Mediation Mediator

Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology

On the human plane, mediation takes place in the Bible, as it has in many cultures throughout history, both in innocent circumstances and when people are at odds with one another. People use interpreters to mediate the metaphorical distance between them created by a foreign language ( Genesis 42:23 ) and envoys to mediate the real distance created by the geography of the region ( 2 Chronicles 32:31 ). They also use mediators to argue a case or to negotiate terms of peace with a hostile party, as Moses did with Pharaoh on behalf of Israel ( Exodus 6:28-12:32 ) and Joab did with David on behalf of Absalom ( 2 Samuel 14:1-24 ). Both kinds of mediation are sometimes intertwined in the Bible, as when Moses used Aaron to mediate between himself and Pharaoh ( Exodus 7:1-2 ) and Joab used the wise woman of Tekoa to mediate his message about Absalom to David ( 2 Samuel 14:2-20 ).

God's dealings with his people throughout Scripture also incorporate these two kinds of mediation. Some kind of mediation between God and humanity is necessary simply because God is separate from all he has created and, yet, graciously extends his fellowship to his creatures. Mediation takes on a particularly important role, however, in light of humanity's rebellion against the Creator. The situation of hostility that resulted from Adam's fall could only be remedied through the mediation of a third party.

Innocent mediation, with no connotation that the mediation is necessary because of sin, takes place between God and his people in Scripture through angels, through "Wisdom, " and through ordinary people whom God uses for the purpose. The angel of the Lord frequently appears in Scripture as God's messenger and spokesperson, one who graciously extends God's help to those in need and delivers important instructions for the execution of God's saving purposes in history. In  Proverbs 8 , Wisdom takes on a personal role and announces that God created her so that people might obtain "favor from the Lord" by finding her (v. 35).

People, too, serve as God's mediators. Priests served as mediators between God and his people not only when sin was at issue but also when the people of God wanted simply to make offerings of gratitude ( Leviticus 2:1-16 ). Similarly, the king often functioned as the channel through which God mediated his blessings to his people ( 2 Samuel 7:5-17;  Psalm 72:1-4 ), a role the Messiah especially was expected to perform ( Isaiah 9:2-7;  11:1-9 ). Likewise, God graciously provided for the communication of his will to his people in special circumstances through the prophets. God used Nathan's prophetic word to tell David of his desire for a temple ( 2 Samuel 7:2-17 ) and Isaiah to calm the fears of Hezekiah about Sennacherib's threatened invasion ( 2 Kings 19:1-37;  Isaiah 37:1-38 ).

Just as broken human relations often require the reconciling services of a mediator, however, the Bible often speaks of mediation when God and his people are at odds. Abraham mediated between Sodom and God when he pled with the Lord to spare the city for the sake of even ten righteous people who might have lived there ( Genesis 18:23-33 ). In a similar way, Job wished for an "umpire" who would lay his hand on both Job and God to end their wrestling match long enough for Job to speak with his apparent adversary (9:32-35).

The greatest of all mediators in the Old Testament, however, is Moses. Moses not only served as a mediator in the innocent sense when, at God's gracious initiative, he communicated the terms of the Sinaitic covenant with Israel ( Exodus 19:9;  20:19;  24:1-2;  34:27-28;  Leviticus 26:46;  Deuteronomy 5:5 ); but he served as Israel's intercessor after they had broken the covenant and stood in danger of God's righteous wrath according to the covenant's terms ( Exodus 32:7-14;  33:12-23;  Numbers 14:13-19 ). After Moses' death, and in the face of continued violation of the covenant, other figures arose to urge Israel's compliance with the law and to intercede for Israel during times of disobedience. Samuel pled with God for the people generally and for the king in particular ( 1 Samuel 12:17-18;  13:13-14;  15:10-33 ); the true prophets attempted to stand between God and his disobedient people to avert disaster; and the priests, when they were faithful to their appointed tasks, offered sacrifices to atone for the people's sins ( Leviticus 4:1-5:19 ).

The prophets recognized, however, that Israel's sin was too deeply etched into their hearts for these measures to effect a lasting reconciliation between God and his people ( Jeremiah 13:23;  17:1;  18:12 ). Jeremiah and Ezekiel, therefore, spoke of a time when God would give his people a new heart and a new, everlasting covenant whose terms a fresh outpouring of his Spirit would enable them to keep ( Jeremiah 24:7;  31:31-34;  32:40;  50:5;  Ezekiel 11:19;  18:31;  34:25;  37:26;  39:29 ). According to the New Testament, the coming of Jesus ushered in the era of this new covenant, and Jesus himself is its mediator.

Paul echoes the new covenant language of the Old Testament when he tells us that believers have peace with God ( Romans 5:1 ), have experienced the outpouring of God's love in their hearts through the Holy Spirit ( Romans 5:5 ), and have been reconciled to God ( Romans 5:10-11; cf.  2 Corinthians 5:11-20 ). All of this, he says, has happened through faith in Christ, whose death served as the ultimate atoning sacrifice for sin ( Romans 3:21-26;  5:1,6-9 ). The covenant mediated through Moses was glorious, he says, but the new covenant is far more so, for unlike the old covenant that punished sin and therefore brought death, the new covenant brings life ( 2 Corinthians 3:4-18;  John 1:17; cf.  Galatians 3:19-22 ). Paul ties these concepts neatly together in  1 Timothy 2:4-6 when he declares that God's desire to save all people is expressed in the "one mediator, " Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all.

The most sustained theological treatment of the concept of the mediator in the Bible, however, comes from the author of the letter to the Hebrews. The author writes to a church that has endured persecution (10:32-34) for its faith and, becoming weary in its trial, is tempted to convert to Judaism (13:9-13), a widely known and well-respected religion within the Roman Empire at the time. His response to this church is a carefully argued reminder of Christ's superiority to every aspect of Israel's Old Covenant, and a crucial step in this argument is that Christ is the mediator of a new covenant (8:6; 9:15; 12:24).

The author observes that Moses' mediatory role not only involved communicating the terms of the covenant from God to Israel but also serving a priestly function in light of Israel's sinfulness. Moses both gave directions for building the earthly tabernacle (8:5) and sprinkled the people, the scroll, the tent, and the vessels with blood since "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (9:22). Jesus, too, performed all these functions; but his work and what it effected were superior in every way to the mediatorial role of Moses, for he was the mediator of a better covenant (8:6; 9:15). The author gives two reasons for his contention that the covenant Jesus mediated was better than the Mosaic covenant. First, he says, the prediction in  Jeremiah 31:31-34 of a new covenant proves that the first one was not blameless (8:7)—the very use of the word "new" in that passage implies the obsolescence of the old (8:13). Second, Christ's service as high priest involved the shedding of his own blood rather than the mere shedding of animal blood (9:11-15). As a result of this superior sacrifice, all the transgressions condemned by the old covenant have been forgiven (9:15), and blood sacrifice of any type need never be offered again (9:18-26; cf. 7:27). This does not mean, however, that Christ's work as mediator in other capacities has ended. Just as Moses, the priests, and the prophets continued to mediate between God and Israel after the covenant was established, so Jesus "always lives to intercede" on our behalf and therefore to bring complete salvation to us (7:25; cf.   John 15:26-16:11;  17:1-25;  Romans 8:26-34 ).

The author's purpose for mounting this extensive and complex argument is to call the church to obedience. He does this most clearly in 12:18-29, where he reminds his readers of the magnificent display of God's power and holiness that accompanied Moses' mediation of the first covenant. In a way similar to Paul ( 2 Corinthians 3:9 ), the author argues that Moses' mediation of the old covenant was a magnificent event, accompanied by splendid displays of God's power which, appropriately, struck terror into the hearts of God's people (vv. 18-21). From this the author concludes that since Jesus is the mediator of a new covenant of forgiveness (v. 24), our fear of the future judgment should be even more intense than that of ancient Israel if we turn our backs on him (vv. 25-29).

For Paul and the author of Hebrews, therefore, Christ's role as mediator received a covenantal interpretation that echoes the Old Testament at every step. Whereas Moses mediated a temporary covenant whose primary purpose was to pronounce the just penalty of death over those who sinned, they argue, Jesus mediated the new covenant predicted by the prophets. Since this covenant was accompanied by Christ's superior high priestly role with its superior sacrifice, it is the answer to the plight of sin that the first covenant made so clear. Understanding this should encourage believers to persevere in hardship, looking toward the time when they will receive "a kingdom that cannot be shaken, " and give thanks to God "with reverence and awe" (vv. 25-28).

The idea of mediation in the Bible, then, is important both on the level of human relationships and on the level of humanity's relationship with God. It provides an excellent example of how God has stooped to our weakness and used language readily intelligible in any culture to describe his holiness, our sin, and his gracious provision of Christ as the "one mediator" of our salvation.

Frank Thielman

See also Theology Of Hebrews; Jesus Christ; Priesthood Priest

Bibliography . G. A. Lee and R. S. Wallace, ISBE, 3:299-305; E. Brunner, The Mediator  ; T. F. Torrance, The Mediation of Christ .

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

MEDIATOR, MEDIATION. The word ‘mediator’ (Gr. mesîtçs ) occurs in the NT, once of Moses as the mediator of the Law (  Galatians 3:19-20 ), in the other instances of Christ as the ‘one mediator between God and man’ (  1 Timothy 2:5 ), and the mediator of a ‘better’ (  Hebrews 8:5 ), or ‘new’ (  Hebrews 9:15 ,   Hebrews 12:24 , in latter passage ‘new’ in sense of ‘recent’) covenant. The verbal form occurs in   Hebrews 6:17 [RV [Note: Revised Version.] ‘interposed (Gr. mediated) with an oath’]. The LXX [Note: Septuagint.] has the term once in   Job 9:33 (EV [Note: English Version.] ‘ daysman ’). But the idea of mediation, that is, of God dealing with man, or man with God, not directly but through the interposition of another, has a leading place throughout Scripture. Different aspects of mediation, however, need to be distinguished. As regards the fundamental relation of man to God, Jesus, in the NT, is the one and sole Mediator.

1 . The most general form of mediation is intercessory prayer . This is the privilege of all (cf.   James 5:16 ). Well-known Scripture examples are the intercession of Abraham for Sodom (  Genesis 18:23-33 ), of Moses for Israel (  Exodus 32:30-34 ), of Samuel for Israel (  1 Samuel 7:8-12 ). Jeremiah (  Jeremiah 15:1 ) singles out Moses and Samuel as the chief representatives of this form of prayer. Probably an element of intercession enters into all effective mediation. St. John (ch. 17) preserves the great intercessory prayer of Jesus after the Last Supper, and intercession is declared to be a chief exercise of Christ’s mediatorial function in heaven (  Romans 8:34 ,   Hebrews 7:25 ,   1 John 1:1 ). Intercessory prayer is a duty of the Christian (  1 Timothy 2:1-2 ), but always and only in the name of Christ, who in the same context is declared to be the ‘one mediator’ (  1 Timothy 2:5 ).

2 . Mediation has a peculiar place in the formation of the great covenants . It is the singular fact in connexion with the covenant with Abraham of which St. Paul and the Epistle to the Hebrews in different ways take notice, that it involved no mediator (  Genesis 12:1-3;   Genesis 12:15;   Genesis 12:17 ). It was a covenant of promise absolutely (  Galatians 3:15-18 ). This seems to be the force of St. Paul’s peculiar saying, ‘Now a mediator is not a mediator of one; but God is one’ (  Galatians 3:20; there were not, as in the covenant through Moses, two contracting parties; the covenant proceeded solely from God, and was unconditional). In   Hebrews 6:13-18 this is carried further. God himself took the place of Mediator in this covenant, and, because He could swear by no higher than Himself, ‘interposed (mediated) with an oath’ in ratification of His promise (cf.   Genesis 22:15-18 ). It is different in the covenant with Israel at Sinai, where Moses is throughout (by God’s appointment and the people’s own desire,   Exodus 19:10-25;   Exodus 20:18-21 ) the mediator between God and the people (  Galatians 3:19 , point of contrast between law and promise). Finally, mediation is the law in the ‘new’ and ‘better’ covenant, as the passages in Hebrews declare. The reason is that this perfect and eternal covenant, procuring forgiveness of sins, and removing all barriers to access to God, could be formed only on the basis of a reconciling sacrifice; and this Jesus alone, the Son of God, had the qualification to offer. It is noticeable, therefore, that all the passages that speak of Jesus as ‘Mediator’ do it in direct connexion with His sacrificial death;   1 Timothy 2:5 ‘one mediator between God and men, himself man, Christ Jesus’ connects with   1 Timothy 2:6 ‘who gave himself a ransom for all’;   Hebrews 9:15 declares: ‘For this cause he is the mediator of a new covenant, that a death having taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant’ (cf.   Romans 3:25 );   Hebrews 12:24 , where to come ‘to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant’ is to come ‘to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better than that of Abel’; so also   Hebrews 8:6 (cf. the context,   Hebrews 8:3 ). It is this fact, that Jesus has made the perfect sacrifice for sin, coupled with His unique dignity, as Son of God, which constitutes Him the Mediator sui generis .

3 . Here, accordingly, is brought to consummation the last great aspect of mediation in the OT the mediation of a sacrificing priesthood . Prophets also might be called mediators, as commissioned revealers of the will of God to the people; but mediation is peculiarly connected with the functions of the priest. In earlier times the head of the family was the priest; an interesting example of patriarchal mediation is given in the Book of Job (  Job 1:5 for his sons; cf.   Job 42:7-9 for his friends). Under the Law the people could approach God only through the Aaronic priesthood; but the mediatorial function was peculiarly vested in, and exemplified by, the high priest. To him it pertained, on the one hand, to represent the people before God (cf. the ephod and breastplate, with their precious stones graven with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel,   Exodus 39:6-14 ), and to offer sacrifices for their sins (  Hebrews 2:17;   Hebrews 8:3; he alone had the right of entry into the Holiest of all on the great annual Day of Atonement,   Hebrews 9:7 ); and, on the other, to represent God to the people, in declaring His will by the Urim and Thummim, and blessing in His name (cf.   Deuteronomy 10:8;   Deuteronomy 33:8 , prerogatives of the high priest). This twofold aspect of the high-priestly function, as the Epistle to the Hebrews seeks to show, is in a perfect and abiding way realized in Christ, who is thus the one true Mediator, our ‘great high priest, who hath passed through the heavens’ (  Hebrews 4:14 ). See Atonement, Propitiation, Reconciliation.

James Orr.