Good to see you here this morning.
Take your Bibles and turn me to Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter
12. Hebrews chapter 12. Be looking
at verse 24 this morning. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 24. Let's begin back in verse 22
to give it our context. But you are come to Mount Zion
unto the city of the living God. the heavenly Jerusalem, and to
an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church
of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the judge
of all, and to just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator
of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh
better things than that of Remember, the apostle is writing to these
Hebrew believers for their comfort and assurance. These men and
women and young people, children, they had all been forsaken by
their natural heritage. They had all been forsaken by
everything they knew. were cast out by their religious
rulers. They were excommunicated from
the religious services. They were put outside of the
city and counted as dogs. They were counted as Gentiles,
which was the worst thing a Jew could possibly be, was a Gentile. And they were counted as this.
They had lost all things for the glory of the gospel. They
had lost all things. And now Paul comforts them and
tells them, You're not come from an earthly Jerusalem. You have
come to a heavenly one. You've not come to a physical
mountain. You've not come to a physical
place. You've not come to a carnal religion. You have come to the
living God. You are citizens of a heavenly
Jerusalem. You are partakers and children
of God. The true children of God are
not physical Israel, but those who believe on Christ are spiritual
Israel. We've come to the right place.
We've come to the right place. That's what he's telling us.
Look, they've come to the wrong place. But take comfort that
they've cast you out because you've come to the right place.
You've come to spiritual Israel. And this was assuring to them
that they had not come by a physical mountain or by the letter of
the law. We come to God by grace. We come
to God for mercy. We come through Jesus Christ,
who was pictured by all of those Old Testament prophets and pictures
of the law. He is the fulfillment of those
things. We've not come by the dying and killing letter. We've
come by grace. What need do we have of any other
God but the living God? Do you have any other need of
another God? I don't. I've come to the living God.
I have no need of any city or any town or any country to be
a part of. I've come to heavenly Jerusalem.
I've come to a city of God whose builder and maker is God. What have we need then of any
other mediator? You see, they had those high
priests. They had those sacrifices by
which they daily came into the temple, and when they were cast
out from these sacrifices, they felt loss. But God said, you're
not suffering any loss by being cast out from the religion of
the world. You've not suffered any loss.
And you won't suffer any loss in this life or the next. I'll
tell you, we think we suffer loss. We do. We hurt. We struggle. We have difficulties. But truly, what have we lost? If we lose all things, what really
have we lost? We've lost nothing. Why? Because
we have come to The Mediator, Jesus Christ. The Mediator. That's what our text says. That
we are come to Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant. Believers,
all things work together for your good. All things have worked for your
good. Everything has led up to this
moment. Everything in your whole life has led up to this one day
that we've met together and worshiped God. Everything. Everything, even now in the present,
works for your good. It may not seem as though it
does, but we are not one who goes by sight. We walk not by
sight, but by faith. We believe the Word of God. And
this, whatever it is, is working even now for our good. And everything will work together
for your good. Why is this that you are so blessed
that everything in your path is for your good? Now you tell
somebody that and they're going to think you are crazy. When
something ill happens to you and you say, this is for my good. God said it is. They'll think
you're crazy. They'll think you're insane.
But we know, Paul says in that text, that we know that this
is so. By experience, we know that all
things, even this, even this struggle, is for our good. We know. We're not guessing.
We're not guessing that all things work together. Well, maybe they
will. No, they won't. They will. They will work together
for your good. Why? Why is it that you are so
blessed that your path has rose petals in front of it? Why is
it that you are so blessed that you will always never lack anything
in this life? Well, it is because of this Jesus
is our Mediator. That's the only reason we are
blessed with such wonderful works of God's grace upon us. It's
because we have a Mediator. And this morning, I want us to
be comforted. I want us to take comfort, to
grab a hold of it, embrace it with all our hearts, and hang
on to this truth that we have the Mediator, Jesus. Comfort of a Mediator. What is
a Mediator? If we're to take comfort in a
mediator, we surely ought to know what a mediator is. Simply
put, a mediator is someone that stands between two parties for
the sole purpose of reconciliation. Now, we have this somewhat in
our judicial system. We can understand this. And if
we were to go to court with someone else, A number of times a judge
may say, well, you could settle this outside, so I'm going to
appoint a mediator, someone to stand between both parties and
try to reconcile the differences of these parties without judgment,
without going through a court battle. But the problem with
our idea of a mediator is that we would choose someone impartial. I know we would want somebody
really partial on our side, but in truth, if we really wanted
true reconciliation, we'd want somebody that has no interest
in either party, that really has the best interest of both. Somebody impartial. Somebody
not on my side or their side. I suppose you wouldn't want a
mediator in a judicial sense, That was his cousin. You're opposed
to, that's his cousin that's mediating. No. Why? Because he
would only have the interest of the one and not my interest. And that other guy wouldn't want
me to have my cousin or my family as... So, our mediatorship is
flawed. Our mediatorship is flawed. And
our mediatorship that we understand has compromised along with it.
You know, when a mediator goes between two parties, he's going
to have to tell one side to give a little and the other side to
give a little so that we can meet in the middle somewhere.
But this is not a mediator that Jesus Christ is. He is not that
type of mediator. First of all, Jesus is not an
impartial outsider. He is not an impartial outsider. But he is a mediator between
God and men because he is fully vested in both. He has a fully
vested interest in both parties. Jesus is not the outsider who
is unfamiliar with the claims of God or the needs of man, but
understands fully God's claims as well as our needs. And the sole purpose of Jesus
Christ is to reconcile us to God without compromise. Now, this is altogether glorious
and beyond human understanding. It is something that the Spirit
of God must teach us in our hearts concerning this, that Jesus Christ's
purpose was to reconcile both God and man without compromise
of either. Without compromising God's claims
of justice and without compromising man's full need of atonement
and righteousness. Now, the first time we see this
word, mediator, is the word in the Old Testament, daismon. In
Job chapter 9 and verse 33, Job said, neither is there a daismon,
a mediator betwixt us that might lay his hand upon us both. So a mediator is one that is
able to lay his hand upon both God and man. He must, in order to stand between
us, He must reconcile us by laying His hand on God and us. Jesus Christ alone is both God
and man. This is how He mediates, is that
He is both God and man. So then, as God, As God, He understands
fully the claims of God upon us. Because we are born dead
in sins, we have no idea of the full claims of God's justice. We need someone to mediate that
knows what God demands. Men think they have an idea of
what God demands, but we really don't know. The fullness. Even we are believers in Christ.
We have not yet fully realized the scope of God's demands. Because we've not experienced
full righteousness in this body. But Jesus Christ understands
God's claims upon man. As God, He was in nature one
with the Spirit and the Father. And because of this, he knows
God's desire. He knows God's will. He knows
God's decree, even because he is God Himself. We cannot know the fullness of
God's nature. We cannot comprehend His other
holiness and hatred for sin. If we could fully understand
God's holy hatred for sin, then even when the most endearing
person that we love in this world dies in their sin, we would be
able to say amen. Do you realize in heaven, when
we are with our Father, that when we look and see those people
who are cast in hell, we will shout glories unto God for their
burning? Because in heaven there is no
sin. We by nature are depraved and
devoid of righteousness, and we will not desire or know or
be able to bow down and complete what God has required, because
we don't know it. But Jesus, who is able to touch
God, knows His claims are right. His claims are right. that all sin must be punished
and righteousness must be rewarded with life. He knows this. Only Jesus completely confesses,
let God be true, and every man a liar. Only Christ. And as God in nature, He is therefore
the only one who can satisfy the just demands of God. No man who is man by nature alone
can satisfy the justice of God. This is why we rejoice to know
that Jesus, who is God, a very God, is our mediator. Because he has a fully vested
interest in the things of God. Jesus, who is the sinless Son
of God, has forever been the delight of the Father. This is
glorious because He has always been God's delight. He said in
Proverbs chapter 8 and verse 30, He says, I was with Him as
one brought up with Him. I was daily His delight. This mediator that we have was
always God's delight. He always delighted in the things
of God. He always pleased the Father. God says of Him, in Isaiah 42,
1, Behold My servant whom I uphold, Mine elect in whom My soul delighteth. That's a very important word.
Because of that last ending, we know that the words E-T-H
are present perfect tense. In meaning that He always delighted,
He is always delighting, and He shall always delight in this
servant, in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is one with the
Father, and He shared in the glory of God from before the
world was. He said, Father, glorify me with
that glory I had with you before the world was. Jesus testifies
to us of the goodness of God's claims by speaking the word of
God to men. Jesus said in John 14, 10, Believest
thou not that I am in the father and the father in me, the words
that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself. But the father
that dwelleth in me, he doeth the worst, what a mediator is
this, because he was fully vested with God's interest. God gave
to his Son all his interest as mediator. He said, I want
my Son to tell men my claims of righteous, holy justice. And Jesus did not compromise
the claims of God. Go over to Micah, chapter 6. Micah, chapter 6. And God asked
this question in verse 11. Look at this. He says, shall I count them pure
with wicked balances and with the bag of deceitful weights? In other words, am I unjust?
Will I ever behold men unjustly? God says, I'm not like you. There's
no way that I'm going to allow the wicked to escape. He says, I will have mercy on
whom I'll have mercy, I'll have compassion on whom I'll have
compassion, and will by no means clear the guilty. God is not like men. We should
not suppose Him to be like us. That's the worst thing we can
do. How can we know the holiness of God? Behold the Mediator! Behold His light! Behold His
holiness. Behold His perfections. In Him
we see God. Because He is God. And Jesus lays these claims out
to us. Listen to me very carefully.
Here's the claim of the Lord Jesus Christ. Except your righteousness
exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall
in no wise in no wise, in no way possible, enter into the
kingdom of heaven. Accept your righteousness. Be
holy as the righteousness of God. You cannot enter into the
kingdom of heaven. This is the claim of God. And as mediator, Jesus has made
this plain and simply declared this to all men. The law of God expects not only
outward obedience, but also inward obedience. The Pharisees were righteous
in their outward obedience, but they did not restrain the inner
thoughts and imaginations of the heart, because we can't. You can go your whole life without
murdering somebody, but you cannot go your life without hating.
And Christ said simply, to hate is murder. Now, you may go all
your life without committing adultery or fornication, but
yet, if you have lusted in your hearts, you have committed adultery
already. Do you see how pure and holy
the Word of God says that God is? That He judges the thoughts
and the intents and the motives, not just the actions. Anybody
can do the actions. But it's the heart that's wicked
and deceitful. Jesus tells us, by His life,
the soul that sinneth, it shall surely die. Why do you suppose
the religious men hated Him? It was because He was holy. Jesus said, if I had not come
and spoke unto them, they would not have sinned. They would not
know their sin. Had I not come and spoken the
Word of God's holiness and mediated God's claims of righteousness,
they would have not known their guilt. But because I come, they
have no cloak for their sins. Well, that's what happened to
me. When the Word of God was spoken,
I had no cloak for my sins. I had no excuse. I was exposed. And all the sacrifices of men
are worthless. God's claim upon our sacrifices
is that they are worthless. And that text in Micah, it says
in verse 6, Wherewithal shall a man come before the Lord, and
bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before him with
burnt offerings and calves of a year old? Will the Lord be
pleased with ten thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of
rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for
my transgression, and the fruit of my body for the sin of my
soul? He hath showed the old man what is good, And what doth
the law require of thee but to do justly, to love mercy, and
to walk humbly with thy God? Every man knows this, because
the law of God is written on his heart. But I'm so thankful that Jesus
is not only the mediator of God, but he is the mediator of men.
He not only expresses the full claims of God, but as my mediator,
He is fully vested in me, because He Himself has taken my nature. Sin accepted. The Lord Jesus
Christ took upon Him the form of a servant. He became fully
man. As much as Jesus is God, He is
also man. And because He is man, He has
fully vested Himself in my need. In my need. If Jesus came into the world
only to testify of God's holiness, what better than the law? What
better is He than the Law? The Law did the same thing. The
Law testified of our guilt. But Jesus not only testified
of God's claims and our guilt, but He also testifies to us of
our need. Our need. Out of grace and love, the Lord
Jesus Christ was made like unto sinful flesh, like unto man. He had no sin, but he experienced
all the sufferings of sin. All the sufferings. Think about
this. We experience difficulties every single day. We experience
the sin of our own heart, and we know the sorrow of that, and
we experience the sin of this world that is set against us. We receive a lot of hurt. But Jesus, He received even more
suffering than we did because He was without sin. Can you name anything that you
suffered? Anything that you've suffered
in this life that you did not deserve worse? We all deserve worse than we
got. But this man hath done nothing
amiss." This man, Jesus, has done nothing
wrong. And yet He willingly suffered
under the weight of sinful men. Under the hatred of man. We have never been hated like
he has. We have never suffered more than
this man has suffered. Why then did he suffer so? Well,
Hebrews tells us that it behooved him to be made like unto us that
he might reconcile us to God. This is why he did it. So that
he might, having a fully vested interest of our need, also, as
a representative man, fulfill our needs. Our need of righteousness. Who needs righteousness? I do! Jesus Christ, my Mediator, has
fulfilled all the righteousness God demanded. By His obedience. He has already
honored the law of God in my place. And now, by His grace, I have
received His righteousness that He prepared. He is my mediator. So when the enemy comes in and
tries to condemn my soul, what is it that I say to him? Behold,
my Mediator." You deal with Him. He says, I'm righteous. I'm righteous. You deal with Him. Not only as a Mediator did He
provide our righteousness, but He also, as a Mediator, He has
reconciled us to God by His death. By His death. By Jesus Christ alone, we can
see how God can be just and the justifier of the ungodly. How
is it that God can be merciful to me and yet just at the same
time? How is that? Only by this man,
Jesus Christ. Only because He has already suffered
under the weight of God's wrath for my sins. My sins have already
been paid for. And they've been justly paid
for. They've not been swept under the rug. Jesus Christ bore my
sin to the fullest extent in His own body on the tree, and
God poured out the fullest of His wrath on Jesus Christ, and
my sin is gone. Scriptures tell us that God has
cast it behind His back. Well, where's His back? How far
is that? Well, it's as far as the east
is from the west. So far has He removed our sins from us.
So far has He removed them that He Himself cannot find them. Jeremiah 15 verse 20. My sins can't be found. Not by
God. Not by God. Why? I have a mediator. I've come to Jesus the mediator. Have you come to Jesus the mediator? If you have, then you've come
to one who's fully vested in God's righteousness, God's holiness. And you've come to one who has
met the needs of this sinful man. He has provided both righteousness
and atonement. And what is He doing now? He
ever liveth to make intercession for us. That's what a mediator
does. He's reconciled us to God and
He daily intercedes by His very presence in the presence of God. He need not say anything to the
Father. His wounds speak. And you know what they say? They
say, innocent, innocent, innocent. These my people are innocent.
And so when we ask for forgiveness, do you need forgiveness of sin?
Do you not daily tread around in this flesh and mourn for your
sin? We have this assurance. That
He is both just and able to forgive us all our sins. All our sins. How many sins? All of them. Every last thought,
every last imagination of our wicked heart, Every last rebellion
against our God has already been put on the cross and taken away. What else do we have need of
if he has reconciled us to God? We have need of nothing. And we can give praise to him,
give thanks. For we have come to the mediator,
Jesus, of the new covenant. I pray that God bless this through
your heart.