The Mediator Between God and Man
Notes
Transcript
Scripture Intro:
Scripture Intro:
Scripture Reading (“Please stand…”)
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, and get from them staffs, one for each fathers’ house, from all their chiefs according to their fathers’ houses, twelve staffs.
Write each man’s name on his staff, and write Aaron’s name on the staff of Levi. For there shall be one staff for the head of each fathers’ house.
Then you shall deposit them in the tent of meeting before the testimony, where I meet with you. And the staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout.
Thus I will make to cease from me the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against you.”
Moses spoke to the people of Israel. And all their chiefs gave him staffs, one for each chief, according to their fathers’ houses, twelve staffs. And the staff of Aaron was among their staffs. And Moses deposited the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the testimony.
On the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony, and behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds.
Then Moses brought out all the staffs from before the Lord to all the people of Israel. And they looked, and each man took his staff.
And the Lord said to Moses, “Put back the staff of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebels, that you may make an end of their grumblings against me, lest they die.”
Thus did Moses; as the Lord commanded him, so he did.
And the people of Israel said to Moses, “Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone.
Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the Lord, shall die. Are we all to perish?”
Pray...
Intro:
Intro:
When Reactor No. 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded at 1:23 a.m. on April 26, 1986, the first people to respond were not scientists or radiation experts. They were ordinary municipal firefighters from Pripyat and the surrounding region. They arrived within minutes, unaware that the glowing debris scattered across the roof and ground were pieces of the exposed reactor core, each emitting lethal doses of radiation.
Thirteen fire crews climbed onto the burning roofs and turbine hall to fight the flames. They wore standard firefighting gear—helmets, jackets, rubber boots—completely inadequate for nuclear radiation. Many received fatal doses within hours.
One of the most well‑known was Vasily Ignatenko, a 25‑year‑old firefighter from Pripyat. He and his brigade rushed directly into the radioactive zone, climbing onto the roof to extinguish burning graphite without knowing it was nuclear fuel. Ignatenko absorbed a massive dose of radiation and died eighteen days later in a Moscow hospital.
These men stood in a place no one else could stand. They absorbed a danger no one else could bear. They made it possible for others to live, evacuate, and survive.
Their bodies were so radioactive that they had to be buried in lead‑lined coffins.
History is full of people that stood in harms way for other people.
Soldiers on the battlefield (for a fellow soldier or a commanding officer)
Doctors during the Plague
Yet, as we are going to look at the biblical concept of a mediator....
someone standing between God and Man,
we see that these illustrations fall flat.
Yes, there is a person standing in their place.
Between them and the danger.
Yet, in these cases,
that person dies as a result of their heroic efforts.
The One God Chooses
The One God Chooses
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(Usually between 8:15 and 12:30 to get to 1st point)
And the staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout. Thus I will make to cease from me the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against you.”
God makes His choice unmistakably clear
This is the central verse of the chapter. It contains God’s own explanation of the test:
He will cause the chosen man’s staff to bud
His choice will silence Israel’s grumbling
The mediator is His selection, not theirs
This verse is the theological heart of the chapter. It tells your people that God Himself reveals the one who will stand for them.
On the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony, and behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds.
This is the dramatic moment of divine confirmation. The dead staff comes alive, showing:
God’s choice is public
God’s choice is life‑giving
God’s choice is supernatural
This verse is perfect for preaching because it gives you a vivid picture of resurrection life pointing forward to Christ.
And the Lord said to Moses, “Put back the staff of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebels, that you may make an end of their grumblings against me, lest they die.”
This verse shows that God’s choice is not temporary. The staff becomes:
A permanent witness to God’s decision
A warning against rejecting His appointed mediator
A reminder of the danger of approaching God on our own terms
This verse helps you transition from Aaron to Jesus as the final and permanent Mediator.
Together they show:
God chooses the mediator (v. 5)
God confirms His choice with life (v. 8)
God establishes His choice as permanent (v. 10)
App. We stop trying to approach God on our own terms
God decides how sinners may come near.
The people who tried to bypass God’s appointed mediator faced judgment.
A Christian learns to stop approaching God through:
personal performance
emotional highs
moral effort
spiritual comparison
self‑made righteousness
Instead, we come through the One God has chosen.
This produces humility, dependence, and rest.
Transition: Holiness is dangerous without a mediator
God’s holiness is not casual.
The people needed someone to stand between them and God’s presence.
And the people of Israel said to Moses, “Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone.
Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the Lord, shall die. Are we all to perish?”
They realize they cannot survive God’s holiness
They understand they need someone to stand between them and God
The One Who Stands For Us
The One Who Stands For Us
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The priest bears the iniquity of the sanctuary and the priesthood
So the Lord said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall bear iniquity connected with the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear iniquity connected with your priesthood.
This is the anchor verse for your point. It shows that Aaron and his sons carry the weight of Israel’s guilt so the people are not destroyed by God’s holiness.
Why it’s powerful:
It defines the priestly role as representative and protective.
It shows that holiness is dangerous without a mediator.
It sets up a direct line to Christ, who bears our iniquity fully and finally.
They shall keep guard over you and over the whole tent, but shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary or to the altar lest they, and you, die.
They shall join you and keep guard over the tent of meeting for all the service of the tent, and no outsider shall come near you.
These verses describe the Levites assisting the priests so that Israel does not come too close to the sanctuary and die.
Why it’s powerful:
It shows the priest as a shield between the people and God’s holiness.
It reinforces that access to God must be mediated.
It gives you a vivid picture of Christ as the One who keeps us safe in God’s presence.
And you shall keep guard over the sanctuary and over the altar, that there may never again be wrath on the people of Israel.
This verse states that the priests’ faithful service keeps God’s wrath from breaking out against Israel.
Why it’s powerful:
It shows the priest as a protector from divine judgment.
It highlights the seriousness of approaching God wrongly.
It gives you a natural bridge to Christ, who absorbs wrath rather than merely deflecting it.
And you and your sons with you shall guard your priesthood for all that concerns the altar and that is within the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood as a gift, and any outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”
God calls the priesthood a “gift” and gives Aaron the responsibility of serving at the altar.
Why it’s powerful:
It shows that mediation is God’s gracious provision.
It emphasizes that the priest stands in a place no one else may stand.
It prepares your congregation to see Christ as the greater gift and the greater priest.
Together they show:
The priest bears the people’s iniquity (v. 1)
The priest guards the people from God’s holiness (vv. 3–4)
The priest protects the people from wrath (v. 5)
The priesthood is God’s gracious gift (v. 7)
App. We admit that we cannot bear our own iniquity
We cannot carry our guilt, fix our sin, or cleanse our conscience.
A Christian stops pretending they can “fix themselves”.
We confess sin honestly because we know Someone stands for us.
We stop hiding, minimizing, or managing sin
and instead bring it to Christ.
Just an interesting side point...
For the tithe of the people of Israel, which they present as a contribution to the Lord, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance. Therefore I have said of them that they shall have no inheritance among the people of Israel.”
but the Levites give to the Lord as well.
“Moreover, you shall speak and say to the Levites, ‘When you take from the people of Israel the tithe that I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present a contribution from it to the Lord, a tithe of the tithe.
For Todd and me, we are keenly aware that it is your generosity that provides our income.
We don’t take that lightly...
and are incredibly humbled by that.
Yet, we are called to give to the Lord as well.
Whatever God provides for us...
we worship him with a portion, just as he calls all of his people.
The One Who Cleanses Us
The One Who Cleanses Us
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“This is the statute of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer without defect, in which there is no blemish, and on which a yoke has never come.
This verse introduces the red heifer as God’s appointed means of cleansing. It shows:
Cleansing is God’s idea, not ours
God provides the sacrifice that makes purification possible
Holiness is restored through God’s provision, not human effort
This is the theological foundation of the chapter.
And a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place. And they shall be kept for the water for impurity for the congregation of the people of Israel; it is a sin offering.
Sin offering
This verse explains the purpose of the ashes: they are for purification from sin and for removing uncleanness caused by death.
Why it’s powerful:
It names death as the great contaminant
It shows that cleansing is ongoing and necessary
It gives you a direct line to Christ, who cleanses from sin and death at the deepest level
This is the heart of your point: the One who cleanses us.
He shall cleanse himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day, and so be clean. But if he does not cleanse himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not become clean.
Whoever touches a dead person, the body of anyone who has died, and does not cleanse himself, defiles the tabernacle of the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from Israel; because the water for impurity was not thrown on him, he shall be unclean. His uncleanness is still on him.
These verses show the seriousness of defilement and the necessity of God’s cleansing.
Why it’s powerful:
It shows that uncleanness is not optional or cosmetic
It reveals the danger of approaching God without cleansing
It underscores that only God’s appointed means can restore fellowship
This gives you a strong pastoral moment: we cannot cleanse ourselves.
For the unclean they shall take some ashes of the burnt sin offering, and fresh water shall be added in a vessel.
Then a clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water and sprinkle it on the tent and on all the furnishings and on the persons who were there and on whoever touched the bone, or the slain or the dead or the grave.
And the clean person shall sprinkle it on the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day. Thus on the seventh day he shall cleanse him, and he shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and at evening he shall be clean.
These verses describe the actual application of the cleansing water.
Why it’s powerful:
It shows that cleansing is not abstract but applied
It highlights the role of the mediator in administering cleansing
It gives you a natural bridge to Christ, whose cleansing is personal and effective
This is where you can emphasize that holiness is restored through God’s gracious action.
Together they show:
God provides the sacrifice (v. 2)
God defines the purpose of cleansing (v. 9)
God warns about the danger of remaining unclean (vv. 12–13)
God applies cleansing through His appointed means (vv. 17–19)
App. We receive cleansing instead of trying to create it
Cleansing from death and defilement comes from God’s appointed means.
The unclean person cannot cleanse themselves.
A Christian stops trying to “feel forgiven” or “earn forgiveness.”
We receive cleansing as a gift.
We let Christ wash us, restore us, and renew us.
We live as people who have been made clean.
The Better Mediator, The Better Priest, The Better Sacrifice
The Better Mediator, The Better Priest, The Better Sacrifice
1. Jesus is the Priest God chooses
1. Jesus is the Priest God chooses
He is not self‑appointed. He is chosen, anointed, and affirmed by the Father. He is the true and living branch, the One in whom resurrection life appears.
2. Jesus stands for us where we cannot stand
2. Jesus stands for us where we cannot stand
He bears our iniquity fully and finally. He shields us from wrath not by blocking it but by absorbing it. He represents us before the throne of grace with His own righteousness.
3. Jesus cleanses us completely
3. Jesus cleanses us completely
He does not cleanse with ashes and water but with His own blood. He purifies the conscience, not just the body. He removes not only the touch of death but the power of death. He restores us to God’s presence forever.
The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.
Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.
He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.
Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.
But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.
he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.
A Christian lives every day with this confession:
I cannot approach God on my own.
I cannot carry my own sin.
I cannot cleanse myself.
But Jesus stands for me, bears my guilt, and makes me clean.
I come to God through Him.
This is the daily posture of faith, worship, repentance, and hope.
** On Communion Sunday...
If after 10:30,
go straight to the Lord’s Supper.
Close in Prayer
Close in Prayer
Closing Song:
Closing Song:
“In Christ Alone”
All of this is accomplished by Christ.
He is the Great High Priest.
Benediction:
Benediction:
The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face to shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD lift up his countenance upon you
and give you peace.
