Hebrews 5:1-3
The great example to shepherds, as in all things, is the lord Jesus Christ. He is the model on which to base all that we do, and this is no less so with his role as chief shepherd. Jesus combines the role of shepherd and Great High Priest in a way that we cannot because it is he who became the sacrifice that satisfied God’s demand for justice and took away the penalty of sin. It is in his role as High Priest that he mediates this sacrifice and secures salvation for all those who exercise faith in him. But we are all called to be priests and to exercise this office in a pastoral way.
A priest makes representation to God on behalf of those that he or she is responsible for. This applies especially to those who are not yet in the fold. In other words those people that have yet to come to faith in the lord Jesus Christ do not have access to the father and they need someone to pray on their behalf. The priest also speaks to the people on behalf of God. In this way the priest mediates between God and his people. The writer to the Hebrews explains that a priest was ‘taken from among men on behalf of men in things pertaining to God’. It was their responsibility to take a stand for those who did not have access to God and to act on their behalf. In your part of the marketplace there are many men, women, boys and girls who have not yet come to faith in the lord Jesus Christ, they need someone to intercede on their behalf. More than that they need someone who understands their needs and their weaknesses, someone who is just like them.
When the person who prays for someone else comes from the same circumstances and background as they do they understand and can treat them and their needs gently. The priest that is taken from among men can ‘deal gently with the ignorant and the misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness’. As a priest in your part of the marketplace you are God’s representative – it is your responsibility to speak on his behalf to those in your care. You are to extend his mercy and love to those who stand in need, offering healing and relief to the broken and sick and giving guidance and direction to the lost. But you are also the representative of the people. It is up to you to bring the needs, hurts and burdens of the people to God and ask on their behalf. You stand in the gap between God and them.
God has chosen you because you understand the needs of those in your community; you have suffered the same pain and frustration. You know what it is like to be rejected and hurt. You have experienced lack of direction, confusion and loss. You have faced similar temptations and trials and you can empathise with those around you. Because of this you can treat them gently and pray on their behalf. You will not be quick to judge because you know that except by God’s grace you would be in the same situation. God can use you because you have experienced his mercy, love and grace and now you have hope you can offer it to others. God also depends on your ability to make his word clear to those you care for and he places confidence in your ability to make his good news plain.
This is why you are in the place you are, as a shepherd of God’s sheep he has given you a priestly role. He has chosen you to act on behalf of the men, women and children in your world and to speak to them on his behalf. He has appointed you to intercede for them so that they will receive mercy and help in their time of need. You are there by Divine appointment, God knows that you are able to be a witness to his grace and is relying on you to make him known in you marketplace.