Christ Today, Our Mediator and High Priest

Christ Today, Our Mediator and High Priest CHRIST TODAY: OUR MEDIATOR AND
HIGH PRIEST
By G. C. Brewer

Brethren and friends: The subject I am to use for this address is “Christ Today: Our Mediator and High Priest.” This is a big subject; in fact, we have three subjects included in this one. I have a sermon in print on “Christ, Our Mediator” and another sermon on “Christ, the Christian’s High Priest.” And because these sermons are in print, I shall touch lightly upon these phases of the subject in this address. “Christ Today” is the first part of the subject that is assigned to me, and that is susceptible of two interpretations; I was undecided at first as to which interpretation President Cox intended for me to put upon this phrase. We may think of Christ as he is regarded today by men—thait. is one interpretation of this language—and the other is “Christ As He Really Is Today.” I am sure this last mentioned view is the correct one because the rest of the subject has to do with the office that Christ is now filling and the work in which he is now engaged. We may, however, for a brief moment, consider Christ as he is regarded by men of this age.

I. Christ Today.

We sometimes think that people of this age have entirely deserted our Lord and denied the deity of Christ. It is true that the people of our times are not following Christ as they should and only a very few know him as a personal Savior. Bruce Barton wrote about “The Man Nobody Knows.” He has assumed that no one knows our Savior, and yet everybody talks about him. Barton himself gave no evidence of acquaintance with Christ, but he joined the multitude in talking and writing about him. We may give him credit, however, for treating Christ with reverence and for indicating that his character is so exalted that ordinary mortals cannot know him. This is the attitude that the present day world 'takes toward Christ, and of this we speak now. No name that is known to history is exalted to the place that has been given Jesus of Nazareth. Infidels and atheists of all types join Christians in praising the character and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Some of them may deny that such a man ever lived, but even at that they praise the character that has been created in the mind of some writer of the mythical Jesus. Whatever may be the ideas of men concerning the personality of Christ or his deity, they all agree that his character and teaching are without equal. We have dated our era from the birth of Christ. What other man known to history is so honored? We make Sunday or the Lord’s day a legal holiday, and that very fact is an honor to Jesus and a testimony of his resurrection. Men may not respect the Lord’s day as they should, but as a nation, wTe and many other nations have made this a legal holiday, and this shows the influence of the religion of Christ over the nations. If we should eliminate from the music of earth those compositions that have been inspired by religion, we would rob the human race of the sweetest melodies that have ever inspired a soul. If we should eliminate from art all the paintings that are based on religious stories and inspired by the teaching of Christ, we would rob our art galleries of the finest productions that the world has ever seen. The name of Christ is revered even in lands that are not recognized as Christian countries. The following illustration taken from “The Preacher and His Missionary Message,” by Stephen J. Corey, pages 114-115, will serve to enforce this point:

“The other illustration, which has to do with the same city, is described by Dr. Robert E. Speer, of the Presbyterian Foreign Board. It is of a company of Madras barristers who were having a social gathering one night. They had secured a public jester to aid in their entertainment. In the course of his buffoonery he took occasion to speak jestingly of the immoral escapades of certain Indian deities and religious leaders, as recorded in their religious literature. The barristers were convulsed with laughter and uproariously showed their pleasure at the jester’s salacious sallies. With such encouragement the man grew bolder and began to invent like stories with regard to Jesus. As he proceeded silence fell on the group, then he was hissed; still attempting to go on, they expelled him roughly from the room. They would tolerate filthy tales with regard to their own deities, for much of the background of their religious literature is unclean, and the temple worship of today is often linked with the grossest immorality; but Jesus was in a different class and, although they claimed no allegiance to him, they would not tolerate a ?lur at his spotless personality.”
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II. Christ Today in the Bible Sense.

But,we come now to consider the, other view of the,meaning of the expression. Christ Today. This is the New; Testament teaching on what Christ is today and what his relation-ship to the human race is now. This cannot be altered by the views of men or by the treatment which nations may accord Christ. He does not change with the changing seasons and his attitude toward man remains the same whether man bows to his authority and worships him or whether he tramples his word beneath his unholy feet and blasphemes his worthy name. It is an inspiring thought to know that our Lord is interested in us now and that he is spending his time, if we may think of the Lord as limited by time, in the interest of the human race. It is generally understood that our Lord Jesus Christ once did something for us. Everybody has at least a subconscious knowledge of the fact that once in the long ago Christ Jesus was interested in humanity and suffered and died for a sinful race. I wish tonight to disabuse your minds of the thought that Christ once did something for you. I want to replace that thought with the very vivid view that the Lord is now doing something for you. Our Lord did not complete the work of redemption when he left the earth and went back to share the glory that he had with the Father before the world was created. He had, of a truth, obtained eternal redemption for us when he died and arose from the grave, but that eternal redemption can be enjoyed by us only through the continued interest and advocacy of our Lord. He did not, therefore, disconnect himself from the earth when he ceased to abide here in the flesh. He not only sent his Spirit back to be an abid-ing guest in the hearts of his people and keep them, but he himself promised to be with us even unto the end of the world (Matthew 28:18-20). Everything that we see concerning him in the New Testament confirms the idea and deepens our conviction that he is now vitally interested in what we are doing and is cooperating with us and supplying us strength for our tasks. At the stoning of Stephen, we get a glimpse of our Lord and of his solicitude for his suffering disciples. As Stephen fell before the onrush of the infuriated mob and as his body was mutilated by the blows from the stones and as the crimson stream of life followed these jagged stones away, Stephen looked up into heaven and exclaimed, “I see Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” Jesus was not only looking down upon this tragic scene but it would appear that he arose from his seat at the right hand of the Majesty- on-High and stood as this terrible crime was being enacted. He was interested in this scene and he sympathized with his servant and the servant was granted a vision that enabled him to see the Lord and the Lord’s eager interest in his death; and so the martyr cried with his last breath, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” When John, the beloved apostle, was in exile on the Isle of Patmos, he, too, was granted a vision that at first struck him with awe and he fell as one dead; but a little later this fear must have departed and his was once again the privilege of communicating with his Lord and of receiving from him a message that has come down over the ages as a benediction to the people of God and refreshing our hearts like a breath from heaven. This story is so well known that only the briefest allusion to it will bring back to your minds all the necessary details. When John, the aged apostle, in his loneliness on that barren isle, was “in the spirit on the Lord’s Day,” this vision was granted to him. He heard a voice behind him like the voice of many waters and he turned to see who it was that spoke to him. When his eyes saw this personage, he fell to the earth as one dead; he, however, took in at a glance, enough of this being to describe him for all generations. But despite the fact that the majesty and glory of this personage was so great that it awed the apostle and humbled him to the earth, he yet saw a likeness to the Son of man. He knew not who this was but he said he resembled the Son of man. This is enkindling to our hearts for two reasons:

First, the now glorified Lord had not lost all the personal ap-pearances that he had when he was here in the flesh. John still saw these features that his memory had retained for half a century. There had been a marvelous change, yet the features were still there. John had once walked with the Lord as a companion; he had talked with him in intimate conversation; he had reclined upon his bosom at the last supper; he was as intimate with the Lord as two friends can be in this life. Yet now when this once familiar friend appears, John falls at his feet; he does not rush to him and embrace him as long separated friends do when they meet. This shows the great change that had taken place when our Lord passed from a mortal man, an earth dweller, back to the spirit world to be glorified with his Father. But he retained his features. John saw a resemblance in this august personage to the friend he had once known and loved in the flesh. Here is a point in favor of future recognition.

Second, we see that the Lord’s heart had not changed and his feeling for John was what it had been when he was here. John -feared him but he did not scorn John; he did not,assume an air of- superiority or .of majesty, but walked over and laid his right hand upon his trembling apostle. The touch of that hand must have banished the fear of John and reassured him of the Lord’s love and continued friendship for him. In appearance, our Lord had changed but in reality he is the same yesterday, today and forever; and he therefore loves us as much today as he did the day that he went to the cross for our sins. When our Lord began to show John lessons which appeared in symbols he allowed him to see seven golden candle-sticks and he saw the Lord standing in the midst of these candle-sticks. Then John was told that the seven candle-sticks represented the seven churches. Here we see presented in this beautiful symbol that our Lord is in the midst of his churches. He walks among them and lives in them. How then shall any of us ever allow Satan to deceive us into thinking that our Lord is not interested in us today ?

III. Christ, our Mediator. That Christ is our Mediator is so plainly said in Scripture that we need not argue the point at this time. Paul tells us that he is the one mediator between God and men (1 Timothy 2:5). He also tells us that he is the mediator of the new covenant (Hebrews 8:6; Hebrews 9:15; Hebrews 12:24). The fact that he is serving as our mediator further illustrates the point that has just been made in reference to his work today. As a mediator, he is the author of the new covenant. It is through him that God speaks to the world in “these last days” (Hebrews 1:1). He is therefore the mediator not only for Christians or for any limited number of men but for the entire human race. A medi-ator is one who stands between persons who are estranged from each other and the work of the mediator is to reconcile these estranged persons. A mediator is therefore a peace-maker. Man has been estranged from God, was an enemy of God, hated God, and shut God out of his knowledge (Romans 1:28-30; Romans 5:8-10). To break down man’s enmity and then to woo him back to God, Christ came. He came as a manifestation of God’s love for man for it is through this love that God wins the love of the human race.

“We love him because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). This is why God saves us through the gift of his Son. If God could have saved us any other way, it would be difficult for the human mind to imagine a way that would challenge the attention and appeal to the heart of men in a way that could equal this unspeakable gift. In acting as a mediator, Christ has to prepare men for fellowship with God; and that means he must be able to cleanse them from sin. He could not bring us back to God unless we were prepared to enter the presence of God and to enjoy him forever. Christ, therefore, became a propitiation (Romans 3:24-25). Here we see again an illustration of the beauty and power of the gospel. Gospel means good news, and the good news that has been sent to a recreant race is that provision has been made for their sins and that salvation has been offered freely through the grace of Christ. A mediator necessarily must be a dispassionate or unbiased person. A man who favors either side or is unable to understand either side could never serve as a mediator between any persons. The question now arises: Where in all the universe could there be found a person who could understand both God and man? Who can know the Holiness of God and his attitude toward sin? Who can understand the love and mercy of God and his desire to save the human race and at the same time understand the weakness and ignorance of man and his attitude toward a Holy God ? Who can sympathize with man in his superstition and sin, his proneness to err and his blindness toward things that are Holy? Where, we ask again,- can one be found who can serve between an infinite God and a finite man? The conclusion is irresistible that such a mediator would have to be both God and man. This we have in Jesus. He is Immanuel, God with us. Here again we see the beauty of the gospel story and we see how the gospel is utterly devitalized by a denial of the deity of Christ or a rejection of the vicarious atonement. Since God gave Christ to be a propitiation for our sins and caused him to be lifted up on the cross that we might be drawn to him, let us, therefore, never fail to so present him to the world as to win the hearts of men to him.

IV. Christ as Our Priest. As a priest, Christ also is engaged in our behalf. The primary meaning of the word “priest” is “one who speaks to God for the people”; one therefore who intercedes for others. Christ does not need to be between God and angels; he does not need to intercede for heavenly beings; he, therefore, functions m the interest of .men. This again brings us to the conclusion that Christ is now doing something for us. He is our high priest (Heb. 2:1418; 4:14-16). He entered into the Holy place for us (Hebrews 6:20). He appears before God in our behalf (Hebrews 9:24). He advocates our cause (1 John 2:1-3). It is because of his continued interest in us that we are able to be saved. Through him we find grace to help in the time of need (Hebrews 4:14-15). He is able to save to the uttermost those who come unto God by him (Hebrews 7:25) ; this is because he has his priesthood unchangeable. He ever lives to make intercession for us. Because he never dies, because he will never go out of office, because he will never change his attitude toward us, he is able to save to the uttermost. That means that he will go with us all the way; there will never be an experience through which we must pass that he will not be with us. There will never be a temptation that he does not make a way for our escape. There will never be a burden that he is not willing to bear for us. There will never be a sorrow that he does not understand. It is because of his understanding of our infirmities and our needs and because he is ever living and ever present and always ready to offer us the help that our needs require and the mercy that our hearts desire, that he is able to save to the uttermost. Should we not then continue faithful to our Lord in grateful appreciation of the rich provisions that he has made for us? And should we ever turn our view from these gracious provisions and this marvelous divine arrangement and begin to trust our own strength or to depend upon ourselves alone to achieve salvation? When we do this, we will certainly become discouraged because we will see our own inability to reach the goal or to achieve the mastery. Let us not think for a moment that our Lord expects us to save ourselves. Let us see that we have a Savior. A Savior is one who saves. Let us rejoice because we have this Savior and trust him to the point that we will know the “joy that is unspeakable and full of glory.” Let us commit our souls unto him (1 Peter 4:9; 2 Timothy 1:12), and hold on to him by faith. We live by faith and it is only the man whose faith fails or is overthrown that is lost. We do not achieve salvation by right doing. That would be works and not faith. We would then have saved ourselves and made useless a Savior. Your life could never be holy enough or perfect enough to entitle you to heaven. No, that is not the good news we carry. The gospel tells of a Savior who saves to the last hour. He now lives and acts that we may be saved. Put your case in his hands, my friends, and trust him to the end. Let his love constrain you, his goodness bind you and his abiding presence bless you.

Though I forget him and wander away,
Still he doth love me wherever I stray;
Back to his dear loving arms would flee,
When I remember that Jesus loves me.