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| Topic: Jesus, The Great Mediator | |
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Edited by
MichaelATL44
on
Sat 04/25/09 09:00 AM
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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 I find amazing is found in 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: Exodus 32:7-14 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? 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. 1 Genesis 18:22-32 8:22 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, wouldn’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. Only Lot and his daughters survived. 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 nonetheless, 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! Hebrews 7:25 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. Hebrews 8:6 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. Hebrews 9:15 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. Hebrews 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than [that of] Abel. 1 Timothy 2:5 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, or 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 judgment 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 because 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 or because of our own good deeds. But because His Son took the punishment that we deserved. All of it! Isaiah 53:10-11 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 Thessalonians 1:10 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. 1 Thessalonians 5:9 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 us and in us. Thank you for not giving us what we deserve. You are my King! Amen! |
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Some of that can be considered dangerous thinking, such as in the latest crazy of that book: Take It By Force- encouraging people that if Moses could change G-d's mind, so can they. This is a slippery slope.
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Edited by
MichaelATL44
on
Sat 04/25/09 03:00 PM
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Some of that can be considered dangerous thinking, such as in the latest crazy of that book: Take It By Force- encouraging people that if Moses could change G-d's mind, so can they. This is a slippery slope. Thanks for your comment TBRich. I have not read that book therefore I am unable to comment. I can see where that kind of thinking could be dangerous ground however. But as I pointed out here, Jesus is the only mediator between God and man now. He is the One interceding with God on our behalf. As long as we remain in Him, then we know that God hears our prayers. 1 John 5:15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. |
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Great Write ,Michael!!
As Always!! Please keep Sharing with us!!!!  
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