Dr R K Behera
Bible tells, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time” (1 Tim. 2:5, 6). Jesus came down to the world so as to be seen by us. Today, how does Jesus bless us and lead us as a mediator between us and the invisible God, as a bridge for us to reach His presence? Let us mediate a little on this profound and exalted truth.
a. The mediator ever alive: God describes Himself as one who lives forever(Deut. 32:40) Devout Daniel, while describing his vision, says,” I watched till thrones were put in place and the ancient of days was seated”.(Dan.7:9). In Rev.4:10, 5:14, it is written that God lives forever and ever. The Bible says,” I am the first and I am the last (Isaiah 44:6). But what does the Bible say of man? “Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. He come forth like a flower and fades away; he flees like a shadow and does not continue” (Job 14:1,2). So transient is man’s life. It was to be a bridge between us who blossom like a flower and fade away like a shadow and the eternal God that the son of God, Jesus came down to the world. We may ask how He could stand on a par with God the Father and intercede for us as a Mediator. Jesus who died for us and rose alive on the third day says of Himself: “I am He who lives and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore” (Rev. 1:18). While leaving this world, He told His disciples: “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). Speaking of Himself, God said:” I live forever and ever”. The son of God, Jesus also said of Himself: “I am alive for evermore”. So, He could stand on a par with God and argue on our behalf. He could be with us and intercede for us. If we read 1 John 2:1, 2, Heb. 7:25, our gracious Lord Jesus, as one who lives forever, is seated on the right hand of God the Father, interceding all the time for us. If perhaps God the righteous judge is angry with us for having sinned, what will be the response of Jesus who from time immemorial rocked in the bosom of Hid Father as His darling? (John 1:18, Prov. 8:29, 30). “Lord! You are rightly angry. But did not you forgive David who slipped into sinful adultery? So, why are you angry with this my child?” Yes! The only one fit to stand beside the eternal God and intercede for us is our gracious Lord Jesus.
b. A mediator on par: The Bible says one more thing about God: “For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised” (Psalm 96:4). You are clothed with honour and majesty (Palm 104:1). He says, “Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool . Am I a God near at hand, says the Lord, And not a God afar off? Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so shall I not see him? Says the Lord; Do I not fill heaven and earth? Says the Lord . So great is God! But what does the Bible say of us? Indeed you are nothing, and your work is nothing . All nations before Him are as nothing, All nations before him are as nothing, and they are counted by him less than nothing and worthless”(Isaiah 40:17)As great is our God, so small and nothing are we. How then can we meet such a great and exalted God? That is why the son of God, Jesus came forward to meet the great God on our behalf. Who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant(Phil. 2:6,7). The angel Gabriel who came to announce the birth of Jesus Christ said: “He will be great and will be called the son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him and throne of His Father David” Jesus too says of Himself: Indeed a greater then Jonah is here(Matt.12:41) Indeed a grater than Solomon is here. 1 John 4:4 says, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world”. Yes! Greater then the devil is our Jesus! That is why He intercedes for us with the Lord of lords on an equal footing. Dearly beloved! The son of God, Jesus is eminently qualified to stand before God as our Mediator.
c. A mediator who stands Holy before the Holiest: What is our God like? For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens(Heb. 7:26). Can a sinful man approach him? Doesn’t the Bible says: “Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool”? How then can a sinful man meet him? What does the Bible says about us? For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). They have all gone out of the way; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no not one (Romans 3:12) Psalm 143:2 says, “For in your sight no one living is righteous”. How then can sinful man be taken to the presence of one who is holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners? It is just for this that Jesus came down to the world. What did Jesus say of Himself? Which of you convicts Me of sin? (John 8:46) What did the judge Pilate who tried Him say of Him? I find no fault in Him (John 19:4,6)The Bible says, He committed no sin, Nor was guile found in His mouth. Therefore, He being holy, He is qualified to intercede on our behalf in the presence of the Almighty God. tHE SON OF THE almighty God is the Holy Mediator who alone can stand before the Holy God.
d. A mediator who offered Himself: Devout Job was drowned in sorrow. Suddenly, all in a day he lost his 10 children. He lost all his wealth and prosperity and stood abandoned by all. There appeared painful boils all over his body. Taking a potsherd with which to scrape himself, he sat in the midst of ashes. He bewailed: “That it would please God to crush me! That He would loose his hand and cut me off”(Job 6:9). Bereaved of his children; unable to bear the itching of the painful boils, with no rest and comfort in sight anywhere, he cried, my soul chooses strangling. And death rather than my body (Job 7:15). He went on lamenting. Nor is there any mediator between us, who may lay his hands on us both(Job 9:33).Oh, that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleads for his neighbor!(Job 16:21)He cried because he had no mediator to tell him: Grieve not! I shall intercede for you. But today how blessed are we! For, Jesus Christ, the hallowed son of God, hang on the Cross, saddled with the sorrow and sufferings of everyone of us. (Isaiah 53:4) He died after the worst torture, but He rose alive from death. He Himself intercedes for us. It is Christ, who died, and further more is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us (Romans 8:34). Do not forget that to plead for us there is a mediator seated on the right hand of God-who suffered just life us.
Before going to the Cross, Jesus prayed with great agony in the Garden of Gethsemane: The Bible says: “And His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to ground” (Luck 22:44). He began to be troubled and deeply disturbed (Mark 14:33). For there is one God and one Mediator between men and God, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time ( 1 Tim. 2:5, 6)
The God of gods came down to this world as a mediator between Himself and mankind, to bear the sorrows of everyone on earth. When our gracious Lord Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, when he hang on the cross, there descended on Him the sorrows and sufferings of everyone on earth. How much would He have peaked and pined? That is why when like Job we cry to day, “Lord I am unable to bear this loss, this disgrace and this anguish. Is the no one to pity me?” Jesus, the son of God, will intercede for us with His Father. God will then answer our prayer and perform miracles for us.
The writer is Academic Dean, Patkai Christian College
