JESUS CHRIST: THE MEDIATOR OF THE NEW COVENANT
HEBREWS 9:15-22
INTRODUCTION
Jesus Christ is the Mediator of the new testament or covenant. Remember: a testament or covenant is an agreement between two parties. This particular covenant is the great covenant of God, the new covenant and agreement that He has made with man. God has set up a new agreement with man. He no longer relates to man like He did centuries ago, that is, by law, by man trying to keep certain rules and regulations and thereby becoming acceptable to God. Under the old covenant of law man just could never relate to God, not adequately and not perfectly. Man was always failing to keep the law; he was always breaking his relationship to God. As a result, he was condemned and cut off from God. He never had true fellowship and communion with God, not on a continuous basis, not a fellowship and communion that met the very basic needs of man. What are those needs? What are the basic needs of man? Love and friendship with God and others. A clear heart and conscience—to be completely free of guilt—to know that his sins are truly forgiven. Deliverance from sin, evil, corruption, death, and condemnation. Absolute assurance and security that God has acccepted him and that he will live in the presence of God perfected forever.
The new covenant meets every one of these needs. It meets them through the Lord Jesus Christ—through the Mediator of the new covenant of God.
MAJOR POINTS OF THE TEXT
1. Jesus Christ is the Mediator of the new covenant (v.15).
2. Argument 1: a will is not in effect until the testator’s death (v.16-17).
3. Argument 2: the institution of the first covenant shows that all things are cleansed by blood (v.18-22).
OPENING UP THE TEXT
1. Jesus Christ is the Mediator of the new covenant. Remember: a mediator is a person who stands between two parties and brings them together. He is the negotiator, the go-between, the arbitrator, the middle person. This is Jesus Christ, the great mediator between God and man.
But what gives Jesus Christ the right to be the great mediator between God and man? Why is He the mediator and not some great leader of an earthly religion? What is there about Jesus Christ that makes Him so unique, that makes Him stand head and shoulders above all others when it comes to relating to God?
The death of Jesus Christ is what gives him the right to be the mediator between god and man. When Jesus Christ died, He died for all men. He sacrificed His life for everyone—no matter who they are. He took the sins of every human being upon Himself—He bore the guilt and condemnation for every person. How could He do this?
He was the Son of God who had come to earth for this very purpose. He became flesh and blood and lived as a Man upon earth. But there was one distinct difference: He never sinned. He never transgressed the law of God. He possessed the ideal, perfect righteousness. He stood before men as the Ideal Man which means that His ideal righteousness could cover man.
But something else was needed, something critical. Man had already sinned and transgressed; he already stood guilty before God. Therefore, the penalty for having broken the law had to be paid. Man had to die or else some perfect sacrifice had to step forward and die for him. As just stated, there was only one perfect and ideal person, the Lord Jesus Christ. He and He alone could step forward and bear the guilt and punishment for man. It is this that stands out above all else—this that sets Jesus Christ apart from everyone else in the universe—this that makes Jesus Christ stand head and shoulders above all others—this above all else that qualifies Him to be the great Mediator between God and man.
Jesus Christ died for man. he sacrificed himself for man. The reasons:
1). To forgive past sins. His death redeems man, frees man from sin, death, and judgment. What does this mean? When we accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins, then Jesus Christ bore our sins; we do not have to bear them. When we accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our death, then Jesus Christ bore our death; we do not have to die. When we accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our judgment, then Jesus Christ bore our judgment; we do not have to face judgment.
2). To give an eternal inheritance. The results are glorious: our sins are forgiven and we receive an eternal inheritance. God accepts us, and we receive the glorious promise and assurance of living with Him forever and ever. We receive that for which we as men and women long and ache, WHICH IS: love and friendship with God, a clear heart and conscience, a deliverance from sin, evil, corruption, death, and condemnation, eternal life, and absolute assurance and security.
Also note Hebrews 9:15: even the believers under the first testament or covenant of law received these things. The ideal perfection, righteousness, and sacrifice of Jesus Christ covers all people. The ideal can and does stand for all.
Observe one other glorious fact: this is true. It is true that Jesus Christ is the Mediator of the new covenant. God heaps argument upon argument, proof upon proof to show that Jesus Christ is the great Minister and High Priest of heaven.
SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES
"Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father" (Galatians 1:4).
"And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour" (Ephes. 5:2).
"Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works" (Titus 2:14).
"Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren" (1 John 3:16).
"And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the firstbegotten of the dead, and prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood" (Rev. 1:5).
"For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me" (Psalm 69:9).
"But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5).
"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree" (Galatians 3:13).
"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man" (Hebrews 2:9).
"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit" (1 Peter 3:18).
"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Cor. 5:21).
"So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation" (Hebrews 9:28).
"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed" (1 Peter 2:24).
2. (9:16-17) argument one—a last will and testament is not in effect until the testator’s death. This one fact is critical to note: God’s covenant with man is the covenant of a last will and testament. That is, the terms are set exclusively by God, not man. God sets the terms and conditions and man either accepts or rejects them. God’s testament or covenant is somewhat like the last will and testament of any man. The recipient cannot change the terms of the will and testament; he can only accept or reject them.
Now, to the point: a testament or covenant does not take effect until when? Not until the testator dies. God had willed that His new covenant would not go into force until Jesus Christ had died. As men upon their death give inheritance to those whom they love and care for, so God upon the death of His Son gives His inheritance to those whom He loves and cares for. The proof that Jesus Christ is the Mediator of God’s new covenant is that He died as the sacrifice for our sins.
SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES
"But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises" (Hebrews 8:6).
"For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation" (Hebrews 9:26-28).
3. (9:18-22) Argument two—the institution of the old covenant shows that all things are cleansed by blood. This is clearly seen when the old covenant was instituted by Moses (cp. Exodus 24:3-8, esp. Exodus 24:6-8). After God had given the law to Moses, Moses shared the law with the people. Then he made a sacrificial offering to the Lord. He took the blood of the animal and sprinkled both the book of the law and the people. This was a dedication service, a service commemorating the institution of God’s first covenant, and note how it was being instituted: by death—by the shedding of the blood of a sacrifice. Note what Moses says in Hebrews 9:20. "Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you" (Hebrews 9:20).
But this is not the only example we have. Moses also held a dedication service when the tabernacle was completed, and he sprinkled it and all the furnishings with blood (Hebrews 9:21).
What is the significance of this argument? "Almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission" (Hebrews 9:22).
Under the covenant and law, almost all things were purged and cleansed by blood. In fact, without the shedding of blood there was no cleansing or forgiveness. This was true throughout the whole reign of the law—from the institution of the law down to the present. For men have always had a sense of failing, of coming short, and of being imperfect. They have known a frightening fact: they had to pay for their sins or else someone or something had to take their place and be sacrificed for them. Therefore, man has constantly made sacrifice for his sins in order to become acceptable to God. He has always sensed and known that "without shedding of blood there is no remission"—no cleansing and no forgiveness.
CONCLUSION
This is the argument, the proof that Jesus Christ is the Mediator of God’s new covenant with man. Jesus Christ shed His blood; He died for man. He has paid the penalty for man’s sins. He has instituted and launched God’s new covenant with man.
SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES
"For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:28).
"Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him" (Romans 5:9).
"How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Hebrews 9:14).
"And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission" (Hebrews 9:22).
"And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water" (Hebrews 10:17-22).
"Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Peter 1:18-19).
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).
"And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the firstbegotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood" (Rev. 1:5).