Mediator

When we moved to Dubai, there was a lot of paperwork that had to be submitted for our residence visas. We had to have documents attested to. We had to obtain copies of important documents like birth certificates and marriage licenses. Our fingerprints were taken. My husband’s company paid the processing fees. I’m sure there were other requirements that I have long forgotten. Thankfully, we did not have to go through this process on our own. The company my husband worked for hired someone as our go-between. He knew the language, he knew the requirements, and he knew how to fulfill those requirements. We did not, and we could not live in Dubai if the requirements weren’t met. Most countries have similar requirements, and it helps to have the right person who can bridge the gap between you and the requirements of the country.

Likewise, we all have this same need spiritually. On our own, our righteousness is a polluted garment, a filthy rag (Isaiah 64:6). We are sinners and enemies of God deserving His wrath (Romans 5:8-10). We are hostile to God, alienated from God, and doing evil deeds (Romans 8:7; Colossians 1:21). On our own, we can never meet the requirements of God’s righteous law or satisfy His wrath. We need a go-between infinitely more than my husband and I needed one to live in Dubai.

Paul writes to Timothy about the only One who could fulfill this role.

5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.[1]

1 Timothy 2:5-6

“A mediator is a go-between. He is one who stands between two or more persons or groups who are in a dispute and tries to reconcile them.”[2] As we saw above, we have rebelled against God. We are disobedient with no hope to save ourselves. God’s wrath is on us. We need a mediator, the Mediator to reconcile us to God. We need the man Christ Jesus.

Jesus is God incarnate. Fully God, He took on human flesh, became one of us. Some commentaries suggest that Paul emphasized Jesus’ humanity in response to the false teachers in Ephesus who denied it. Even if this wasn’t behind Paul’s writing, we know that Jesus needed to take on flesh to live a perfect life of obedience in our place to satisfy the demands of God’s law. Not only did He live a perfect life of obedience, but in taking on flesh, He suffered and died an atoning death on the cross in our place to satisfy the demands of God’s wrath. Both Jesus’ life of obedience and atoning death were needed for our reconciliation.

Jesus our Mediator brought us peace with God (Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:16-18; Colossians 1:20). The peace He brought ended the hostility between us and God, our guilt, and the required penalty for our sin. In Jesus our Mediator, we are forgiven and justified (just as if we had never sinned and just as if we had always obeyed).

In the Old Testament, God provided temporary and imperfect mediators between Israel and God in the roles of prophets, priests, and kings. In Jesus the One mediator, all three roles are perfectly fulfilled (Hebrews 3-10), and Jesus’ atoning act was once for all, never needing to be repeated as in the Old Testament sacrifices. “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God…” (Hebrews 10:12). Even now and for all eternity, Jesus is at the right hand of the Father interceding for us, an ever-present testimony that His blood reconciled those who are in Him.

This Christmas as you celebrate the birth of Jesus, remember that He was born to be the Mediator that we desperately needed and could not achieve apart from Him. Jesus was born to live a perfect life of obedience in our place, so He could be the only perfect atonement to satisfy God’s wrath and reconcile us to God, bringing peace where there had been alienation and enmity.

Reflection

As we meditate on the different names of Jesus, I want us to focus on three different aspects: How does each name of Jesus 1) transform us, 2) give us hope, and 3) instill joy.

1. How does Jesus as your mediator transform you? How often do you consider who you were before saving faith: a sinner, an enemy of God, hostile toward God, alienated from God, doing evil deeds, and deserving of God’s wrath? How does Scripture define who you are in Christ?

2. How does Jesus as your mediator give you hope? Consider not only future hope, but also current hope as you daily battle the old sin nature.

3. How does Jesus as your mediator bring you joy? Now is a good time to worship Jesus as your mediator through prayer and singing. A few songs to get you started are:

· “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing”

· “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”

· “O Come, All You Unfaithful” by Sovereign Grace Music

· “He Who is Mighty” by Sovereign Grace Music

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Ti 2:4–6. [2] R. C. Sproul, ed., The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015), 2157.