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.

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