“Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.” (Hebrews 9:15)
We have a big problem. God and his holiness is completely and utterly incompatible with our human sinfulness. It’s such a big problem that scripture tells us that no man can see the face of God and live (Exodus 33:20, 1 Tim. 6:6). The solution to this problem is a mediator, and thankfully, we have Christ who is one for us.
If you have ever had to use a mediator or ever have seen the process, you know the matter between the two parties must really be challenging, frustrating, and even deeply heartbreaking. Under mediation both parties typically have a desire to continue in a relationship, or at least to continue working together for a common good, but that something between them, whatever it may be, is large enough for that relationship to be ground to a standstill. The mediator’s sole goal is to mend the relationship between the two parties and allow them to work together once again.
God is one party, and we are the other. He loves us so much that He made us in his own image and created this beautiful world for us to dwell in and help flourish. In the garden he would take walks with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. Man is meant to live with him for eternity with no death, disease, or suffering.
But our hearts are full of sin. When sin entered the world, our nature was to reject God and become the god of our own lives. We became incompatible with Him. Unity for eternity became impossible. Even when we reject sin and desire God, our own pleas and actions for forgiveness are simply not enough. We needed someone to mediate for us.
Jesus is the Mediator. The Mediator sent by God the Father himself because he loves us so much. Through Christ’s perfect life and perfect sacrificial death, he became the only Man who could go face to face with God on our behalf. Christ not only speaks on our behalf when we put our faith in him, but is also the very person who made it possible to be reunited with God. As believers in Christ alone, we will receive the promised inheritance and will worship Him face to face in eternity.