Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
Jesus: The Mediator of
the New Covenant
Jessica Ann George
St. John’s MTC, New York
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that
cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable
worship with reverence and awe; 29 for indeed our God is a consuming
fire.
The covenant God promises us is
unfathomable. Often times, it is this very fact that makes our faith so
difficult to hold on to. Sometimes we long to believe in something simpler,
that is easier to apply in the complex society we live in, or at least less
difficult to wrap our heads around.
In today’s passage, we read a portion that is addressed to Jewish
converts who were considering reverting to Judaism. The author encourages these
converts to stay firm in their faith in the new covenant and differentiated
from the old covenant. He highlights how when God gave Moses the law at Mount
Sinai, the Israelites had to follow rigid rules and restrictions, and keep
their distance from God’s presence. However, in the new covenant, believers are
welcomed in worship with thousands of angels and their names written in heaven.
While Moses was the mediator of the old covenant, God uses His own Son as the
mediator of His new covenant. With Christ as the intermediary, believers of the
new covenant receive a covenant “that speaks a better word than the blood of
Abel” (v. 24). While the blood of Abel sought justice and retribution, Christ’s
blood symbolizes forgiveness and reconciliation.
Our faith in the new covenant is
shaped through Christ’s mediation in our lives. God’s promise focuses on a
kingdom that cannot be shaken, and we receive it through a mediator who not
only institutes God’s promises, but also guarantees that His promises are
fulfilled. It is difficult to reconcile our concerns about our inadequacies or
our anxiety about how our faith fits into the world we call home. However, when
we allow God’s gift of Christ’s sacrifice to mediate for us, God gives us the
answers we need to understand His promise for our lives. Much like the Jewish
converts, we need to openly receive the covenant God graciously extends to us
through His Son, and approach His throne with awe and reverence in order to
receive the guidance we desire.
PRAYER
Father, please help us
to seek You first in our times of confusion and doubt so we can live out the
new covenant in a way that is pleasing to You.
THOUGHT
FOR THE DAY:
Though we tend to complicate our lives, when we seek out God’s mediator, we get a glimpse of eternity to put things into perspective.
Though we tend to complicate our lives, when we seek out God’s mediator, we get a glimpse of eternity to put things into perspective.