Our previous lesson looked at Jesus as our intercessor. In this lesson we look at Jesus in a related role, that of mediator. Christ’s intercession and mediation are both part of his work as our great High Priest. In this lesson we think about the Hebrew writer’s emphasis on the powerful new law or covenant that Jesus mediated to mankind, and how even the mere promise of it long ago rendered obsolete the law under which the old priesthood functioned.

6. Jesus the Mediator. There has been a change of covenants. The promise of a new covenant, as soon as the promise was uttered, rendered the first covenant old and obsolete and set to disappear. This old temporary covenant, the law of Moses, was merely symbolic of the permanent new covenant. Christ’s law is a new and living way.

Heb 8:4-13, Heb 9:1-28, Heb 10:1-22.
These are the same portions of Hebrews as for our next lesson. In this lesson we will also refer to the following verses... Heb 1:1-2, Heb 2:9-10, Heb 5:8-10, Heb 6:12, Heb 7:11-12, Heb 12:22-25

Jesus the Mediator

The key verses for this study are

What is mediation?
A mediator, like an intercessor, is a go-between. However, there is a difference in what the mediator does as a go-between. Whereas the intercessor represents a lowly person to a high authority, the mediator works in the opposite direction. The mediator represents the high authority to the lowly person. When the high authority requires something of the lowly person, the mediator informs the lowly person of the requirement, explains it, and assists the lowly person to obey it. This is especially important when old requirements have been abolished and replaced by a new system. There is also a need for a mediator, when the lowly person is at enmity with the high authority. The mediator’s task then includes trying to bring about the reconciliation of the lowly person with the high authority. The Macquarie Dictionary gives this definition: "mediate ...to effect (a result), convey (a gift), etc. as or by an intermediary or medium..." In Christ’s case, he is conveying a new covenant and effecting obedience to it.

What is a covenant?
A covenant is a set of requirements and conditions essential to an agreeable and profitable relationship between two parties. For example, a common kind of covenant is a testament expressing the will of one party by which the other party may be his heir and gain an inheritance. The person named as heir must be in agreement and conformity with the terms of the will, or else forfeit the inheritance. The covenant that Jesus Christ mediates is the gospel (see Heb 1:1-2). This is God’s law for becoming a Christan and living as one, in order to gain the inheritance of eternal life in heaven. Note that God describes "the covenant" as "My laws" (Heb 8:10).

Why was a new covenant required?
Christ could not be a high priest under the law of the old covenant. So God enacted a new covenant because "when the priesthood is changed, there also takes place a necessary change of law" (Heb 7:12). There was need of a better covenant because the first covenant was not "faultless" (Heb 8:7). It lacked "perfection" (Heb 7:11). Therefore there had to come "a time of reformation" (Heb 9:8-10).

Jesus’s better covenant

We have noticed in an earlier lesson that Christ’s priesthood is superior because, among other things, he is the priest of a better law. We now consider some reasons for the superiority of the law or covenant that Christ mediates, and why his ministry of mediation is "more excellent" than that of Moses (Heb 8:5-6).

ULTIMATE

If you did not consider carefully God’s dealings with human beings down through the ages, you might get the impression that God has been a bumbler. Creation, the flood, the law, the remnant, Jesus Christ, the church, the second coming, could be viewed as a series of attempts to get the world right, so far without much success! In fact, of course, they are a planned progression working toward "the consummation of the ages" (Heb 9:26) when Christ offered himself "once for all" (Heb 10:9-10).

The covenant planned for that "consummation of the ages" was the ultimate covenant, as superior to the previous covenants, in particular the law of Moses, as a real object is superior to its shadow. The law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very form of things..." was pointing to the new covenant (Heb 10:1). Christ’s shadow could be seen yonder on the footpath. People therefore knew he was just around the corner.

The difference between the shadow and the real is very like the difference between something promised and something actually given. The new covenant was promised while the old covenant was in force. "Behold the days are coming says the Lord, when I will effect a new covenant" (Heb 8:7-8 Jer 31:31). The Hebrew writer makes the point that this promise, when God uttered it, made the first covenant obsolete. "When he said, 'A new covenant,' he has made the first obsolete." As soon as God promised a new covenant, the first covenant was "growing old and ready to disappear" --it would soon be dispensed with altogether (Heb 8:13).

Illustration: If you promise a child a new bike for Christmas, a full size one with gears, the moment you make that promise the child will think and speak of his present machine as his old bike, and will regard it as obsolete even though, for the time being, he still has to use it. He will talk about the one promised, the one he is waiting for, as his new bike, and will regard it as the ultimate.

UNIVERSAL

The old covenant was the constitution of a single nation, Israel. Whilst a person who was not an Israelite could become one, and could enter into the covenant, and many did, it was nevertheless a covenant for Israel, not for the entire world. By contrast, the new covenant embraces all mankind. All mankind is subject to death, and all mankind is appointed to judgment (Heb 9:27, 12:23-24). All therefore need the new covenant and the death and blood that ratifies it. Thus it was God’s will that Jesus should "taste death for everyone" (Heb 2:9) and become "the author of eternal salvation to all those who obey him" (Heb 5:9).

We occasionally hear people speak of "a covenant relationship" with God as being only for Christians. Those who reject God’s mediator and his covenant are thought to have no "covenant relationship" with God.

The Hebrew writer says, "See that you do not refuse him who speaks" and he is referring to "Jesus the mediator of the new covenant" (Heb 12:24-25). Who is included in this pronoun "you"? Is it not everybody? Surely everybody is bound not to refuse but rather to obey Jesus and the covenant he mediates. Is that not so?

Now if Christ has mediated the new covenant to everybody, and everybody is bound to render obedience under that new covenant, then surely everybody has a "covenant relationship" with God through Christ. One does not choose whether or not to be under the covenant, since Christ mediates it to all. One simply chooses whether to believe and obey Christ and thus receive the inheritance under the covenant, or otherwise to refuse and disobey Christ and receive the punishment under the covenant. Is that not the simple truth?

I ask you to think about this idea that Christ mediates the new covenant only to some, and his new covenant applies only to them, and only they have a "covenant relationship" through him. That idea is not a good one to promote, because it implies that Christ shed his blood of the covenant only for them, and not for all mankind. You may like to read Limited Atonement.

UNILATERAL

In some covenants, two parties on an equal footing enter into a mutual and bilateral agreement. Marriage is such a covenant (assuming it is not an arranged marriage). Other covenants are unilateral, such as a person’s last will and testament. In this case the covenant comes into effect through one person, and the beneficiary or heir simply complies with any conditions. The Hebrew writer characterises the new covenant as a will and testament made to impart an "eternal inheritance" (Heb 9:15 compare Heb 6:12).

We sometimes hear the word "covenant" replaced with the word "agreement" because the latter is easier to understand. The trouble is that it is also easy to misunderstand. Of course we have to agree with God, because he is always right. Anyone who is in disagreement with God is foolish. However, in speaking of the covenant as an agreement, we should avoid the idea that we somehow enter into negotiations with God until he and we reach an agreement.

Illustration: When the Australian parliament is making laws in Canberra, those laws have to be referred to the Senate for its agreement. If the Senate disagrees with the laws, it will amend them and refer them back to the lower house. The laws go back and forth, and the politians lobby each other, until both houses agree to the laws. This works well most of the time, but it’s not the way God makes laws. He unilaterally drew up the covenant, gave it to Christ, who did not amend or add to it, and Christ mediates it to us. If we disagree with it, we will be punished. Unless we are foolish, we will therefore agree to it. We don't get to negotiate. We should be quite clear that the new "covenant" is that sort of "agreement", not like what happens in Canberra.

UNIQUE

Finally, the new covenant is unique. God has made no other covenant with mankind that is an alternative to the new covenant mediated through Jesus Christ. The short list of unique characteristics below is by no means exhaustive, and you could profitably read the entire book of Hebrews searching for other points of uniqueness, for this uniqueness in Christ and his covenant is something that the Hebrew writer is at pains to demonstrate.

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