Nov 05

Jesus, Our Worship Leader



We are all worshippers. Every person on earth worships someone or something. Worship is hardwired into who we are as people. We worship things like money or power or fame. We worship people like great athletes or parents or friends. Because we worship, we end up having worship leaders; those who direct us to whom or to what we are worshipping. If we worship money, perhaps our financial advisor becomes our worship leader. If we worship our friends, then our friends become our worship leaders.

The stark reality of worship is that anything we worship outside of the One, True, Holy God will lead to death. Only in worshipping God do we find life and truth. God has provided for us a worship leader. Certainly our church and many other churches have folks who stand at the front and lead us in song or guide us through our service of worship, but in truth, none of them are actually THE worship leader. Jesus is our worship leader. He is the way to God. He knows us and knows what it is like to be us. He goes before us to the throne of God and by His sacrifice and intercession on our behalf makes the way for us to worship God and find life.

The book of Hebrews lays out the supremacy of Christ. He deserves our worship as He is the one who “upholds the universe by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3). By becoming a man (while still being fully God), Jesus took on the mantle of our high priest, our worship leader. Jesus perfectly lived, perfectly grew, perfectly learned, perfectly resisted temptation, perfectly suffered, perfectly died and perfectly rose again. He leads us in worship because He knows what it is like to be in our skin. He understands and sympathizes with our frailties. He has lived amidst great depravity and yet was without sin. Christ leads us out of our sin and into the presence of God. The author of Hebrews even goes so far as to say that Jesus is with us worshipping. He stands in the midst of the congregation and sings God’s praise (Hebrews 2:12).

As we come as worshippers to serve our God, let us examine and rejoice in who leads us in worship. Let us delight in the access that Christ, our worship leader, gives us to God. Let us sing, “Our hope is anchored in the one who sits on the throne. To whom we bring our pleas and our praise because He has completed the work of salvation. We remember that He is the High King of Heaven who has won the victory and our souls bless His name.”