Man is up the creek without a paddle, only he does not know it yet. At least, not everyone, but the majority are. If you are reading this piece and you ask why, well it is simple, imagine yourself as a criminal, a murderer caught in the act and arraigned before a judge, being tried and you find out that your Lawyer, defense attorney whom you have already confessed the gory details of your crime to, in confidence, expecting him to defend you, is the judge himself. You see, there is a caveat to mediating or defending an accused, and this can be found in the gospel of Mathew chapter 25, from verses 37 to 46.
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Having established that most of us are up the shitcreek without a paddle, that is our case will not be taken up by the Mediator. Let us examine the identity of the Mediator, using Biblical reference sources.
1 Samuel 2:25 tells us that, If one person sins against another, God [or the Judges] may mediate for the offender, but if anyone sins against the Lord, who will intercede for them?
1 Timothy 2:5 equally says, For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus. This man attests in John 6:51, that, I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
Then we have the stunning declaration of the man [Son of Man] in John 5:17-18, In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” For this reason, they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself EQUAL with GOD. JESUS CHRIST = GOD
Does this mean that God Himself, is the Mediator? And that Jesus Christ is God Himself. Who at different times, operates as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, individually and or simultaneously as a duality or trifold. Any way if you can not get your head around this concept, you are in good company, those practicing Judaism could not either, and in the time of Jesus, were actually incensed at Jesus Christ for making them consider it, while the founding fathers! of Catholic church, Greek orthodox church (the New Testament was written mostly in Greek) came up with the Nicene Creed containing Trinity. Not forgetting the Arians, Origen, Athanasius, Gregory of Nyssa, Sabellius, Eunomius, Eusebius of Caesarea, Georges Florovsky, Cyril of Alexandria, and Maximus Confessor, who were all at one time or the other trying to wrap their head around this complicated and difficult concept.
Furthermore, John 5:22 says, Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son (Jesus Christ). And in John 8:50, Jesus also says that, I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. He added in John 5:27, And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.
Jesus continued in John 5:30, By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. While in John 9:39; Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” He clarified in John 9:5 that, While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
John 5:23 made us to understand that, Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him. Honoring the Father requires believing in the One sent by the Father, which Jesus put succinctly in John 6:29 in this manner, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” He paraphrased this in John 6:40, For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
Now we know who the judge is, and who the Mediator is, but what about the prosecutor? The clue is in John 5:45; Your accuser is Moses (the Laws were given to Moses by God the Father), on whom your hopes are set.
Knowing who the actors are in the courtroom is essential, though it seems the judge, the defense attorney and the prosecuting attorney are all ONE and the same. According to John 4:25-26, the Savior, Mediator is Christ, otherwise known as Messiah; The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” The teaching or explaining aspect is also confirmed by him in John 6:45; It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ [Isaiah 54:13; All your children will be taught by the Lord, and great will be their peace.] Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me.
That the judge and the defense attorney and the prosecuting attorney are all together the same God is put in a crystal clear manner in Isaiah 9:6; For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Where does this leave us? In a situation where the Mediator is the Judge Himself. Since especially, all have sinned (Romans 3:23), therefore, to qualify for Mediation!, it is not enough to worship God by regularly attending church services and participating in all of your local church programs (Romans 2:13; For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.), but by putting God’s words to practice by obeying them (Luke 11:28; He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”). All of which can be distilled into the statement in Galatians 5:14; For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[Leviticus 19:18; “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.], strangers and self-professed enemies included. Remember, we ourselves are sinners, criminals, while, Jesus Christ is the Rock, and according to Deuteronomy 32 verse 4, He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright, and just is he.
