Hebrews 7:25 says,

So he is able to save completely those who come to God through him because he lives forever to appeal on their behalf.

How are we to imagine the Son appealing to the Father on our behalf? The story of Paul’s legal battles in Acts provides a helpful analogy. The word used to describe the way the Jews “appealed” to Festus to condemn Paul is the same word used to describe the way the Son and Spirit appeal to the Father on our behalf. The dark contrast of the contexts makes the verbal connection and the idea of appealing more easily understandable.

In Acts 25:24, Festus speaks about the way the Jews were appealing (ἐνέτυγχον) to him to take action against Paul. By the time you get this far into reading Acts, you are well attuned to the insistent fervor with which the Jews are trying to kill Paul (cf. Acts 25:2, 7, et al.).

What’s striking is that word for appeal, ἐντυγχάνω, is the very same word used in Romans and Hebrews to describe the way the Son and the Spirit advocate on our behalf to the Father. In Romans 8:27, Paul says the Spirit appeals (ἐντυγχάνει) to the Father on behalf of the saints. Romans 8:34 says that the Son sits at the right hand and appeals (ἐντυγχάνει) to the Father for us. Hebrews 7:25 says Jesus lives to appeal (ἐντυγχάνειν) to God on behalf of all who draw near to God through him.

It might seem a bit odd to compare the murderous plotting of those who tried to kill Paul to the work of the Son and the Spirit, but that’s the beauty of narrative analogies in Scripture. There’s a similarity and a difference. The hyperlink is striking partly because the moment you recognize the verbal connection you also recognize how sharply the circumstances contrast. The action and the fervor are the same, but the goal is the opposite. The Jews sought to kill Paul with their ἐντυγχάνειν, but in the ἐντυγχάνειν of the Son and the Spirit they seek our reconciliation, our life, and our flourishing.

I love the thought of the Son and the Spirit urging the Father to act on our behalf. You still might not like the idea of the Father needing to be urged to help us, but no one said he did need to be urged. In fact, the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11–24) would say that the Father is ready and will and eager to help us. If we can imagine that—the Father running to us even before we make it home—we are, no doubt, closer to the truth. It’s the joy of the Father, Son, and Spirit to work in harmony to reconcile us to himself.