The Messianic Covenant (part 6)

Now let’s turn to that which was going to communicate the blessings that were announced in the new covenant. First, and most important was the Mediator. This is a word that describes one who goes between two parties to discuss differences and matters of importance to each party. The objective is to come to an agreement or reconciliation. It was a matter of reconciliation that was in view here.

The Messianic covenant was a matter of free promises of grace and mercy to the guilty sinners. So one might ask, “Where was the need for a mediator when such gracious promises were made?” Couldn’t they have been given and fulfilled without the need for a third party mediator? Well this is not a matter of what God might or might not have done, but what He has done. Remember, He is sovereign. It pleased Him to do it this way and therefore it is for us to accept His plan on the terms that He has laid down.

First, sin is an evil. It caused a separation between God and His creation which can only be removed by means that does not compromise the character and government of God. God is more than a loving Father; He is also a moral governor and as such hates sin and must punish it.

Second, sinners need a mediator.  They are deliberate sinners and therefore at odds with God. It is not carelessness or ignorance that causes them to be an enemy of God. So sinners need someone who has the power to take our interests and deal with our helplessness to bring about reconciliation.

Third, Jesus Himself, as Mediator is glorified. Some wonder what role Jesus would have had if sin had not entered the world. But sin did enter and by the permission of God for His own wise reasons. This provided an opportunity for God to show his matchless wisdom and love.

Further, Jesus’ love for and His obedience to His Father evidences for us the extent of that love. The great reward that He was to receive for His role as Mediator is the eternal fellowship with those that He was sent to save.

While there was no mention of a mediator in the earlier covenants, there was a hint of one in the Noahic and Abrahamic covenants. This hint came with the idea of sacrifices which involved intervention as the means of ratifying the promises of the covenants. In the case of Abraham, the promise of a seed in whom all nations would be blessed, and in the case of David, the promise of a righteous king, simply needed amplification which was given in the Messianic Covenant.

Having said that, it is fair to say that in the Sinai Covenant the promise was somewhat clearer than in the earlier two. Notice the reaction of the people when God spoke to them out of the cloud.

· Deut. 5:23-27 When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was ablaze with fire, all the leading men of your tribes and your elders came to me. 24 And you said, "The LORD our God has shown us his glory and his majesty, and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a man can live even if God speaks with him. 25 But now, why should we die? This great fire will consume us, and we will die if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer. 26 For what mortal man has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out of fire, as we have, and survived? 27 Go near and listen to all that the LORD our God says. Then tell us whatever the LORD our God tells you. We will listen and obey."

In this case Moses became their mediator, and therefore a type of Jesus. It is likely, based on later events, that the greater number of the people who observed this event were moved by the awesomeness of the situation as a spectacular event, but their hearts were not changed by it.

Just as likely, there were some who were more spiritual and realized their unfit condition to speak directly with this awesome God, and were therefore confident of their need for a mediator in the person of Moses. This, in type, also speaks to us of the Godly remnant of which the Scripture speaks. Moses speaks to the people:

· Deut. 18:15-18, The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. 16 For this is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, "Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die." 17 The LORD said to me: "What they say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.”

So it is apparent that it is necessary for there to be a mediator for the existence of any spiritual relationship with God.

The conditions on which divine communication with sinners is possible is a very important matter. The character and government of God requires the work of the Mediator, Jesus. The role Jesus fills as Mediator has many aspects but the term “mediator” covers them all. So to summarize:

First, Jesus as mediator is the supreme prophet. As prophet, He is the revealer of the character and will of God, including His love and mercy. He also revealed the requirements for salvation of fallen man and the work of the Holy Spirit..

· Luke 10:22 "All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

It is the role of Jesus as the great prophet of the church to enable fallen man to receive and understand the truth of God.

Second, Jesus as Mediator is the great high priest, an office that involves making intercession. The sacrifices at the tabernacle in the Old Testament were a dim picture of the necessity of a substitute for their sins and the need for a priest to intercede on their behalf.

· Heb 2:17 For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

· Heb. 7:24-25 but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. 25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

Third, Jesus as Mediator is the King of kings. Under the Davidic Covenant Jesus was prefigured in type and definite promises were made of the raising up of a righteous King and that under His leadership peace would be His purpose. The New Testament declares His majesty and authority with which He now reigns to accomplish His ultimate purpose.

You will remember that it was part of the eternal covenant that this was the role that Jesus would have; the practical matter of the actual saving of all of God’s elect. It is by the discharging these three offices that Jesus effectively performs His work as the Mediator.

· 1 Peter 3:18-22 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, 19 through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison 20 who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also-not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand-with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

The first thing that was necessary for God to communicate the blessings of the new covenant was the appointment of His Son as the Mediator. This new covenant was a matter of the promises of grace to the guilty sinners; the fact that these promises become effective and how the relationship with God is maintained.

So Jesus was equipped for His role as Mediator by the Holy Spirit during His days on earth. While the blessings of the covenant were communicated through Jesus, He has become the administrator and dispenser of the blessings as a result of His sacrifice and position at the right hand of God. So it is Jesus who secures the salvation of all His people, the elect.

Paul tells us that when Jesus had achieved His purpose on earth, God then gave Him the reward for His accomplishment.

· Eph 1:18-23 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

So He has been given unlimited power and authority to achieve that which remains ahead for the saints.

The administration of the covenant is of great importance to us. What effect does this have on the saints? Well, it should be very comforting to know that He is in complete control as the Messiah for our salvation.

After Jesus ascended, His disciples depended on Jesus and relied on His presence in their lives to sustain them in all their work. They are able to live in this manner because of His Word and His Spirit. His Word contains all that is necessary for us to know for our spiritual deliverance from Satan. It reveals the character of God, the things He requires of us, and the principles on which He will save us.

But there is ample evidence of the resistance of sinners so in His wisdom God has provided the power of the Holy Spirit to enable us understand His Word and the capacity to live by it. This is a condition which only the Spirit of God can produce.