Jesus - Our Mediator

Monday, 26April2010, Hebrews 7 - 10: selected verses

"for one is God, one also is mediator of God and of men, the man Christ Jesus"
1 Timothy 2:5 YLT

At the end of my last post two months ago entitled, "Jesus, the Son of God", I have mentioned that our Lord has accomplished three things for us, namely,

1. He is the Model of our faith,
2. He is the Mediator of our salvation and
3. He is the Master of our obedience.

I had also explained briefly on the first point, that our Lord Jesus is the Model of our Faith, for our empowerment, our endurance and most of all for our emulation as we live as testimonies for Christ in this world.

Today, I'd like to continue with the second point, that our Lord Jesus is the Mediator of our salvation. I have surveyed chapters 7 through 10 of the epistle to the Hebrews and have come across the following descriptions of what our Lord Jesus, the Son of God, has done for us:

(1) He is our High Priest

A prophecy in Psalm 110:4 tells of YeHoVaH declaring to his anointed, Messiah,

"YeHoVaH has sworn and will not relent, You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek".

This prophecy is quoted at least three times, in Hebrews 5:6, 7:17 and again in 7:21.

In commenting on this verse, Hebrews 7:24,25 says that our Lord Jesus, the priest who lives forever, is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through him. Note carefully in these verses, the reason why Jesus can do this is because he always lives to make intercession for them.

Further, in 7:28 the writer goes on to say that our Lord Jesus has been made perfect forever. This is followed subsequently in 8:1 which tells us that Jesus is a High Priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

This helps us to understand more clearly why our Lord Jesus had said in John 14:6 that he is the way, the truth and the life, and that "no man comes to the Father except by me". Indeed, the whole purpose of our Lord Jesus, the sinless man, the only begotten Son of God, having to live as a servant, resisting temptation, to be tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin (Heb 4:15), to learn obedience in his sufferings (Heb 5:8), is to be made perfect by God, so that all men can come to God through him.

Having obeyed his Father completely, even to the point of death on the cross, he was raised from death by God and is given a place at the right hand of God forever - where he always lives to intercede for all those who come to God through him.

Behold our Lord Jesus: he is made perfect by God to be our High Priest, forever.

(2) He ministers in the True Temple

Hebrews 8:2 says that Jesus is a minister of the holy place in God's true temple. This is not any man-made temple on earth. Instead it is the temple of God which is put up by the Lord (i.e. YeHoVaH) and not by man. This reminds us of the words of the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (Young's Literal Translation) where he says, " have ye not known that ye are a sanctuary of God, and the Spirit of God doth dwell in you? if any one the sanctuary of God doth waste, him shall God waste; for the sanctuary of God is holy, the which ye are".

Yes, indeed we, the body of Christ make up this temple of YeHoVaH, the true temple in which our Lord is the high priest who ministers in the holy place, the temple built by God and not by the hands of man.

Verse 6 goes on to elaborate on the ministry of our Lord Jesus in this true temple of God. It compares our Lord's ministry with that of the Levitical priests who serve under the Law of Moses. It points out to us that Jesus has obtained a more excellent ministry than those earthly priests. Furthermore, he is the mediator of a better covenant than the covenant under Moses.

Similarly if we turn to chapter 9 verse 15 we read that our Lord is the mediator of a "new covenant" by means of his death. This explains for us the mean of the words, "has obtained" mentioned earlier in Heb. 8:6, telling us that this excellent ministry of our High Priest, in the true temple of YeHoVaH is made possible only by our Lord's death on the cross. It was by means of his sacrificial death, a death from which YeHoVaH God raised him, and glorified him, that Jesus, our Messiah, becomes our Mediator of this more excellent ministry and this better covenant.

Indeed, our Messiah, has come as High Priest of the good things to come, with a greater and more perfect tabernacle - not made with hands, and not of this creation! (Heb. 9:11)

Behold, our Lord Jesus: by his death, he has obtained a more excellent ministry than the earthly Levitical priests. He ministers in the true temple of YeHoVaH.

(Posting resumed on: Sun. 15-5-2010)

(3) He Offered himself to God

Finally, Hebrews 9:14 tells us that our Lord Jesus offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice to God, through God's eternal Spirit. In doing so, his blood cleanses our conscience "from dead works" so that we may serve the living God. This further explains the assertion made two chapters earlier in Hebrews 7:24,25, that he is able to "save to the uttermost" those who come to God through him.

Furthermore, it is stated in Hebrews 10: 10-12 that this sacrifice of our Lord's body is a "once for all" sacrifice which is effective for all sins forever. No other sacrifice is ever needed again. And our Lord has been raised by God, to be seated at God's right hand and is given a transformed and glorified body, never to die again. Now, at the right hand of the throne of YeHoVaH Almighty, our Lord Jesus waits for his enemies to be subject to his authority, figuratively, to be made his footstool (v.12 and 13).

Conclusion:

In his days on earth, our Lord Jesus had always obeyed God, his Father. He always did things that pleased his Father. (John 8:49). He honoured his Father and did not seek his own glory. (John 8:49,50). He did not honour himself, but instead received honour from his Father. (John 8:54). In fact, he went about teaching his disciples that only those people who does the will of his Father will enter the kingdom of heaven!

It was because of such complete obedience to God his Father that our Lord had successfully become the Mediator between God and man.

He gave himself, his body, as the unblemished, once-for-all sacrifice to God. He was raised by God from the dead to become our eternal high-priest. He lives forever, interceding at the right hand of God, having the ability to "save to the uttermost" all who come to God through him.

And his ministry is a more excellent ministry than that of the Levitical priests on earth, for he ministers in the true temple of God, a temple not made with hands but instead comprises all of us who have died together with him and who have been made alive with him.

Today, our Lord Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of God, waiting for his enemies to be subject to him. Psalm 8: 6 contains a prophecy of God giving Christ authority over all of God's creation and putting all things "under his feet",

"You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet."

The apostle Paul explained this prophecy in 1 Corinthians 15 by saying that Christ must reign until God has put all his enemies, under his feet. And the last enemy to be destroyed is death itself. In the end, i.e. at the resurrection, Christ will deliver the kingdom to God after destroying "every rule and every authority and power". (v.20 - 28 ESV)

Dear Christian, let us hold fast to the truth: that our Lord Jesus learned to obey God in his sufferings (Heb. 5:8) and, in doing so, has been made perfect by God to be our mediator forever (Heb. 7:28).

Behold the Anointed One, the eternal high priest, the mediator between God and Man, the man Christ Jesus.

The Peace of God, the God of Peace

Saturday, 10April2010, Philippians 4:6-9 YLT

"for nothing be anxious, but in everything by prayer, and by supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God; " v. 6

About three days ago, I read a heartbreaking news report about a man in the province of Guangdong in Southern China who beat his daughter to death on a street in full view of the public. While beating the child, he scolded her for refusing to attend "night school" - a type of cram school where many students are forced to attend in order to improve their chances of passing university entrance exams in future.

The news report says that students in China face intense pressure to pass such "make or break" entrance exams in order to join the ranks of the educated strata of society. Such competitive pressure leads to very anxious parents who appear to have no choice but to force their children to undergo gruelling hours of study starting from a tender age.

The Chinese girl who died from such cruel treatment by her father was only nine years old!

This makes me think of my own country, even of my town where I have been living and working for the last twelve years, where parents are facing similar anxieties over the future of their children. I've come across many students who have been given no choice at all by their parents, but who instead have been forced to attend a string of tuition classes after school throughout the week, both in the day-time as well as at night.

One of them, a family friend's daughter, once pleaded with her mother saying, "I can't take it anymore. If you make me attend any more tuition classes, I will die . . ." . My wife tried unsuccessfully to persuade the mother to reduce the number of tuition sessions for her daughter. Her reply was typical, "We are not educated people. If she can't go to good schools and universities in future, will you be responsible?"

It appears that parents everywhere are anxious. So anxious that, they have almost taken over their children's lives "by proxy" - making every decision for the kids, from the time they get up in the morning to the time they go to bed at night. I know of another family who even have to feed their primary school child his lunch in the family van each afternoon - in their hurry to bring him to his first tuition class immediately after school dismisses!

I feel sad for the hundreds and hundreds of pitiful school-children who are robbed of their happy childhood solely because their parents are anxious over their future "success in life". In my opinion, these parents have unwittingly destroyed the emotional and mental health of a whole generation of young people.

Such powerful and overwhelming anxiety: it gives parents no time to pause and think of better alternatives. Isn't there a better way of dealing with these "make or break" circumstances? Isn't there some way of having peace of mind, or peace in our hearts over this nagging issue?

Yes, dear Christian parent, there is. The word of God tells us in Philippians 4:6,7:

"for nothing be anxious, but in everything by prayer, and by supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God; and the peace of God, that is surpassing all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus." v. 6,7

The answer for us is to make known our requests to our God by our prayers and supplications - with thanksgiving. By doing so, we can have peace in our hearts. Not any kind of short-lived, momentary and fleeting peace, but the peace of God. This peace that is of God is higher than our understanding. It "guards our hearts and thoughts" in Christ.

By having the peace of God guarding our hearst, we Christian parents can escape from the anxieties of this world and avoid falling into the cruel ways of so many parents around us.

And instead of being preoccupied with the anxieties of our children's "make or break" success in exams, there are better things for us to think of and be occupied with. Verses 8 and 9 says:

"As to the rest, brethren, as many things as are true, as many as [are] grave, as many as [are] righteous, as many as [are] pure, as many as [are] lovely, as many as [are] of good report, if any worthiness, and if any praise, these things think upon; the things that also ye did learn, and receive, and hear, and saw in me, those do, and the God of the peace shall be with you." v.8,9

Yes, besides having the peace of God guarding our hearts, we can also have the God of peace being present with us. When we stop getting entangled with being anxious over many things of this world, but instead "think upon" things which are true, upright, pure, lovely and things which are of good report, the God of peace will be with us.

May the peace of God guard your hearts. May the God of peace be with you all.

Motherless children, Fatherless Christians

Monday 05April2010, John 15:1-17 CEV

Last Saturday was a memorable day for me. I had arrived with my family at the Hokkien cemetery in Sungei Jelok in Kajang in the early afternoon to clean up my late father's grave and to reflect briefly on his days together with us before he had left us after a long illness in 1995.

As we were walking down a gentle hill-slope to return to our car, we met a group of three children who had just arrived at the cemetery. If I remember correctly they were a sister with her two brothers, and they all appeared to be of about primary school age. They were talking happily to one another as they ran towards one of the newer graves in front of us.

Following behind them, a short distance away was a gentleman who called out loudly to them in Chinese, "Over here! This is your mummy's grave. This is where your mummy is buried. Next year ask your papa to bring you here again, understand?" And the children nodded quietly to this man, whom I presume by then was their uncle.

The kids had come to their mummy's grave empty-handed. They stood close to each other, looking somewhat awkwardly after hearing what their "uncle" had told them. Their happy chatter had stopped suddenly and there appeared to be a tinge of sadness and longing on their faces for their mummy.

I was saddened by the scene.

As we continued to walk down-slope to our car, I turned to my wife ChooyLin and remarked, "Poor children! They are so young and they've lost their mother already. . ." I couldn't understand why their father was not with them that afternoon, and why they had to be brought there by an uncle, if indeed the gentleman was their uncle. I only wished somebody could bring their mummy back.

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That evening ChooyLin and I attended the 36th Anniversary Dinner of IKUPM at a restaurant in the Mines Shopping Fair. It was a pleasant evening, filled with the joy of meeting with brothers and sisters who studied and fellowshipped together with us back in the 1980s in the CF. The current batch of students were also warm and friendly. At our table was Grace, LiNa, Gloria, Sheryl, Eugene, Au Yong Chee Meng and also Colin (who later went over to a nearby table).

We chatted happily together, and soon the sadness of seeing those three empty-handed children at their mother's grave began to fade from our thoughts.

All the more so, when a very interesting, meaningful and entertaining sketch was performed by three very talented young people on stage by BiYao @ Gobby depicting a young graduate who was being severely tempted by a seductive looking Devil played by BeeKoon as he stepped into the working world, while a serious sounding Angel played by Ivan Lee tried repeatedly to urge him to turn to God. Eventually, after falling badly, this young man decided to pick himself up and return to God - to the joy of the Angel and the dismay of the Devil.

I enjoyed the sketch very much and I must congratulate Gobby, Ivan and Bee Koon for their excellent acting on stage. By then I had all but forgotten about the sad scene of the motherless children at the Kajang cemetery, when quite unexpectedly I came across a passage of scripture printed in the programme booklet. It was the passage from John 15:1 - 17 taken from the Contemporary English Version, which I'd like to quote below:

"Jesus said to his disciples:

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts away every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit. But he trims clean every branch that does produce fruit, so that it will produce even more fruit. You are already clean because of what I have said to you.

Stay joined to me, and I will stay joined to you. Just as a branch cannot produce fruit unless it stays joined to the vine, you cannot produce fruit unless you stay joined to me. I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you stay joined to me, and I stay joined to you, then you will produce lots of fruit. But you cannot do anything without me. If you don't stay joined to me, you will be thrown away. You will be like dry branches that are gathered up and burned in a fire.

Stay joined to me and let my teachings become part of you. Then you can pray for whatever you want, and your prayer will be answered. When you become fruitful disciples of mine, my Father will be honored. I have loved you, just as my Father has loved me. So remain faithful to my love for you. If you obey me, I will keep loving you, just as my Father keeps loving me, because I have obeyed him.

I have told you this to make you as completely happy as I am. Now I tell you to love each other, as I have loved you. The greatest way to show love for friends is to die for them. And you are my friends, if you obey me. Servants don't know what their master is doing, and so I don't speak to you as my servants. I speak to you as my friends, and I have told you everything that my Father has told me.

You did not choose me. I chose you and sent you out to produce fruit, the kind of fruit that will last. Then my Father will give you whatever you ask for in my name. So I command you to love each other. "

I have read this passage many times before but that evening I noticed, for the first time, that in the midst of our Lord Jesus' commands to his disciples to abide in him and to obey him, there were at least three references to the Father. Once at the beginning, several times in the middle and once more at the end of the passage.

At the beginning of the passage, I read that our heavenly Father is our Gardener. God is our Father who cuts away fruitless branches from the vine and trims the fruitful ones so that the fruitful disciples will bear even more fruit. Every Christian who abides in the commands of our Lord Jesus remains as part of this vine in this garden.

And those of us who bear fruits in Christ will be pruned, trimmed and tended to by our Father in heaven, so that we will bear even more fruits. However, we must beware of the pitfall of living fruitless lives should we depart from obeying Christ in our lives - our Father will cut such people away from his kingdom!

Then about halfway through the passage, I realised that our heavenly Father is our Guide. The Lord Jesus told his disciples that their fruitfulness in life was to glorify his Father (rather than to glorify Jesus himself). He went on to tell them twice that he his love for the disciples was guided by his Father's love: first by saying that he loved them just as his Father has loved him, and again by saying that he would keep loving them if they obeyed him just as his Father keeps loving him because he had obeyed his Father.

Indeed, it is clear that our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, the only begotten Son of God looked to his Father in heaven as his guide in his love for his disciples and in his obedience to his Father. This is the same God who is our heavenly Father today, who is our guide as we obey the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And finally, at the end of the passage, I saw that our Father in heaven is our Giver. The Lord Jesus told his disciples that he had chosen them and had sent them out to produce fruit in life that will endure. And then his Father will give them whatever they ask for in Jesus' name. This is the joy that all who follow and obey the Lord Jesus Christ can have everyday of their lives: the joy of being chosen, of being sent out to live fruitful lives and the joy of receiving from our heavenly Father whatever we ask in the name of Christ.

Suddenly it occurred to me that those three poor little motherless children whom I encountered at the Kajang cemetery could still have hope and joy in life. Although they can't have their mother back in this world, someone can tell them that there is an everlasting Father in heaven.

There is a Father for these little children to turn to the rest of their lives. They can turn to God always as their Father!

Sitting there at the dinner table, looking at this passage in the programme book, I was strongly convicted that we Christians must live our lives by continually turning to our Father in heaven to be our Gardener, our Guide and our Giver. A Gardener who tends our lives to become more fruitful. A Guide for our love towards others and for our obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And a Giver for all that we ask in Jesus' name, in obedience to Christ.

Now my sadness for those motherless children at the cemetery is accompanied by another sadness. It is the sadness of knowing that there are many Fatherless Christians around me. Christians who profess and confess the name of Christ, but who do not turn to God: the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Dear Christian, I urge you to return to our Father in heaven in your life. In your prayers, ask good things from our Father. In your obedience to the Lord Jesus, glorify the Father. In your love for others, follow the Father's love just as our Lord Jesus had done so in obedience to his Father.

Let us beware, that we do not become Fatherless Christians.