DEVOTION/We need a mediator!
That famous third party
There are some areas in our society that call for the use of a mediator. A mediator is one who resolves differences between two opposing groups. He serves as a go-between or middleman. We notice them in divorce disputes, lawsuits, global conflicts, commercial conflicts, real estate, and certainly settling sports salary contract agreements. Often the mediator is agreed upon by both sides who say they will abide by the recommendations of the mediator.
We don’t use the word mediator often today, but it was well understood in the Bible. One example of a mediator was Jonathan, who stood up for David before his father: Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, ‘Let not the king do wrong to his servant David’ (1 Samuel 19:4). When Abraham heard that the Lord was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, he spoke up for his nephew Lot and other believers, asking the Lord to spare them.
Moses was a necessary mediator between the wayward Israelites and the Lord. Whenever the Lord became angry with the people, Moses went to the Lord in their stead. After the scene with the Golden Calf, Exodus 32:31,32 says, Moses went back to the Lord and said, ‘Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.’
We need a good mediator!
Since Adam and Eve there has been a constant problem. People are sinful. God demands perfection. How could that possibly be resolved? Certainly the most important mediator is Jesus Christ. When he came to earth as a man, he kept perfectly the laws we could not keep. When he died on the cross, he stepped between the holy God and sinful people. He served as the go-between on our behalf. Because of him, we can now stand holy and forgiven before the throne of God. For this we are eternally grateful! There is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5).
By Reynold R. Kremer