2/3/08 – The Ideal Mediator
Do you remember what it was like to be horsing around in a dark bedroom after you were supposed to be asleep and then suddenly your dad flipped on the light? You stood like a frozen statue, blinking in the shock of having been caught and desperately needing someone to speak on your behalf. Well, we all need some one to speak for us to God because everyone of us has been caught and exposed by the light of God’s word. We all need some one that is trusted by God who knows us intimately and cares for us deeply. That person is Jesus. There is none better in all in all of the earth, in any generation, or in any era of time.
Proverbs
Proverbs are great truths uncovered with a few words strung together like pearls on a necklace. Like diamonds set into a bracelet they grace a wrist and are stunningly beautiful. The truth of a proverb lights up a darkened mind or a confused soul with brilliant understanding.
Consider the following proverbs that reveal great truths with a few simple words
Let us live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.
All too often, a clear conscience is merely the results
of a bad memory.
Try not to become a person of success, but rather a person of virtue.
The most valuable gift you can give another is nothing you can
make or buy, just share the plan of salvation.
Never give the devil a ride, he will always want to drive.
Some people reach the top of the ladder of success only to
find it is leaning against the wrong wall.
The happiness of every country depends upon the character of
its people, rather than the form of its government.
Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who
have the most live the longest.
The first rule of holes is when you are in one, stop digging.
Great minds discuss ideas;
Average minds discuss events;
Small minds discuss people.
Now let us consider a proverb that the author of this great letter of Hebrews has penned.
The word of God is sharper than a two edged sword
12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Hebrews 4:12-13
What is this truth? What does it expose that was hidden? What is revealed and why does it reveal it?
According to Hebrews the Word of God is Living (resurrection life). It is the word that is used to describe the resurrection. You can’t get more alive than that! The word of God is Active – which means effective, or capable and able to bring something about. It is a powerful tool.
It cuts incisively into the body and separates joints and marrow. A sword can remove a limb or take off a head and if it’s sharp enough it can slice right through the bone like a meat cleaver.
All of this is significant because of what the word of God does. It is the word of God that judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. It exposes all that is hidden.
And frankly this is a problem. This proverbs reveals one thing – We’re in trouble – deep trouble with God – and we need help to make things right.
We need a mediator. Someone who can stand between two who are disconnected who’s relationship is broken and bring them back into communion with one another.
Jesus is the Great High Priest
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.
Hebrews 4:14
In his book "What’s so Amazing About Grace," Philip Yancey tells a story about a man and wife who one night had an argument about how supper was cooked. It was so heated that night they slept in separate rooms. Neither has approached the other to say “I’m sorry” or to offer forgiveness, and they have remained in separate rooms years after the argument. Each night they go to bed hoping that the other will approach them with an apology and forgiveness, but neither goes to the other.
Here are two people who desperately want reconciliation but cannot exercise the will necessary to bring it about. God wants to be friends with all of humankind. God has forgiven us and he asks us to accept his forgiveness so we can be his friends.
LOVE LETTER IGNORED
When Robert Browning came into her life, Elizabeth Barrett was a 39-year-old invalid. Daughter of a jealous & dominating father, her first 4 books of poetry had been published when she was just 12 years old. At 15 she injured her spine, & the resulting confinement in London affected her lungs. She came to be regarded as a permanent invalid, doomed to spend her life in bed. But still she kept writing.
As time passed, the grief caused by the drowning of a brother, & her father’s refusal to allow any of his children to marry made her a recluse. Nearing 40, she seemed destined for a life of helplessness & gloom.
But the publication of one of her books brought about a correspondence with another poet, a man by the name of Robert Browning. He visited her, & then they wrote often to each other, with him encouraging her to try to get out of bed & make every effort to resume a normal life. But this met with strong resistance from her parents. And they resented Robert for even suggesting it.
They refused to allow him to visit her again, but the correspondence continued, & soon they were in love. Finally, more than a year later, she escaped the possessive vigilance of her father & they were secretly married. They immediately moved to Italy, & in that sunny climate it wasn’t long until she was strong & active once again.
Her parents disowned her, but she wrote almost every week, telling them that she loved them & longed for a reconciliation. After 10 years of writing to them, she received a huge box in the mail that contained all the letters she had ever sent. Not a one of them had been opened!
Although these "love letters" have now become a precious part of English literature, it’s sad to know that they were never read by her parents. Had they looked at just one, the broken relationship with their daughter might have been healed.
But no, they wouldn’t & they didn’t. We hear a story like that & we think, “Oh, what a pitiful story. What a pitiful thing for her parents to be like that.” You’re right. But let me ask you, “Is it possible that as far as God is concerned, that some of us are acting exactly the same way that her parents did?”
How often has God made His love known to us? How often has He expressed it? How great a gift He has given that we might know that He loves us! And we never open His letters. We never talk about His love. We never respond to His invitation. We just ignore Him.
SOURCE: Melvin Newland, Central Christian Church, Brownsville, TX.
We are the ones who have a broken relationship with God and Jesus is the supreme mediator. God has reached out and written us a message of love, hope and life. Jesus is the message – but he is more – he is also the mediator…
Mediation
Mediation may be thought of as "assisted negotiation." Negotiation may be thought of as "communications for agreement." Hence, mediation is "assisted communications for agreement."
James Melamed
Mediation is a big deal today. Lot’s of people are turning to mediation as an alternative to filing a lawsuit. There are many reasons – one is time. A lawsuit can take years – mediation can take place in a matter of days.
What is required for mediation is really very simple – you need two people who are at odds with each other because of some sort of disagreement or harm that has been done and you need some one who can bring the two parties together.
The mediation process must be led by someone who is Impartial, Neutral, Balanced and Safe - The mediator has an equal and balanced responsibility to assist each mediating party and cannot favor the interests of any one party over another, nor should the mediator favor a particular result in the mediation.
To do that the mediator must be a person who understands the circumstances of each of the parties desiring to be reconciled with one another. The mediator then is able to assist the communications for an agreement that restores a broken relationship.
Jesus is the Great High Priest. He has everything we need to be the perfect mediator between God and Man.
He has gone through the Heavens
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.
First, he has gone through the heavens. Jesus is very familiar with God’s world. He ought to be – he made it! Jesus went through the heavens line by line, piece by piece, one piece of DNA code at a time.
Job relates the power of God in the creation of the world…
He has gone through the Heavens
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. 5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? 6 On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone— 7 while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?
Job 38:4-7
I love this monologue by God in the book of Job. It starts here and goes on for three chapters. It’s almost as if God can’t catch his breath. All of it has one theme. Look around you – this was all created by God. And the scriptures make it clear in many different place that Jesus was creative hand of God that fashioned everything that is.
The Bible reveals this to us over and over. Time and time again.
He has gone through the Heavens
3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
John 1:3
16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible…
Colossians 1:16
2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
Hebrews 1:2
11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”
Revelation 4:11
But he is more than just the almighty creator God. He came to be one of us… Jesus came to know not only the heavens but the ball of dirt and water we call our home.
Jesus knows all about the world of God and he knows all about the world of men.
He is able to sympathize with our weaknesses
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.
UNWRAPPING THE CHRISTMAS PRESENT
To get ready for Christmas, God undressed. God stripped off his finery and appeared – how embarrassing – naked on the day he was born. . .
God could not be God-with-us if he wasn’t flesh...
SOURCE: Mary Ellen Ashcroft, Gift Wrapping God, Christianity Today, 12-8-97, p. 32-33. From "God in a Body" by Matthew Rogers on www.sermoncentral.com.
Jesus experienced all of life – the good times and the bad. He went to weddings and he went to funerals. Jesus klnew what it was to fashion a piece of wood into furniture or to make a boat out of a pile of lumber. Jesus knew what it was to sit in the school and to learn. He experience life in a family with Joseph, Mary, and brothers and sisters. Jesus experienced all of life – including the temptations – yet – and here is the miraculous part – without sin.
Jesus even understood experienced the grim reality of and the painful fear of death.
But these are precisely the characteristics that qualify him to be the one and only great high priest.
Jesus is Someone we Can Trust!
16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:16
You don’t have to be tentative or fearful as you approach this high priest. He is not going to cut out your heart like the Aztec Priests. He isn’t going to kill a cow like the priests of Aaron in the tabernacle from the days of Moses until the time of the destruction of the temple.
You see Jesus is different. He is a different kind of priest. Look at what the author says about his differences.
Jesus was selected from among men
Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. 3 This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people.
Hebrews 5:1-3
The High Priest is a man – just like every other man.
Jesus is one of us. He is comfortable in his skin – which is the same as our skin.
Jesus represents us in all matters related to God
Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. 3 This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people.
Hebrews 5:1-3
The High Priest is a sort of spiritual attorney. He advocates for me before God.
Jesus is my attorney. He speaks when I am tongue-tied. He is eloquent when I stutter. He stands up for me when I’m filled with shame, embarrassment, and cannot look up into the eyes of the judge.
Jesus offers gifts and sacrifices for sin on our behalf
Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. 3 This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people.
Hebrews 5:1-3
The High Priest offers gifts and sacrifices before God to atone for sin
Jesus brings gifts to God to make amends – on my behalf. He does not simply atone for sin – he satisfy the demand of sin for blood – which will be discussed later on in Hebrews.
Jesus deals gently with the ignorant and those gone astray
Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. 3 This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people.
Hebrews 5:1-3
The High Priest understands the condition of the people and should deal with them gently because of his understanding. Strangely, this isn’t always the case – Capihias and Annas, who were High Priests in the day of Jesus, made themselves rich and abused their position of trust.
Jesus, the creator God, was very different. He wasn’t an “elite” and he did not behave snobbishly towards me, the unsophisticated, the uncouth, and the broken man that I am. Jesus is kind. He is gentle and his only purpose is to bring me back into fellowship with the father God.
Jesus does not need to offer sacrifices for his own sins
Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. 3 This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people.
Hebrews 5:1-3
Here is what it takes. This is what makes the difference between being a High Priest and being called by the author of Hebrews, the GREAT High Priest.
The High Priest is forced because of his own sins to try to represent both himself and the people – and he does so imperfectly. The Great High Priest – Jesus – is able to speak for us – alone.
Jesus is called by God to be your high priest
4 No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was. 5 So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.”
6 And he says in another place, “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”
Hebrews 5:5b-6
The work of a great high priest requires someone like Jesus – a God – a man who walks in both the spiritual world of eternal things and the physical world of time and space.
He makes a way for us to approach the throne of grace with confidence to receive mercy and grace. He is a mediator. His work is to build a bridge between two parties that are separated by a deep injury and a painful loss of trust.
When there is a broken trust between two sides it takes a work of sacrifice and peace offerings to restore a broken relationship.
He is the perfect match
THE PERFECT MATCH
From Daily Encounter comes this story by a Chaplain Robinson: “In 1949, my father had just returned from the war. On every highway you could see soldiers in uniform hitchhiking home to their families. The thrill of the reunion with his family was soon overshadowed by my grandmother’s illness. There was a problem with her kidneys. The doctors told my father that she needed a blood transfusion immediately or she would not live through the night.
Grandmother’s blood type was AB negative, a very rare type. In those days there were no blood banks like there are today. No one in the family had that type blood and the hospital had not been able to find anyone with that rare type. The Doctor gave our family little hope. My Dad decided to head home for a little while to change clothes and then return for the inevitable good-byes.
As my father was driving home he passed a soldier in uniform hitchhiking. Deep in grief, my father was not going to stop. But something compelled him to pull over. The soldier climbed in but my father never spoke. He just continued driving down the road toward home. The soldier could tell my father was upset as a tear ran down his cheek.
The soldier asked about the tear. My father began telling the stranger that his mother was going to die because the hospital couldn’t find anyone who could donate AB negative blood. My father explained that he was just heading home to change clothes. That is when he noticed the soldier’s open hand holding dog tags that read AB negative. The soldier told my father to turn the car around and head back to the hospital.
My grandmother lived until 1996, 47 more years. To this day my family doesn’t know the name of that soldier. My father wonders if that stranger really was a soldier or if he was an angel in uniform.”
Whether angel or soldier, God had provided the right blood to save that grandmother from dying. At communion, we remember the shedding of blood that saves us from spiritual death. God has provided the perfect blood- the blood of Jesus- to save each of us who will believe, because "without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness."
SOURCE: Kim Huffman in "Precious Blood" on www.sermoncentral.com. Citation: Hebrews 9:22
What it takes is someone who can walk in both worlds and understands each side. It takes someone like Jesus – God… in… flesh who gave his blood for us.
