Jesus Christ: The Perfect Mediator

Our perfect mediator, Jesus Christ. I have a key passage of scripture, 1 Timothy 2:5. I’d like for you to confess this with me. There is one God and there is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. Men is humanity, humans. So how many gods are there? One God. And how, well, I can’t ask how many mediators because a lot of people attempt to have mediators, but there’s only one mediator that’s successful between God and humans, and that mediator is who? Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ.

Now, I hope to unfold this truth by looking primarily at the letters of the Hebrews, which really is, in my learned opinion, a sermon, and perhaps two sermons. It’s a letter, but it’s a sermon. It begins as a sermon. I could have just begun the sermon that way and preached it to you, except when you get to the end, you have a little subscription about a letter. But beyond that, it’s a sermon. It’s a sermon centered on who is Jesus Christ. What’s he all about? What did he do that needed to be done? What did he do successfully, sufficiently, and perfectly that had been done insufficiently before? It tells us who Christ is, and it explains the meaning of his work, specifically the meaning of his cross, as well as his resurrection. Our perfect mediator, Jesus Christ.

Understanding Mediation

Well, we have to then begin at the base, don’t we? What is a mediator? Well, a mediator is one who mediates. I don’t know if you were ever frustrated as a student when they have you do definitions of words and you look up this word mediator and you read this and it says, it’s one who mediates. And so, you say, well, what did I learn? Not much, right? Because you still don’t know what mediate means. So, what does mediating mean? Well, it’s a person that’s between, one in between, a go-between. Now, if one is gonna be a successful go-between, he has to have the interest of the parties at heart. Now, I’m using a human analogy or an illustration, but what we’re dealing with is beyond this, but it’s to help us with our basic understanding. Understand this is not sufficient, but it should be at least the base.

Often, we need mediators in life because of estrangement, because of differences of parties, or because of different interests, or because of conflict, especially in conflict. And even in today’s news, there is the effort of mediation between hostile parties in an effort to establish a peace, a peace that will not last because we know these earthly peace agreements always break down at some point. But a mediator is necessary. Someone who can talk to both sides can try to come to an agreement. Now that becomes insufficient when we start talking about divine things, because the only aggrieved party is God. And the only guilty party is man. Man is the one who stands in need of reconciliation with God. As Paul speaks in his words to the Corinthians, be you reconciled to God. All of you be reconciled to God, come to peace with God.

But how can you come to peace with God? It’s difficult. A man who is the enemy of another has no desire to be at peace with the man with whom he’s an enemy. He might want to feign it in order to get something, but he’s not really interested in solving the problem. He’s not really interested in the new relationship because of his own self-interest. I bring up these human analogies or pictures just so that we can begin to have an idea. When it says that there is one God and there is one mediator, between God and man. So God is one and he is holy. He is righteous. There is no one like God. He is in a unique category. We’re the categories. God is God.

Humanity’s Fall and Need for a Mediator

But God created man. He created mankind in his own image, after his own likeness. And man, in that state of innocence, when put to the test, disobeyed. It’s the mystery of iniquity. How could a man who’s absolutely perfect in the image and likeness of God, choose to listen to an alien voice and choose to be disobedient to the one simple prohibition God gave. We cannot explain it, but we do know the ultimate result of it. We know the immediate result of it. And the continuing result of it is that in Adam’s disobedience, we all fail. And every generation, every human being, with one exception, the one with a unique birth, with a unique relationship, who is the only one who can qualify as our mediator. All mankind is born in sin, under the condemnation of its judgment bent from the moment of conception and manifesting, even in young life, a tendency toward rebellion.

We have to learn restraint. We have to learn obedience. Sin comes natural. It just seems to flow. Do I have to be taught to lie? Not usually. Somehow or another, we figure it out. They say, “Who took the last cookie? Who wants to volunteer and say I did? You know, simple illustrations, but hopefully they’re helpful. What we’re dealing with today is a very important subject. We saw last week humanity’s plight of being under the condemnation and judgment of God, alienated, passed off, strangers, and under the condemnation so that if there is not a divine intervention, we will perish, all of us, everlastingly.

But God, how of, His eternal triune love chose to redeem a people for his own namesake. And beginning at the moment of mankind’s fall, God intervened. Even in casting him out of the garden, he intervened by slaughtering the first animal clothing, Adam and Eve with his garments to teach them from the very beginning, the only way back is through the God you sinned against in the covering that he alone can provide. And so, in the garden, right outside the garden, there it went. God’s intervention and the promise of the seed. One born of woman, without aid of man, who would redeem a people for his name’s sake.

Old Testament Mediators: Moses and Aaron

Now, when we come to the word of God, we could trace these things, but I want us to focus on the two Old Testament people who prefigure Jesus Christ, our perfect mediator. And then I want to show the contrast between, and then ask the question, what does this mean for me? That’s my goal, and let’s see how we do. Father, I need your intervention to help me be able to speak your word with clarity, to help us together as a people to come to understand more about our perfect mediator, our beloved Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Truly, we love him, Lord, because he first loved us. We want to draw near to him. We want to draw near to you through him. And we want to be made more conformable to his image, that we might bring you honor and glory in the earth, and that we might be effective witnesses for you to others who can join us in this wonderful community of life. In his name we pray.

I direct your attention to the Exodus 32 passage and to our first mediator, specific mediator given. Here’s an example of him. And the Old Testament, the Old Covenant mediatorship really belongs to two people because one couldn’t do it. The two people are related; they happen to be brothers. One of them is named Moses. He’s younger, by the way. And the other one’s named Aaron. Now we meet both of them in the passage that we read earlier in the service. So, I refer back to the Exodus 32 passage that we read. And as I look at it with you, I want you to notice that Moses illustrates for us, models for us, the particular ministry of the Lord Jesus as our mediator, as intercessor. And next Lord’s Day, God willing, Pastor Jeff will direct you in understanding the second part of the mediatorship, in that he must offer up sacrifices.

So, the Exodus 32 passage is very famous, infamous would be a better word, right? But I want us to see it in where it really falls. God has already come to Israel. He’s already delivered them with his mighty hand from the Egyptian bondage. They have seen the display of his power, and he has granted them by his own voice from heaven, what we call the 10 words, the 10 commandments. But he had not only done that, but he had also given a law with reference to tabernacle, sacrifices, priesthood. He made provision for them being set apart as his people and a law to govern their lives and a means of taking care of their transgressions in the tabernacle and the sacrifice and the priesthood. God has already laid all of this out for his people.

And now, He calls Moses up to meet with him. And they have the confirmation of the covenant. And Moses stays on the mountain, receiving from God the commandments and writing. And then he comes down from the mountain. And as he comes down from the mountain, there is something going on at the foot of the mountain that is totally unexpected. It’s off the charts, after what has happened. You see, Moses was 40 days, 40 nights. He said, oh, we don’t know what happened to him. But now, although God has displayed himself, God has showed who he is, God has given the revelation of his name, but the people, because of sin, because of the sinful nature, they revert to what they knew, idolatry. So, they say to Aaron, we don’t know what happened to Moses. You need to make us a God so that we can worship him.

Now, Aaron has already been designated that he’s going to be the high priest for the people. So, his first action as a priest is to help them engage in idolatry, although he has the very audacity when questioned by Moses and God to say, oh, these people made me do it. But here again, the word, the Lord, that’s Yahweh, says to Moses, go down for your people whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and they worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, these are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

And Yahweh said to Moses, I have seen the people and behold, it’s a stiff neck people. Now, therefore, let me alone that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them in order that I may make a great nation of you. Now talk about being angry. God is the biggest understatement of the year. God is a little upset. He said what? My anger, my wrath is so hot against him. I am ready to consume them from the face of the earth and start over again with you, Moses. Did you catch anything about God’s talk to Moses? He said, go down, Moses, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt. Now, who brought the people up out of the land of Egypt? Well, ultimately, really, truly, God did, right? He used the hand of Moses, but Moses was just an instrument. It was really God who brought him up out of the land of Egypt. But he said, Moses, it’s your responsibility. There’s a lesson here for us. If God has placed something in your hand, though you are to be his instrument, he’s holding you responsible for what he placed in your hand.

But Moses implored Yahweh, his God. Here he is acting as what? A mediator. Moses implored Yahweh, his God. Now, answer me this. If Moses had only self-interest at heart, When God said, move out of the way, I’m gonna burn them up and I’m gonna start over you. If Moses only had self-interest at heart, he’d said, okay, they deserve it, I’m here, I’m ready, let’s go. But what was Moses? He implores, that’s not a general request, that’s begging. That’s on your knees begging. Yahweh! Why does your wrath burn hot against your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?

Moses knows who’s brought the people out. It wasn’t him. It’s God. He knows whose people they are. They don’t really belong to him. They belong to God. They’re your people whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt. His first argument, his first, an argument here doesn’t mean a dispute with God, it means bringing up the point. Why should the Egyptians say, with evil intent did he bring them out to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth? What about your reputation, Lord? That’s what he’s saying. So, turn, this is his imploring, turn from your burning anger and relent. Don’t do this disaster. Relent from this disaster against your people. That’s the first point, Lord. Your reputation is at stake.

The second, And the author of Hebrews is going to quote, not directly quote, but indirectly reference this passage in Hebrews chapter six in his sermon. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Jacob, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self and said to them, I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and all this land that I promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever. God, your reputation before your enemies is at stake. And I don’t want you to be dishonored. And remember, your covenant promise. You chose, it’s by grace, you chose a people, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, their descendants, and you said you would multiply their offspring and bring them to the land. You must fulfill your word, your oath. And so the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.

Now, this is intercessor, and this is mediatorship in the Old Covenant. Now, the second aspect of that is shown in the ministry of Aaron, not his unholy activity of helping them in idolatry. but his designation is the high priest to make sacrifices on behalf of the people. But we noticed that at the very beginning, Aaron is a sinner. He’s even a sinful worshiper. And so there will be a contrast between both Moses and Aaron in the ministry of the Lord Jesus as our great mediator.

Jesus: The Superior High Priest

Now, I want to direct your attention to the second scripture passage in Hebrews chapter 2, verses 8 through 13. On the very last page of your worship guide, you have all of these scriptures printed out for you. Beginning at verse 8, quoting from the Psalms, it’s very interesting in these passages that are read today in the Hebrew passage, he quotes from the Psalms. The first Psalm he is going to be referencing is Psalm 8, where it talks about man being made in the image of God and putting everything underneath man’s feet. And you look around and you say, wait a minute, our world does not seem to be underneath man’s feet. We’re always struggling against nature and trying to conquer it. But here’s his point. You put it there, that was your particular purpose and reason, but now it’s not under subjection completely to man, but there is someone we do see, and that one is Jesus.

Notice Carther says, now in putting everything in subjection to him, to man, He left nothing outside of His control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to man, that is to mankind. But we see Him who for a little while was made lower than the angels. Well, who’s that? Jesus. That same word, by the way, is Yeshua. Crowned with glory and honor, because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God, he might teach death for everyone. So, this is obviously, we see Jesus in his resurrected glory, following the suffering of death. He has tasted death, but he is robed, victorious, and we see him crowned with glory and honor. He is over everything, and he is man.

It was fitting, he says, that he, that’s talking about Jesus, for whom and by whom all things exist. So that’s the Word, right? The Word who was from all eternity with the Father, the Word who became flesh, is the one who is the creator of all that exists. It was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. Perfect? What do you mean perfect? We hear the word perfect, and we think, okay, crooked, not right. Well here, the word perfect is not carrying that kind of idea. It’s carrying the idea of being made qualified, tested, and shown to be what he is for the accomplishment of the task.

If you’re dealing with a, say some kind of material that you have to use in building, it has to be made perfect. That means that it has to reach the standard, the closest we can get, a perfection so that it will hold up, do the job, whatever. So, Christ was tested, remember? And he goes on, he was tested. And in testing, he’s made perfect. He’s shown for what he is through suffering. It’s not only the suffering on the cross. It’s the suffering he endured in his human life. The suffering he endured in the temptations that we ourselves for he who sanctifies, that’s Jesus, and those who are sanctified, that’s us, all have one source, that’s God. That is why he, that is Jesus, is not ashamed to call them brothers.

I want to catch the force of these words. Jesus is not ashamed to call me and Dawid brothers. And Michael, and Shao, brother. You get the force of these things. Let God’s word hit you in the face. Startle you with great revelation. What? I’m your brother? Yes. He’s not ashamed to call you brother. Jesus is my brother. Yes, he’s, my savior. Yes, my Lord. He’s, my master. He’s my God, but he chose to be my brother. my brother human. He said, and he quotes from the Psalms. So, the Psalms carry divine authority. They’re the word of God. I will tell of your name to my brothers in the midst of the congregation, I will sing your praise. Look, if Jesus meets with us and sings praise, shouldn’t we meet with him and sing praise with him? And again, I’ll put my trust in him. And again, behold, I and the children, God’s gift.

Now change this picture. Jesus is not only our brother. I know, it’s not exactly biologically the right way to go, but here it is. Behold, I and the children, God’s gift. has given me. In other words, the relationship God has chosen with us in Christ is all comprehensive so that it takes every part of a family unit to describe the relationship. He is all this to us. He is our heavenly parent, and He is our brother in Christ. You see why God has to be a trinity? Because God is so full. It takes a lot of different things in our lives to even begin to grasp some concept of his greatness in all sufficiency.

It’s the first picture. Jesus is made, or he’s a human. Notice that he was made. He came down, he was made lower, he descended. This is a reference to what? The incarnation, the birthing of Mary and his life as a human being, as a man, a Hebrew man of the tribe of Judah. But now we come to Hebrews chapter five. And we have a second picture, Jesus. The first picture is Jesus as what? The exalted man who is fulfilling the role of humanity for what God intended for mankind and being after his image is met in Jesus Christ and in our union with him.

The second, is it because of the situation of man in his present state, like Israel at the foot of the mountain, stiff-necked, rebellious, and sinful, we need a mediator because we are in a plight that if God does not intervene in grace, we will perish everlastingly. But God chose to save us. He didn’t have to God chose to love us. He didn’t have to. He chose. Love is a choice. It’s more than a choice, but it is a choice. Hebrews chapter five directs our attention to high priest.

Now, we talked about Moses. I didn’t talk about Aaron. That’s next week. We’re gonna talk about Jesus, but you’ll need to keep reference to Aaron. Aaron was appointed as a high priest. Now, what are the things that a high priest are to do? There are two primary things a priest is appointed to do. They must make offerings and sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. And they must intercede for the people. They must carry God’s interest got man’s interest to God. They have to carry man’s interest to God.

Forever high priest, chapter five, verse one, forever high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of man in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. I just said that beforehand. He can deal gently with the ignorant and the wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. Because of this, he’s obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins, just as he does for those of the people. And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.

Now, you know, when you’re reading that, you say, wait a minute, Jesus didn’t have any sin. That’s true, he didn’t have any sin. Because he’s not a priest after the order of Aaron. He’s not a priest after the order of Levi. He’s a priest after the order of what kills the dead. We’ll get to that. But the priest after the order of Levi, Aaron, he’s a sinner just like the people. But he’s chosen by God, this tribe was chosen by God, and this particular family of Aaron and his descendants were chosen by God to act as high priest for the people, priest and high priest for the people. God chose them, he put them in that position. But because they’re sinners just like the people, they have to offer, first of all, sacrifice for their own sins, and then they have to go back in a second time and do it all over for the people. That’s all laid out for us in detail in the book of Exodus and Leviticus. We won’t go there, okay? I’m sure you’re relieved. Okay?

No one takes his honor only when he’s called by God, called by God. A priest must be called by God. So also, Christ, so now we come with contrast. You see, Christ fulfills the role of Moses, his intercessor. He fulfills the role of Aaron as an intercessor who makes sacrifice for the people. They can have sympathy because he too is a sinner. Now Christ can have sympathy, why? Because he has endured all of our temptation, but he did not sin. He is both standing as a better than Adam, and stands as a better than Moses, and a better than Aaron, and a better than David, if we could go down the line, because a mediator is both prophet, priest, and king.

So, Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but he was appointed. By who? Well, by him who said to him, Quotation from Psalm 2. You are my son. Today, I have begotten you. Now, I don’t know if you’ve got your biology lessons all down yet, but you don’t usually have a son before he’s been begotten. Beginning usually happens first, right? When you say, you are my son. The father is speaking, that’s who this is, father. Yahweh God, you are my son. Today I have forgotten you. But you see, the father-son relationship is eternal within God. It’s eternal, he’s the eternal son. Yes, he’s the son of God, with reference to the fact that he was born of Mary as then, as son of man, but he is begotten of God from all eternity. He was the word, the son, before he ever was descended into the womb of Mary. Today, you’re my son, today I’ve begotten you. And then he’s referenced again when he’s resurrected from the dead. That’s a begotten, he’s first begotten from the dead. He’s the first begotten of all creations. It just means he’s ahead of each thing. He’s first, he’s the head.

As he says also in another place, this is another Psalm 110, you are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Now Melchizedek was a strange figure that appears in the book of Genesis as a king and a priest of Salem. The point? Well, you don’t know his physical lineage. You don’t know his mother and father. He’s just directly appointed by God. It does not necessarily mean he’s an eternal being. It doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s a pre-incarnate Christ. It may or may not be. That’s an interpretation. But the point he’s making is that it’s not priests by biological descent, but priests by direct appointment from God. So here we have the contrast between the high priest Aaron and Christ Jesus as our high priest.

So, with reverence to his priesthood, I want to point you to the waters of the Jordan where Jesus is baptized by John in identification with the people. He stood in the waters of the Jordan like a sinner. He was not a sinner. That’s why John did not want to baptize him. He knew he was sinless, and he knew he was the son of God. But he said, I must fulfill every ordinance, everything God said do. At his baptism, Christ is designated as high priest. He is then immediately tested 40 days in the wilderness and approved. He went through every kind of testing. He passed with flying colors. and comes back in the power of the Holy Spirit to begin to cast out demons and preach the kingdom of God. Jesus qualifies. He’s the perfect priest.

We come to the third, to the third, to the fourth. I may not be best on my numbers today. Hebrews 7. The former priests were many in number. There were a lot of them. Why? Because they kept dying off. It’s very simple. You have a high priest, he dies. He’s a high priest for life. When he dies, another one must be chosen. And it’s usually, it must be of the same family of Aaron. It’s usually his son. The qualification was not their holiness. regretfully. The qualifications, they had to be the right lineage, right relationship. That’s why John 1, 12 is very important. You’re not a Christian because your parents are Christians. You’re only a Christian when you have been born of God.

Former priests were many in number because they were permitted by death from continuing in office. Contrasts. But Christ, that is Jesus, holds his priesthood permanently. He never expires. His priesthood never expires. Why? Because he continues forever. He rose from dead with an indestructible life. He rose as a man. He’s both man and God. in one person. What’s the meaning of all this? Consequently, this is what it means. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost. He is able to save to the highest degree. He is able to save all the way. He is able to save permanently, forever. He is able to save those who draw near to God through him. He is the mediator who has undertaken for us. He has joined us to God in himself. You draw near to God in and through Jesus Christ, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

You see, we’ve drawn near to God. We are his people, but so is Israel. When God took them out of Egypt, they were his people by his choice. They were his people by the redemption that he had brought about, yet they sinned. But God set up the priesthood and sacrifice to take care of their situation. They must have intercession and sacrifice for them. We need intercession and sacrifice. Now there are those in religions that seek to have many mediators, but we need only one, a perfect one. And he’s been provided.

I continue, verse 26, a most important verse. For it is indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest. Do we have a mediator? Yes. Do we have a high priest? Yes. What kind of high priest? Well, it’s indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest. Holy, innocent, unstained, separate from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. That’s Jesus. That’s our high priest. He doesn’t have sin. He’s perfect. He’s holy. He’s as holy as the Father. He is holy. He’s innocent, unstained. He lives in a category totally his own, human and divine. He’s 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. The sacrifice Christ makes for our sins is the sacrifice of himself on the cross, on the altar of the cross. He did it once. and it’s totally sufficient because of his dual nature in one person. For the law appoints man in their weaknesses, high priest, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a son who has been made perfect forever.

And now here’s the whole point of the sermon. You got it? Now the point of what I’m saying is this, join with me. 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. What’s my point of the sermon? Say it with me. 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 ten that the Lord set up, not me. We have perfect, a perfect mediator. We have one great high priest who is perfect, who’s seated on the throne of heaven. He ministers for us. He knows you. You are his brother and his sister. If you put your faith in him, he’s taking care of you.

Maintain your relationship with him. Feed on His Word, worship at His feet, confess your sins, live for His glory, be consistent in your life. Remember, God’s reputation rests in part upon you before the face of the world. If you want to be an effective witness for Christ, you must demonstrate consistency and faithfulness in your Christian living, in your Christian worship. You do it not because I feel like it today, but because he’s worthy every day, and you need him. You need.

So, having such a high priest, what shall we do? What do you need to do? Go to him. You have a sin? Go to him. He will make intercession for the father. You don’t need to go through other human beings who need to sing. That doesn’t mean we don’t pray for each other, we do. But we pray for each other, like Aaron, we’re sinners too. And we can pray in sympathy because we’ve had the same kind of sin. But I need a perfect priest whom God always hears. And there’s no barrier between him and the Father, and therefore, no barrier between the request and what the response is. I have such a high priest. His name is Jesus. He’s made the sacrifice that brings me to God. He’s sworn that he will bring me all the way to glory. That’s not a recipe for not being consistent. It’s the recipe for being consistent.

Having such a high priest, what shall we do? We shall go to him. We shall look to him. We shall pray to him, who will take our prayers to the Father. We will worship through him. When we gather here on the Lord’s Day or any day that we gather to worship, Jesus receives and takes our worship, our praise, our prayers, and he takes them into his own worship, his own prayers, and he then purifies them and offers them to the Father in our behalf. That’s why they’re acceptable to God. That’s why God receives them with pleasure.

What comfort that we have. Jesus loves me. This I know. For the cross tells me so. Little needy ones like me go to him and he receives them in his arms. Jesus loves me. This I know. For the scriptures inform me so. Jesus loves me. This I know. For when I put my trust in him, he told me so. He bore witness with my spirit that I belonged to him. And when I doubt, I look and I remember the vow he made and the vow I responded in the waters of my baptism. I am yours, Lord. Receive me. That’s always the cry of the Christian. Receive me in Christ. I’m yours. For He is my mediator, my high priest, my Lord, my God, my Savior.