Jesus, The Mediator

INTRODUCTION

Religions are abundant throughout the world, each with their own claims to truth and each with their committed adherents.

This has been the case for thousands of years, ever since man was cast out of the Garden of Eden.

It is approximated that over 80% of the world population adheres to some form of religious expression.

Mankind, as a whole, has retained the idea that this world is not all there is…there is a deep seated belief of something more than what we experience. In Ecclesiastes 3:11, the Preacher tells us that God has placed eternity in the heart of man.

Because of this sense of “there must be something more,” the majority conclusion has been that there must be “someone higher and greater” that has provided this reality. Thus, we see the evidence of man’s attempt to reach out to and please this god(s) in the form of different religious ceremonies and rituals.

Different gods for various phenomena, including weather, crops, and health.

Different types of offerings, including food, animal, and human.

Different types of ceremonies utilizing drugs, alcohol, and orgies

Ultimately, mankind has been desperately reaching for an understanding of God, which is consistent with what is found in…

Acts 17:26–27 ESV

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,

God created mankind with the intent that we would seek God and know Him. And even though these myriad attempts through history failed, God is still desirous of people to know and worship Him.

Therefore, in verses 1-10 of chapter 9, the author of Hebrews laid out the benefit of the Old Covenant..

There was a tabernacle established where God’s presence resided and priests could come to Him on behalf of the people.

There were different elements of the tabernacle that served different purposes in the worship, such as the Table of Shewbread and the Altar of Incense.

There were instructions given to priests, and the high priest, on what they could do, and when.

There were instructions given to the people on what they were to bring to the tabernacle, and when

Ultimately, the Old Covenant was an act of grace by God toward His people. In a culture where pagan worship reigned and the people were trying to figure out how to approach and appease their gods, Yahweh took the initiative to reveal Himself and His expectations to the Israelites.

However, the Israelites still failed to uphold their side of the covenant…that is to say, they still could not please God. Therefore, the Old Covenant had to be replaced with the New Covenant, inaugurated by the blood of Jesus.

Read Hebrews 9:12

Since it was His sacrifice…His blood…that secured eternal redemption, God saw it fitting that He also become the mediator of the covenant (v. 15).

Mediator: a person who attempts to make people involved in a conflict come to an agreement; a go-between.

In this situation, Jesus is the mediator between God and man.

There is a conflict in that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).

All men are sinners, and God must judge all sin.

But Jesus, as mediator, plays a special role. Here are 3 Actions That Jesus Performs As Mediator.

A MEDIATOR WHO REDEEMS (v. 15-20)

Read Hebrews 9:15

In our society, we understand that a mediator is someone who gets two opposing sides together and tries to effect a compromise between them, in order to come to an agreement.

But God’s holiness cannot be compromised. And far from suggesting a compromise between two opposing positions, Christ agrees with the Father that we deserve the infinite outpouring of his wrath. He agrees with the Father about the ugliness of our sin. He agrees with the Father about the necessity of a sacrifice. And as our mediator, he agrees to be that sacrifice.

Christ secured an eternal inheritance for those who are called.

Read Hebrews 9:16-17

The author here draws attention to the nature of one’s last will and testament. A will does not take effect until the one who made it dies. Until that time, its benefits and provisions are only promises.

The point being made in verses 16–17 is simple and obvious. Building on verse 15, he is saying that God gave a legacy, an eternal inheritance, to Israel in the form of a covenant (a will). As with any will, it was only a type of promissory note until the provider of the will died.

Read Hebrews 9:18-20

Even the Old Covenant was inaugurated with blood…the blood of an animal sacrifice.

The commands were given by God to Moses. Moses sprinkled the blood of a sacrifice on the Law and on the people, indicating their being bound to adhere to it.

The blood of animals initiated the Old Covenant with Israel. The blood of Jesus initiated the New Covenant with Israel.

A MEDIATOR WHO PURIFIES (v. 21-26)

Read Hebrews 9:21-23

The blood of the sacrifice did not just merely inaugurate a covenant, but it also purified the vessels of that covenant.

In the case of Moses, the tent and vessels used in worship were sprinkled with the blood of the sacrifice to represent the purifying of it for use to worship God.

Read Hebrews 9:24-26

In the case of Jesus, His blood is what grants Him access before God on our behalf.

It is also the means through which we, the vessels of God, are purified through the forgiveness of sins.

1 John 1:7–9 ESV

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

God does not forgive sin by looking down and saying, “It’s all right. Since I love you so much, I’ll overlook your sin.” God’s righteousness and holiness will not allow Him to overlook sin.

Sin demands payment by death. And the only death great enough to pay for all of mankind’s sins is the death of His Son. God cannot ignore our sin; but He will forgive our sin if we trust in the death of His Son for that forgiveness.

What can wash away my sin?

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Not only is Jesus a mediator who redeems and purifies through His sacrifice, but He is also…

A MEDIATOR WHO SAVES (v. 27-28)

Read Hebrews 9:27-28

Verse 27 emphasizes the finality in human existence. Life is lived one time, and then there is death and judgment. Man will die and then God will judge him.

Matthew 25:31–32 ESV

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

Death is not just some natural process in the world. It is part of the divine judgment on sin. Death is a verdict, established in Genesis 2 by our Creator.

Genesis 2:16–17 ESV

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Romans 5:12 ESV

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—

Not only is death a verdict handed down to all who have sinned, but it is the last enemy that will be defeated by Jesus.

1 Corinthians 15:26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

1 Corinthians 15:54–56 ESV

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

Verse 28 introduces the fact that Christ is coming back.

And unlike the earthly high priest, He is not coming back to repeat his sacrifice. He’s not coming back to forgive sin; he’s coming back to save those who are eagerly expecting him.

Christ is returning to rescue those he’s saved and to claim his church solely for himself.

The word waiting points to the fact that believers should be longing for Christ’s return. We who are alive should be consciously and readily anticipating his second coming.

CONCLUSION

For millennia, mankind has known that this life is not all there is. They have known that there is a being greater than they are.

But they have not always known how to reach Him.

Thanks be to God that He chose one particular group of people, the Israelites, to be His people and His testimony to the nations. He chose them to be the ones through whom He would reveal Himself to His creation. He revealed Himself through the prophets and the Law.

Even though the Israelites failed to perfectly uphold the Law, God did not leave them in the lurch. He, Himself, came to earth to be the perfect atonement for sins. Jesus, dying on the cross for the sins of the world.

And this Jesus is also the mediator of a New Covenant. He is a mediator who redeems the people from the punishment of sin.

He is a mediator who purifies the people from their sin.

He is a mediator who will save the people from this present evil age.

He has perfectly provided salvation for all those who call on Him.

Our salvation is a past, present, and future salvation.

It is past in the sense that what Christ accomplished by his blood happened long ago. It is present in the sense that we are saved and united with Christ right now. And it is future in the sense that we will be saved out of this broken world into eternal communion, peace, and freedom from sin when Christ returns