The Great Awakening -- Jesus as Our Sinless Mediator
The Great Awakening
(Jesus as Our Sinless Mediator)
February 19
Larry R Evans
Introduction
Perhaps you recently read of a priest in Phoenix, Arizona who resigned because he had made a priestly mistake! The mistake? He incorrectly performed thousands of baptisms over several decades. He had changed one word in the baptismal pronouncement. When baptizing the infant he said, “We baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Did you catch what he said wrong? He reports that he said, “‘I’ baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
As a “priest” he implied by using “We” that it was the community that baptizes a person, rather than Christ. It is believed it is Christ, in the person of the human priest, who presides at all sacraments – not the community and not even the priest. The Arizona priest was horrified when he realized what he had done. Apparently, it is believed that the baptisms were not valid. He said,
“With the help of the Holy Spirit and in communion, with the Diocese of Phoenix, I will dedicate my energy and full-time ministry to help remedy this and heal those affected."
Our subject this week is focused on the mediatorial ministry of Jesus as our High Priest. What we believe about Jesus is not limited to His sacrificial death on the cross. What did happen at the cross, however, is pivotal for understanding what Jesus is doing now. And what He is doing now affects both our worship and service for God. After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to several and promised that they were to “wait for the gift my Father promised” (Acts 1:4). A few days later there was a tremendous revival (Acts 2).
When Jesus and His ministry has become the focus of attention throughout the ages, hope, confidence, and boldness emerged even during the darkest of times. Such will be the case in the days ahead.
The key text for this week is found in Hebrews 8:6,
But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises.
This is indeed a “Great Awakening.” God not only “so loved the world that He gave His Son” but He gave to us the assurance He still loves us as seen in the continued ministry of Jesus. His sacrifice was made once (Heb. 10:10) but the impact continues beyond His death on the cross! The sacrifice of Christ fulfilled the will of God in providing an acceptable atonement. The animal sacrifices were symbolic. They were not “the real thing” but a promise of what was to come. We use the title “The Great Awakening” in our study for today for at least two reasons.
First, as the text explains, the role of Jesus as our High Priest is superior to the old Levitical priesthood. On a personal level, this brought a new religious experience with a more complete understanding of God’s work to save us. The book of Acts and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost revealed that a new phase of God’s plan of salvation had begun. The cross brought a new reality to God’s plan to save! It was and still is an awakening.
Secondly, the term “great awakening” is historically a reference to periods of religious revivals in American Christian History. Our emphasis on Christ’s work in heaven’s “sanctuary” will be part of a last-day revival. Usually, historians break “the great awakening” into three or four different periods:
1. The First Great Awakening began in the 1730s and lasted until about 1740. Pastoral styles began to change. Preaching was focused on applying theology in a way that would lead to conversions and not simply done as a liturgical ceremony. (Some leaders: Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield)
2. The Second Great Awakening begin in the late 1700s and lasted until the middle of the 1800s. This should be of special interest to us as this is where the Millerite Movement began and the emphasis on Christ’s soon coming became of special interest. Temperance, abolition of slavery, and women’s voting rights were all part of the change taking place at that time.
3. The Third Great Awakening of the 1850s to 1900s was characterized by new denominations, active missionary work, and for some a focus on social issues that lead to programs like the YMCA. (One leader: George Finney, Dwight L Moody)
4. Although debated, some see a 4th awakening that took place in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Jesus Movement along with a shift in church music styles. It involved mainline Protestants and Roman Catholics who testified to having supernatural experiences similar to those recorded in the Acts and especially speaking in tongues.
5. As Jesus remains the focus, as His continued ministry for us is understood and accepted, another revival can be expected.
A revival of true godliness among us is the greatest and most urgent of all our needs. To seek this should be our first work. — Christian Service, p. 41
Are we awake to the work that is going on in the heavenly [sanctuary], or are we waiting for some compelling power to come upon the church before we shall arouse? Are we hoping to see the whole church? That time will never come. —Selected Messages, vol.1, p. 122
Before the final visitation of God's judgments upon the earth there will be among the people of the Lord such a revival of primitive godliness as has not been witnessed since apostolic times. The Spirit and power of God will be poured out upon His children. At that time many will separate themselves from those churches in which the love of this world has supplanted love for God and His word. Many, both of ministers and people, will gladly accept those great truths which God has caused to be proclaimed at this time to prepare a people for the Lord's second coming. The enemy of souls desires to hinder this work; and before the time for such a movement shall come, he will endeavor to prevent it by introducing a counterfeit. In those churches which he can bring under his deceptive power he will make it appear that God's special blessing is poured out; there will be manifest what is thought to be great religious interest. Multitudes will exult that God is working marvelously for them, when the work is that of another spirit. Under a religious guise, Satan will seek to extend his influence over the Christian world. --Maranatha, p.168.
Every true revival is linked to the ministry that Jesus is doing on our behalf. In our study today we will look at four important points:
1. The Need for a Mediator
2. The Promise of a Mediator
3. The Better Mediator
4. How We Relate to Jesus Our Mediator
The Need for a Mediator
If we think of sin as a checkmark on a list of things not to do, then we do not understand the nature of sin. If we think that our need for Jesus to be our Mediator is because He can convince God better than we can, then we’ve missed the point of His mediation. The enemy is not God but Satan and the charges that he brings against us. The result of sin is our separation from God. We were created in God’s image for a special relationship and sin’s purpose is to break that relationship. The purpose of mediation is to deal with the broken relationship and ultimately unite us with God and His purposes for us. The need becomes apparent as seen in Genesis 3:8,9 and expressed in Isaiah 59:2
And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD Godamong the trees of the garden.
Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” (Gen. 3:8,9)
But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
And your sins have hidden His face from you,
So that He will not hear. (Isa 59:2)
Isaiah 59:2 paraphrased is paraphrased in The Message this way:
There's nothing wrong with God; the wrong is in you.
Your wrongheaded lives caused the split between you and God.
Your sins got between you so that he doesn't hear.
The Promise of “a” Mediator
Throughout the Bible, there are different examples of mediation. The Greek word for mediator comes from the word for middle. It denotes the one who walks or stands in the middle. However, there is but one Mediator when it comes to our salvation. Jesus not only stands in the middle, He guarantees God’s promises.
The promise:
And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”
To illustrate the remedy of the problem God had His people set up a sanctuary with some very specific services that illustrated the seriousness of sin, its costliness, and its remedy. Keep in mind, God’s purpose was and is to restore the relationship He had when He created us in His image.
And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. (Ex. 25:8)
The old covenant was given based on the Levitical priesthood. As part of this agreement, the Levites alone acted as mediators between God and the Israelites. The Levite priests served as a promissory provision that would ultimately be fulfilled by Christ. The priests were taken from one specific tribe called the Tribe of Levi.
The Better Mediator
The sacrifice of Jesus changed everything. Paul explains this by referring to Melchizedek in Hebrews 7.
In the days of Abraham, Melchizedek was called by God to be His high priest. (Heb. 7:1) After returning from rescuing his nephew Lot and his possessions, Abraham acknowledged Melchizedek’s priesthood by giving him his tithe of all the plunder. This was an important act because Melchizedek was not from the tribe of Levi. He was the king of the city of Salem. His name meant “King of Peace.”
Scripture is silent about Melchizedek’s mother and father. There is no recording of either his beginning or his end. In Hebrews, Paul picks up on this as a symbol of Christ’s priesthood to illustrate the timeless ministry of Jesus and His superiority to those from the Levitical priesthood. Abraham recognized the authority of Melchizedek by returning tithe to him. Abraham blessed Melchizedek even though he was not from the tribe of Levi.
With this established, Paul then explains that a new covenant or promise replaced the old one. The promise of a new covenant in Hebrews refers to Jeremiah (Hebrews 8:8,9)
But God found fault with the people and said:
“The days are coming, declares the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,
and I turned away from them,
declares the Lord.
It was not the covenant that was wrong but the calloused hearts of the people. The focus of the new covenant was the heart. (Hebrews 8:10-12)
This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel
after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds
and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.
For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”
So, God promised to take a different approach. It wouldn’t be the same as the promise he had made with “their fathers.” The promises that God made under the Mosaic covenant were never fulfilled. The unfaithfulness of the people kept God’s promises from being fulfilled. Something or Someone needed to take the people’s place so God could fulfill His promises. Jesus became the High Priest the people and God needed. He became the guarantor of fulfilled covenant promises. (Heb. 7:22). Unlike the Levitical priesthood, the priesthood of Jesus does not end.
Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. – Hebrews 7:23,24.
The Levitical high priest not only offered a sacrifice for the people, but he also had to offer a sacrifice for himself but this was not the case with Jesus. He was the sacrifice not for Himself but the people.
How We Relate to Jesus Our High Priest
Some have attempted to carry over the old Levitical priesthood but disguised in a different form. When that happens some shocking conclusions are the result. The elevated role of a local church “priest” is an example. One such conclusion is stated in a Roman Catholic book, carrying the imprimatur of the Archbishop of Ottawa, Canada. (cited by Loraine Boettner in Roman Catholicism, p.51)
Without the priest, the death and passion of our Lord would be of no avail to us. See the power of the priest! By one word from his lips, he changes a piece of bread into a God! A greater fact than the creation of a world.
If I were to meet a priest and an angel, I would salute the priest before saluting the angel. The priest holds the place of God.
Jesus, not an earthly priest. He is our High Priest. In the Old Testament, the work of Christ was prefigured under the three offices of prophet, priest, and king. The prophet was appointed to be God’s spokesman to the people. The priest was appointed to represent the people before God, to offer sacrifices for them, and to intercede with God on their behalf. And the king was appointed to rule over the people, to defend them, and to restrain and conquer all His and their enemies.
With the coming of Christ, each of these offices found its fulfillment in Him. With the coming of Christ, each of these offices found its fulfillment in Him. As for the priesthood Christ alone is now our Priest, our one and only High Priest.
As Christians, we have been given the right of access to God through Christ. We can go directly to God in prayer and intercede for ourselves and others. We become priests of God. A term used to explain this is “the universal priesthood of believers.”
The paradigm has changed. As Christian “priests” the sacrifices we offer are termed “spiritual,” and they relate to worship and service. First, there is the sacrifice of praise (Heb. 13:15). Second, there is the sacrifice offered through our gifts for the support of God’s work (Heb. 13:16). Finally, the third is the offering of ourselves, our bodies, our lives, in Christian service.
Conclusion
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” -- Matthew 11:28,29
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