Since the beginning of the month I’ve set a goal to read through the Bible by the time I arrive home in June. What I thought was a decent sized task is proving to be very possible and quite enjoyable. While I was reading through Job one night I came across this passage from chapter 9:
He is not a man like me that I might answer him, that we might confront each other in court. If only there were someone to arbitrate between us, to lay his hand upon us both, someone to remove God’s rod from me, so that his terror would frighten me no more. Then I would speak up without fear of him, but as it now stands with me, I cannot.
Job 9:32-35
It was like a great light bulb clicked on and I immediately marked the passage and wrote “Jesus” in the margin. I’ve been refreshed by looking through the Old Testament more in depth to find so many promises and prophecies pointing to our Savior. I’ve always known they were there, but new things keep jumping out at me…just like this passage in Job.
Job is distressed and longs to talk to God to find out the charges against him. He wants to plead his case and defend his righteousness, but he cannot confront the Lord Almighty. If only there were someone to arbitrate between us, to lay his hand upon us both. Jesus is that someone. He is the mediator. The Great High Priest. The Answer. Jesus is the only reason that we can approach God’s throne.
These past few months have been full of opportunities to preach the gospel in front of crowds and also to share it one-on-one in homes. Not only is this a good thing for people to hear, but it’s also good for me to hear again and again. It’s good for me to be reminded of the true sacrifice of God and the reason behind it.
God is holy, perfect, blameless. He is everything good and wonderful; he is majestic in his glory. In the beginning we had perfect fellowship with him, but then sin entered the world (Gen 3). We set our own path, rebelled against God and chose to chase after our own desires instead of our Creator. As a result of this fall-out we were now very much separated from God. It’s like two huge cliffs separated by a great chasm. God remains on one side and humanity is on the other. There is absolutely no way to get to across. Men and women can try to do good things, to serve others and be successful in their jobs. Still, those who continually try to bridge the gap on their own always fail. If one man jumps farther and makes it closer to God it doesn’t matter because he still falls short of the glory of God because of his sin (Romans 3:23).
The only solution is for God to reach out to us, to somehow bring us back to Himself. Being the Holy One that He is, He cannot tolerate sin or dwell with those who are tainted by it. Sin is offensive to the Lord and He hates it. Because of our sin we deserve death (Romans 6:23). The only solution for reconciliation comes at the cross. It was Jesus’ death in place of ours. He is the substitute because God’s wrath against sin has to be satisfied or He is not a righteous and just God. God’s love for people is demonstrated in a supreme act of sacrifice (Romans 8:28). He gave His only Son (John 3:16). Jesus was with God from the beginning of time (Micah 5:2), a part of God (Col 1:15-17). Sometimes I think that people look at Jesus as a hero that was dealt a heavy blow by a cruel God. It’s not like that at all. Jesus was willing; he was part of the plan. God had to punish sin to be just and He sent a solution at great personal cost to Himself. It pained God the Father to see the death of His Son, but the ultimate price was worth it: reconciliation with mankind and glory to His Name (Col 1: 19-20). Note: All of Colossians 1:13-23 is wonderful. Check it out!
Because of Jesus’ sacrifice at the cross we are able to reconnect with God. Jesus is the missing link between us. He is the bridge between the cliffs. He is the only perfect One that could save us from our sins so that fellowship with God the Father is made possible. Jesus is the One Job was waiting for. He wanted a mediator to be able to communicate with the holy God. I don’t know if we always want Jesus for the same reason.
The purpose of Jesus’ death is not so that we can go to heaven and enjoy nice things. The aim of salvation is to glorify God, to thank Him and praise Him for calling us back to Himself. The aim of salvation is to enjoy God for who He is and who we are in Him. The reason our Savior came was to be a mediator between fallen man and holy God. It’s a beautiful reunion. That’s why you can’t “be saved” or call yourself a Christian and not know Christ. Christ is salvation. He is the purpose of it all. You come to Jesus to get Jesus – not riches, long life or success in the world. He is the prize. Most of the time His disciples had a hard life and they were anything but wealthy, yet they knew their home was in heaven. Furthermore, most people view heaven as a place of pleasure and relaxation for themselves. It’s like the ultimate vacation where you will see family and friends and catch up at the annual barbeque.
The purpose of heaven, the greatest gift of eternal life, is knowing God (John 17:3). It’s not about you. It’s not about me. It never will be, not in this life or the next. It’s all about God in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. If you think this sounds rather selfish of God to make it all about Himself and His glory, I encourage you to read my next blog which is marinating in my mind already. Until then, take a break from your computer and spend some time talking with your Creator. If you belong to Jesus, then you have a mediator through whom you can talk to the Father and thank Him for all He continues to do in your life.
