saves. Whosoever
God wills to save is God's elect. That's not hard. We solved that
in just one sentence, didn't we? Jonathan stands between David
and his father Saul, which is danger. That's where Christ stands
for us. Between us and the wrath of God. David is a man that's marked
for death. So are you and I. By nature,
we're marked for death. Death will be sin's wages for
us without Christ. But with him, Paul added there
in Romans 6.23, the gift of God is eternal life. The wages of
sin and debt, but the gift of God is what? Eternal life. Eternal life. This brief moment in redemptive
history gives us a picture, and not a perfect one. Listen, there's
no perfect picture of Christ is just a shadow of Christ, our
greater John. And our Lord Jesus stepped in
between the wrath of God and the sinner. He speaks on our
behalf. He pleads our case, and he pleads
our cause. Aren't you glad the Lord's interceding
for you? Well, the first thing we see is, as we've already pointed
out, in verse one is the wrath of the king. King Saul desires
the death of David, but Saul is irrational and deadly. He gives a command to murder
David, the very one who slayed Goliath and delivered Israel,
the very one who served Israel faithfully, the very one who
brought honor back to Saul's house. This is the one who's
now a target of a death sentence. Isn't that a picture of the Lord
Jesus? He went about doing good, always
doing good. And yet from the moment he was
born until the moment they crucified him, they endeavored to kill
him. This is a shadow of the judgment
that hangs over every sinner. But the wrath of God is not impulsive
or unjust like Saul was. His wrath is real. His wrath is holy. His wrath
is just, it's justified. It's what we deserve. The wrath
of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness
of men, Romans 118. That takes in every one of us. None of us are extinct from it.
You and I stand condemned, not by an unstable king like Saul,
but by a righteous and holy God. No perfect picture. This is a
shadow. Without an intercessor, listen,
we don't have any hope. How much hope do we have without
Christ? None. No hope. Christ in you is what? The hope of glory. The hope of
salvation. The hope of eternal life. No
hope without Him. Secondly, in verses two through
five, we see the intercession of the Son. We read, but Jonathan,
Saul's son, delighted much in David, and Jonathan spoke good
of David to Saul, his father. Now, another thing that I think
we very easily forget here is that Jonathan's heir to the throne. He lays down his royal rights
to defend David. He thinks not of his own position.
Well, if Saul gets rid of David, then Jonathan is certain to be
king, right? No, Jonathan knew that all things
happen according to the will and purpose of God. David is
God's anointed king. Jonathan knew that. And even
to the detriment of his own future kingship, he intercedes for David. He stands true to covenant loyalty. And Jonathan told David, Saul,
my father seeks to kill you. First, Jonathan warns David.
Intercession begins with awareness. Jonathan revealed to David the
danger that he was in. Jonathan urges David to take
refuge. Jonathan speaks to Saul, his
father. He pleads David's case. He doesn't
just defend David. He reminds Saul of all the good
that David had done. He appeals to justice and mercy. And that's where we see Christ
the most clearly in this picture. Our Savior not only warns us
of the wrath of God to come, but He steps in before His Father
and He pleads our case. Christ is the true King. He laid
aside His glory. He's on the throne in glory before
he ever made this earth, this celestial ball that we live upon. He took on flesh and blood. He
came to serve, not to be served. He came to die, not to be exalted
as an earthly king. He gave his life a ransom for
many. And I'm so thankful for that
little letter M there. Not any, but many. He gave his
life a ransom for many. And it's not based upon our merit. It's not based upon our obedience. It's based on his merit. It's
based upon his perfect obedience. It's based upon his own perfect
sacrifice. He ever lives to make intercession
for us. Hebrews 7, 24. There is therefore
now no condemnation. To who? To them that are in Christ
Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Well, I'm not a very spiritual
man. If you're trusting in Christ,
you're walking after the Spirit and not after the flesh. You
put all your hope in Him, that's walking after the Spirit. That's
to confess that Christ is your all in all, that He's all your
salvation. That's to walk after the Spirit.
And our Lord doesn't just pray for us. He's our advocate. A true advocate doesn't say,
you know, you go to an attorney and you say, I'd like to hire
you to represent me in a court of law. The state has filed charges
against me for this. And well, would you consider
it a good lawyer for one that says, well, OK, yeah, I'd be
glad to take your case. Well, listen, I'm busy that day
that you go to court. I hope everything works out OK
for you. That's not the kind of advocate
that I want. It's not the kind you want either.
A true advocate doesn't say that. No, he's your representative. He's the one who stands in your
room and your stead before the court, before the judge, before
the jury. He's pleading your case for you.
As Jonathan stood before his father, the King, on David's
behalf, the Lord Jesus Christ stands before His Father as the
King of Kings on our behalf. Now that's the kind of advocate
I want. How about you? As King of Kings, His words carry
weight. He's the ultimate authority.
His words are unchallengeable. That's a hard word to say. I
knew it when I wrote it down. His words are eternal. That's
easier to say. His words carry divine power,
not mere suggestions or opinions. And then thirdly, in verses six
and seven, we see the power of the intercession. And Saul hearkened. Look at that. And Saul hearkened. Saul listened unto the voice
of Jonathan. Saul swore, as the Lord liveth,
he shall not be slain, but to death. Saul's sword is sheathed. The wrath is delayed. David is
brought back into the presence of Saul. back reconciled. Now we need to be clear. It was
only temporary because Saul's heart was unstable. It would
again be turned to murder. But this is a picture, as I said,
not a perfect one. There are no perfect pictures
and types of Christ because he's the only, the Lord Jesus is the
only one that's perfect. But the image here is powerful.
Jonathan's intercession brings reconciliation. However, in Christ,
the reconciliation is not temporary like Jonathan's was. It's eternal. It's everlasting. Christ's intercession
doesn't just delay God's wrath. It absorbs it. God's wrath is
appeased. God's wrath is pacified. God's
wrath is justified. Satisfied. And on the cross,
God's wrath and justice was meted out on Christ, our substitute.
The wrath you and I deserve was poured out on him. Do you believe
that? Do you believe that's what you
deserve, what Christ got? It is. We have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, Romans 5.1. There is one mediator
between God and man, and man, the man Christ Jesus. He's the
God man. He's the only one who can truly
mediate. He's the only one who can intercede.
He's the only one who can propitiate. Why? Because he gave himself
as a ransom. How important is Christ's intercession
in the believer's salvation? You ever thought about that?
The Scriptures talk a great deal about His intercession. Just
how important is it? Well, it wouldn't be talked about
as much as it is in Scripture if it wasn't important. First,
His intercession secures our salvation. He's able to save
them to the uttermost, those who come to God by Him, seeing
He ever livid to make intercession for them. Christ's ongoing intercession
is why He's able to save completely. Our Lord's high priestly work
did not end on the cross or in the resurrection. He continues
even now, even now, to represent His people before the Father.
His intercession is not begging a reluctant God. I don't care
how people Try to picture it, it's not so. It's the constant
presentation of his finished work. This is what I did for
him. This is what I did for her father. Remember my finished work that
I accomplished for so-and-so. It's a constant presentation
of His finished work. His finished work ensures our
forgiveness. His finished work is our eternal
preservation. Without His constant advocacy,
we'll fall away. We're kept, kept, kept, kept
by the power of God. Secondly, Christ's intercession
sustains us in our weakness. I'm almost finished, stay with
me. The Lord told Peter, he said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has
desired you that he may sift you as wheat. What'd he say after that? But
I have prayed that your faith fail not. I prayed for thee that thy faith
fail not. Now, Peter failed in his flesh. He denied the Lord
Jesus three times, but his faith didn't fail. It looked like it
was going to, he said, I'm going fishing. And they all went fishing,
but they didn't stay fishing. Why didn't his faith fail him?
Because Christ interceded for him. He said, I prayed, did your
faith fail or not? And it didn't. It's the same
with us. Our faith would collapse otherwise.
People talk about faith, great faith. Oh, he has great faith.
They have great faith. Listen, our faith is weak at
best. It's the faith of Christ that
saves us. And what an example this is of
that. He said, I pray that your faith
fail you not. Our faith is in his faith, right?
That's right. Our faith is in his faith. He's
faithful that promised. I take no pride in my faith,
but I, but I will do all I can to glorify his faith. Our faith
fails, not because Christ's intercession is all, it doesn't fail because
his intercession's always, always effectual. For we have not a
high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities,
but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. That's the key. We're tempted
and we sin. He was tempted like we are, yet
he sinned not. Let us therefore come boldly
into throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace
to help in time of need. Why? Because he fulfilled all
the law of force and satisfied God's justice in our room and
stay. Friends, our Lord's intercession
is the difference between preservation and apostasy. The difference
between standing in grace or falling into condemnation. Salvation
is not a one-time thing. I don't care what people say.
You go to a funeral home and people live like hell all their
lives, but no, he's in glory because he walked an hour and
made a profession and gave Jesus his heart back on such and such
a date when he was just a little boy. No, not a one-time event. Salvation is a sustained relationship
upheld by Christ. If He doesn't continue to pray
for us, the cross would have been in vain. If He does not
love us until the end, we will not endure until the end. A shepherd
doesn't just lead the sheep to green pastures. No, He does much
more than that. He watches them while they eat.
He guards them while they sleep. He stands between them and the
wolves and the predators of this world. Our Lord's intercession
is not passive, it's defensive, it's protective, it's deeply
personal. He stands between us and every
spiritual predator. Satan, sin, and self don't stand
a chance with our great shepherd. Christ is much more than just
our cosigner. He doesn't just sign the loan.
He works to pay off the debt in full for us. You ever had
a cosigner do that? He makes sure that nothing is
held against us, the debtor, and he keeps our account cleared
before the throne. Our advocate doesn't deny our
guilt in the divine courtroom. He presents his own blood as
payment. He pleads his righteousness on
our behalf. Jonathan risked losing his father's
approval and possibly even his life to stand with David. Saul
was an unstable man. He would have been just as likely
to kill Jonathan as he was David. Matter of fact, remember who
he was going to? We looked at that in a previous
chapter, 1 Samuel. Jonathan ate a little honey and
saw it made a rule that if anybody ate, they would die and he was
gonna kill his own son because he, and he didn't even know about
the rule. Oh, he risked losing his father's
approval and even his life. But Christ lost his father's
fellowship for a while so that you and I could gain it forever.
We've been reconciled to God. We have fellowship with God for
now and evermore. That's what heaven is. Jonathan
appealed to his father's reasoning and he found temporary favor,
but Christ satisfied his father's justice by becoming our sacrifice
himself and found eternal favor for us with God. If he ever loved
me, he loves me still. He'll always love me. Have he
loved his own which were in the world? He loved them how long? To the end. Jonathan's mediation brought
temporary peace. Christ's mediation brought eternal
reconciliation. There's no hope apart from Christ,
the intercessor. He's not a mediator, he is the
mediator. There's no other who can mediate
for us. So what do we do? We trust in
Him. We rest in Him. We find peace
in His ongoing intercession. My little children, these things
I write unto you that you sin not. And if any man sin, and every
man's going to, we have an advocate. with the father, Jesus Christ,
the righteous. I love how that not only tells
us his name, but who and what he is. Jesus Christ, the righteous. Not a righteous, not one of many
righteous. He is the righteous and all our
righteousness is found in him. The intercession of Christ is
our only hope against the wrath that we deserve. Now that won't
mean much to you if you don't think that you deserve God's
wrath. But if you know and you see and God has revealed to you
that you deserve His wrath, that'll mean something to you. His intercession
will mean something to you. Without Christ pleading His blood,
His righteousness, and His finished work on our behalf, we're guilty
and we're condemned. No amount of good works, no amount
of tears, No amount of saying how much you're sorry. Sincere promises, none of it
will mean anything. None of it will shield us from
what we deserve, rightly deserve. But Christ is at the right hand
of God. making intercession for us. Because of that, nothing, absolutely
nothing can separate us from the love of God. Where is it? Where's the love of God? In Christ
Jesus, our Lord.