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| Jesus, The Great Mediator |
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Jesus, The Great Mediator
One of the dictionary definitions of a mediator is "one who intervenes between two disputing parties"
There a several great examples of mediators in scripture. One of the ones that amazes me is found in the the book of Exodus, Chapter 32. The people had resorted to worshipping hand made gods and were offering sacrifices unto them. But Moses stood in as a mediator to negotiate with God against His wrath. Let's look as a short passage of that chapter:
32:7 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted [themselves]: 32:8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These [be] thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 32:9 And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it [is] a stiffnecked people: 32:10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. 32:11 And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? 32:12 Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.32:13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit [it] for ever. 32:14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
Wow! Look at Moses in verse 12 asking God to repent. And then look at verse 14, And the Lord repented!
I would have to say that Moses did a pretty good job of mediating, wouldn't you?
The Lord repented! Wow!
Another famous mediator was Abraham. This is a familiar passage of scripture to most. Abraham was negotiating with God when He was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.
Let's look at a brief passage of that exchange of dialogue.
18:22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD. 18:23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 18:24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that [are] therein? 18:25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? 18:26 And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. 18:27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which [am but] dust and ashes: 18:28 Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for [lack of] five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy [it]. 18:29 And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do [it] for forty's sake. 18:30 And he said [unto him], Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do [it], if I find thirty there. 18:31 And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy [it] for twenty's sake. 18:32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy [it] for ten's sake.
That was pretty bold of Abraham to keep on pushing the limit, would't you say? Now we all know from further on in the story that not even ten righteous people could be found and God ended up destroying Sodom and Gomorrah and only one person escaped that destruction, and that was Lot. This is my opinion, and it's the only opinion I have, is that Abraham could have negotiated and got God down to one. I believe God would have agreed to save that city if even one righteous person could be found. But Abraham did a very good job of mediating, don't you agree?
And then, with one last example, I want to speak of an even greater mediator. His name is Jesus!
Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions [that were] under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than [that of] Abel.
For [there is] one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant. He is the greatest mediator of all times! He is the link between us and God!
I hear people speak about how God is going to judge America. That God is about to pour out His wrath on us because we have drifted so far away from Him. While I completely agree that we have drifted away, and that we are self-destructing, I disagree that God's judgement and His wrath are about to be poured out on us.
If Moses can beg God to repent from His wrath and spare the people and becaue of this, God repented. And Abraham can negotiate with God to spare the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, and nearly succeed. Don't you think that Jesus can do at least that good of a job mediating with God on our behalf?
Believing that God is about to judge America is a great big slap in the face of Jesus. It's like saying, "thanks, for all you've done, but it wasn't quite enough" Ouch!
Friends, God's wrath was poured out on Jesus, Every bit of it. He is well pleased. Not with us. Not because of our own good deeds, But because His Son took the punishment that we deserved. All of it! Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put [him] to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see [his] seed, he shall prolong [his] days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 53:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, [and] shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
God is not angry! God loves you! God is Love!
Praise Him for that!
Worship Him for that!
Exalt His Holy Name!
1:10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, [even] Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
Jesus, I thank you and praise you for what you have done, are doing, and will continue to do for me. Thank you for not giving us what we deserve. You are my King!
Amen!
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MsSuga |
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April 16, 2008 at 8:44pm |
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AMEN!!! Excellent word, thanks for sharing! |
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LaTonya......Thank you. It's great to hear from you!
Marcella.....No one has ever thanked me for the time I spend preparing my blogs...that was sweet..thank you! |
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Jenily |
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April 17, 2008 at 6:03am |
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| Good post! |
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Wow! It's Jenily!
Where have you been? How are you? Got that praise report for me? |
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Deb |
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April 17, 2008 at 7:02am |
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| Like many people, I was raised to believe that God was this great big force that would come down on you if you did something wrong. The picture of God is love is not one that I had, and I am still working to overcome it. I picture Jesus and I know He is loving, and He is God. But God is not someone who is waiting for us to mess up so he can "get" us. But those that don't repent of their sins will not see heaven, that is for sure. |
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Amen, We must accept the benefits of His mediation................. |
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Deb: Good point. So many people picture God sitting on His throne with his arms crossed just watching and waiting for us to mess up. Like we have to do everything just right before he will answer our prayers, or use us. I say God hasn't had anyone qualified working for him yet. He doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called!
Paul: "We must accept the benefits of His mediation................." Exactly. The check has been written and made payable to us. But we have to make the deposit! |
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Another passage of scripture comes to mind when considering this truth. Most people remember or think of this as the Christmas Story, and it is. But there is much more:
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this [shall be] a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. That's awesome! All the angels of heaven were rejoicing! The war is over! Peace on earth! Not neccesarily peace among men. But peace between God and man! The anger of God has been satisfied! God is not angry! |
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| God has given you the message of grace. I believe that He gives each of us certain life messages, ones that have touched us and has changed the fabric of who we are. Though I totally agree with Jesus being our Mediator and taking all the wrath upon Himself! Halelujiah what a saviour! Just wonder what you think about your statement about judment. I would say that there is a principle in Scripture that God's Spirit does not always strive with man and that if man chooses not to repent, judgment comes. The great Tribulation is coming the time of Jacob's trouble is coming this is definite wrath being poured out. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an living God. All I am saying here is that there are consequences of disobedience. If we sow to the flesh will reap a harvest of destruction. America if it were not for the faithful remnant could already have been judged. But anyway, you are an excellent teacher and quite a scholar for which I am blessed to have the priviledge of reading and learning from you. No sense arguing over the little things. As mediators that stand in the gap between a Holy God and sinful man let us pray for revival. Let us be as you have written before let us be ambassadors for God reconciling others to God. It is indeed good news...Jesus became sin, died and went to Hell for all of us so that we might have the forgiveness of sins and fellowship with our Creator. God Bless! |
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Hi Todd!
It's great to hear from you again. And thank you my brother. Those were some very generous compliments you extended. I don't feel deserving. But again, thanks.
I think with me I am just beginning to get a greater understanding of just how powerful Jesus' one time sacrifice really was. It's not that I encourage sin, or believe that no one will ever be judged, I just esteem, or put greater value on the payment that was made. One drop of Jesus blood is greater than the sins of the entire world. That's valuable to me.
I shared some other scriptures earlier about Jesus coming back not to judge us believers for our sins, but to judge us for the deeds we have done. Not everyone who comes before a judge is found guilty. "Judge" just seems to always carry a negative connotation.
Will there be a day of judgement. Yes. I firmly believe that. And when that day comes we will know it is from God. We won't be having to guess as some were after the hurricane Katrina or maybe 911. There will be no mistaking it.
I have some scriptures to share about 5 judgements I find recorded in the bible. I can''t post them right now but maybe I will blog about it later.
The five judgements I see are:
1) Judgement of the Gentile Nations - (Mat 25:31-46)
2) Judgement of the Nation of Israel - (Ezekiel 20:33-38, and Daniel 12:1&2)
3) Judgement of Satan and the Fallen Angels - (Rev 20:7-10, and Jude 6)
4) The Great White Throne Judgement - (Rev 20:11-14)
5) Judgement of the Believers - This breaks down into three separate aspects. I'll write more about it in my blog.
Anyway Todd, like I say often, I do not claim to have all the answers. I can't even fathom all of the questions. But I'm growing. I'm learning. That's fruit!
Thanks brother! |
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| Check out my blog on the beama seat/ judgment seat. keep up the good work. |
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Gene |
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April 17, 2008 at 7:59pm |
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Michael, you've done a nice job of connecting the dots for me on why I never bought the wrath of God against America bit. It speaks of an angry, vengeful God which is in stark contrast of the the image of God Christ painted while on earth. Yes, I believe in the coming Judgement, but that doesn't mean God is sitting there just waiting to smite us when we get too far out of line.
If we really believe that God is ready to do that to a country, that means he's ready to do that to us as individuals. That's using fear to scare people to God. What a horrid basis for having a "personal relationship with Christ"!
Thanks,
Gene |
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Hey Michael, great to see your excitement in the Lord coming out in blogs -- fun reading for us!
I happen to agree w/you, Gene, and anyone else who dissents from the notion that God is getting ready to judge America. I just don't see God regarding the US the way he looked upon Israel in the OT, or even Assyria, Babylon, and other nations that were used as tools in shaping the nation of Israel. As far as your point about mediation goes, great point you make by contrasting the mediation of men with that of Jesus. What a mediator! What a blog!
ps... I'm off to Todd's link now (I'm a sucker for links!) |
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Gene: "What a horrid basis for having a "personal relationship with Christ"!"
Well said my friend. That line of reasoning is not relationship, it's religion!
I am glad to know this helped. It helps me everyday. I keep this on the forefront of my mind. Jesus is constantly working on my behalf! That's awesome!
Thanks for the link Todd. I will definitely be by to check it out in the morning. Right now my brain is to exhausted to communicate with the spirit of my mind! (Eph. 4:23)
Thanks again Mike......you've got a lot of wisdom for someone who was born in a barn! (Wait a minute...It was Jesus that was born in a barn, not you!)
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Wow!!! Thank you fro sharing.
God Bless. |
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Hi Missy!
Nice to meet you. I am glad this spoke to you! |
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| The Lord has shown me in dreams what He is about to allow because the American church has turned God's grace into lasciviousness, and it ain't pretty. Is that what He desires? No, but that is what a slumbering people have chosen. Revelation will happen and its up to the Church of the Living God to warn those who call themselves believers but are really of the "synagogue of satan" to repent. I must agree with your friend Todd here, except that I think he gave in a little to easily as this is an important issue. Love ya, brother, enough to speak truth. Troubled times are coming--soon! |
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