Isaiah 53:12 reminds us that Jesus poured out His life, bore the sin of many, and interceded for the wrongdoers. (“And He will divide the plunder with the strong, Because He poured out His life unto death, and was counted with wrongdoers; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the wrongdoers.”) When I look back over my own life, especially the moments I wrote about in my book Undefeated, I remember how difficult it was to put certain chapters on paper. Reliving embarrassing, disappointing, sinful, and painful moments brought a flood of emotions. But as those memories resurfaced, a pattern became so clear: Jesus was there. He wasn’t passive, silent, or distant—He was actively intervening, covering, redirecting, and rescuing. He was and is my Great Intercessor.

Whether your story mirrors mine or looks completely different, one truth remains the same: God has interceded for you too. When I think of an intercessor, I picture a shepherd—someone who steps between danger and the sheep, someone who watches, protects, guides, and leads with intention. John 10:14 shows us that Jesus is the Good Shepherd who knows His sheep and is known by them. Not only that but as an intercessor, Jesus said in verse 11, “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” Jesus doesn’t wait for us to find our way—He goes before us, directs us, shields us, and carries us through every situation.

This shepherding heart was revealed to us in Isaiah 53. Verse 6 tells us that we all wandered like sheep, each turning to our own way, yet the Lord placed the full weight of our sin on Jesus. (“All of us, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the wrongdoing of us all to fall on Him.”)  And verse 12 shows how He responded—not with judgment, but by pouring out His life, bearing the sin of many, and interceding for us even when we were counted among the wrongdoers. This is why we can confidently call Him both our Good Shepherd who leads us back to safety and our Great Intercessor who stands in the gap on our behalf. (“Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the plunder with the strong, Because He poured out His life unto death, and was counted with wrongdoers; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the wrongdoers.”)

When we reflect on Lamentations 3, it ties in well with these scriptures because we can see that even in the midst of our sins, God meets us with unfailing mercy —His compassion is new every morning, and His faithfulness never fails. Since we cannot fix ourselves, He steps in to restore, strengthen, and guide our hearts. This passage reveals a God who moves toward us with steadfast love, leading us gently and faithfully.

So if Jesus is both Intercessor and Shepherd, then these scriptures paint a complete picture of who He is: He stands between us and the danger of sin, He guides us into life and righteousness, He protects us—even at the cost of His own life, and He meets us with compassion and unfailing mercy when we are broken or weary. This is not a God who waits for us to clean ourselves up. This is a God who moves toward us with mercy, conviction, and purpose.

Our Encouraging Takeaway: You can’t fix you—but I know a Man who can rescue you, heal you, fix you, love you, and meet every need that you can name, and His name is Jesus.