10 CHAPTER IV

CHRIST: MEDIATOR AND MINISTER Closely conjoined with the messianic apostleship and priesthood is the second pair of names in what has been called group number two, and descriptive of Christ’s position in the plan of redemption. These two additional offices denominated Mediator and Minister involved functions which, while separate from each other, are so nearly related as to almost over-lap at some points, but which when carefully interpreted, round out the meaning of the entire group. In seeking the meaning of these two terms it must be remembered that Christianity is differentiated from all other systems of religion by two distinct characteristics, namely: a recognition of the mutual obligation between God and man, and an accumulative series of promises serving as a constant stimulus to faith. Every religion in the world recognizes the obligation of man toward God. In the Precepts of Confucius, in the Code of Hammurabi, and in the teachings of other religionists, many of the ethical principles embodied in the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount are set forth with more or less clearness. But in none of them is there a recognition of God’s obligation to man. The unique and out-standing thing about Christianity is that it does recognize and emphasize this obligation to man on the part of God. This, of course, is true of Judaism as it is true of the Christian religion, but these instead of being separate are really one, for, as someone has said, " Christianity is the Hebrew religion in flower; Hebrew religion is Christianity in bud." This obligation Jehovah, however, recognizes when he reveals himself as sovereign, husband, and Father. He calls himself king: then, as the citizens owe to the king loyalty, the king owes to the citizens protection. He calls himself Father: but this is a term implying mutual obligation, since, as the child owes obedience to the father, the father in turn owes sustenance and watch-care to the child. He calls himself husband: here again is dual obligation, for where the wife owes fidelity to the husband, the husband is due the wife guardianship and love. This obligation on the part of God is, of course, voluntary and finds expression in his free grace. Following the description of the desperate condition of men who make no effort to seek God, occurs this wonderful statement in which God’s obligation to man is set forth. "But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace have ye been saved), and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:4-6). "But God ": Over against man’s willful wickedness, unloving waywardness, and inert helplessness, stands God, rich in mercy, great in love, waiting to quicken, raise up, and save the children of wrath, dead in trespasses and sin. And this is grace. This is God’s obligation in action. There is one little word, terse and inflexible in its meaning, which, more than any other single word, expresses obligation, and which more than a dozen times is used in connection with the great events of Christ’s life. That word is "must." It is found in his first recorded utterance. "How is it that ye sought me? Knew ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?" On other occasions it is used as the only explanation of what was regarded as some extreme action or unwarranted position. "Even so must the Son of man be lifted up." "I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day. The night cometh when no man can work." "I must preach the good tidings of the kingdom of God to the other cities also." "Other sheep I have which are not of this fold: them also I must bring." "Zacchaeus, to-day I must abide at thy house." "The Son of man must be delivered up in the hands of sinful men and be crucified." "He must rise again from the dead." These are not the "musts" of earthly circumstance or of human limitations. They express eternal obligation, divine, loving compulsion. It is not necessary here to dwell upon the obligation of man to God, since that is everywhere evident and universally recognized. But attention will be given to the word which epitomizes the mutuality of obligation and sets forth the acknowledged relations between God and man. That word is " covenant." A covenant always signifies mutual agreement and a compact entered into by two parties. This mutuality of obligation is acknowledged and affirmed by Jehovah in all his revelations of himself to his people, and in all his dealings with them. But wherever there is a covenant there must be a mediator. Here then is the office which Christ fills between God and man. CHRIST: OUR MEDIATOR "For there is one God, one mediator also between God and man, himself man, Christ Jesus." (1 Timothy 2:5). This idea of mediation is not a new one, nor is it peculiar to the Christian religion. It emerges in the lowest grades of civilization under the form of medicine men, rain makers, sorcerers, whose function is to coerce rather than to conciliate the hostile, unseen powers. But while it occurs in the lower, false forms of religion, it is more clearly and forcibly expressed in Christianity than in any other type of religion. A quotation from Hasting’s "Dictionary of the Bible" says so prominent and characteristic is the idea that we might define Christianity in the abstract as Theism plus Mediation — understanding the latter term to include all that is true concerning the person and mission of Christ. It is this idea that must distinguish the religion of the New Testament from pure Theism. Between God and man there is one mediator, and that mediator is Christ Jesus. Even the facts in his life are indicative of his mediatorial character. His teachings, characterized by original, lofty tone, spiritual force and authority, show him as one standing between God and man. His works, so gracious and helpful, convinced men that he stood before them, doing the works of God, and he himself says, "If I by the finger of God cast out demons, then is the kingdom of God come upon you." His prayers also convinced those who heard him that for them he was standing next to God, pleading on their behalf. And lastly, his death he considered as his great mediatorial work which later, his disciples, at first slow to understand, came to consider in its true significance. The aspects under which he led his disciples to view his ministry suggest his mediatorial office. It was he who dispensed the Water of Life to those who were spiritually thirsty. He called himself the Bread of Life, which came down from heaven. More than once he referred to himself as the Light of the world. Again he was the Good Shepherd protecting the sheep and giving them life. At another time he is the true Vine supporting and nourishing the branches. Again he is the Door of the sheep-fold; and lastly he is the true and living Way, through which men come to the Father. In this mediatorial office as is shown through the Epistle to the Hebrews he was filling up the form which had been left by the teachings of the Old Testament, and which could be filled by none but himself. The Ancient Covenant. Of God’s ancient covenant with Israel Moses was the mediator. Now a mediator is one who intervenes between two. The intervention was for the purpose of bringing about a reconciliation where enmity had existed, or, quite apart from any notion of a previous quarrel, it was for the purpose of drawing two together into a compact or covenant. This latter meaning attaches to the three passages where the word is used in the Epistle to the Hebrews. And it is in this sense that Moses is spoken of as mediator. He came to introduce God’s law to the people and effect their covenant union with him. This mutual agreement between God and his people Israel was compacted at Sinai, Moses being the mediator. This ancient compact or covenant which consists of the 20th, 21st, 22nd, and 23rd chapters of Exodus, is generally admitted to be the oldest part of the Bible, and is spoken of as the Book of the Covenant. Its heart is the Ten Commandments. The account of the giving of this covenant is abridged in Hebrews 9:19-20 : "For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses unto all the people according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded to you-ward." A most significant thing in this passage is the sprinkling of the blood both upon the book and upon all the people. Reference to this ceremony will be made later. The Mediator of the New Covenant. One of the chief topics of the Epistle is to exhibit the mediatorial status and functions of Jesus Christ. In contrast with the various forms of mediation in Judaism mention is made of the mediation of angels in giving the law, the mediation of Moses and Aaron, the mediation of Melchizedek, all in order to show the superiority of the mediatorial office of Christ who is the Mediator of the new and better covenant as is declared in 8:6, 7: "But now hath he obtained a ministry the more excellent, by so much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which hath been enacted upon better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then would no place have been sought for a second." This new covenant then, into whose compact we are called, is made on God’s initiative through Jesus Christ. And since where there is a testament or covenant there must also be the death of the testator, God, in the death of his Son, makes the sacrifice upon which this covenant rests, and in this initiative step on the part of God, which is the expression of his obligation toward men, consists the infinite superiority of Christianity to all other religious systems. "In the pagan conception God is wrathful; in the Christian conception God is love. In the pagan conception man is higher and better than the gods who are destroying him; in the Christian conception man is destroying himself in his own ignorance and sin. In the pagan conception sacrifice is offered by man to the gods; in the Christian conception it is offered by God for man. In the pagan conception peril comes from God to man, and sacrifice goes from man to God; in the Christian conception the peril comes from man to himself, the sacrifice comes from God for man through God’s act of self-sacrifice." Thus has been stated the infinite difference between Christianity and every other religion, and upon the fact of this difference rests the covenant — the new covenant of grace. Here is the meaning of the blood of the New Testament. Here is the gospel of redemption. Through the death of his Son God enters into covenant with man. The appeal of the gospel is that we shall come and at this same point of sacrifice enter into covenant with God. Accepting this offer of God made through his Son we enter into covenant relations with him. The Covenant of Grace. In Hebrews 8:10-12 the new covenant is given which takes the place of the old delivered by Moses: "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord: I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MIND, AND ON THEIR HEART ALSO WILL I WRITE THEM: AND I WILL BE TO THEM A GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE TO ME A PEOPLE: AND THEY SHALL NOT TEACH EVERY MAN HIS FELLOW-CITIZEN, AND EVERY MAN HIS BROTHER, SAYING, KNOW THE Lord: FOR ALL SHALL KNOW ME, FROM THE LEAST TO THE GREATEST OF THEM. FOR I WILL BE MERCIFUL TO THEIR INIQUITIES, AND THEIR SINS WILL I REMEMBER NO MORE. (Hebrews 8:10-12) This new covenant consists of four distinct articles: The law of God inwrought and inwritten on the heart; The mutual possession of each other by God and his people; Intimate and direct acquaintance with God; And divine forgiveness as the foundation of all spiritual blessings. A brief examination of these four articles will show that while the old covenant is an external code, the new is an internal principle, and that over against the failure of the old is set the success of the new. 1. The law of God inwrought and inwritten on the heart. The first covenant was written on tables of stone which were placed in the ark. The new covenant is written not in tables of stone, but in tables that are hearts of flesh. "I will put my laws into their mind, and on their hearts also will I write them." Mind here may be taken as meaning the intellectual part of man’s nature, while heart indicates both the affections and the will. Taken together the two words imply two things: The clear understanding of the laws of God, and the coincidence of our inclinations and desires with these laws. By nature the law is written on our mind, but well do we know that between this mental perception and the inclination to obey these laws there is an immense chasm. "I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity under the law of sin." (Romans 7:23). But here the perception and the inclination are the same. That which is written on the mind is written on the heart, and the handwriting on both is the Lord’s. The one is the facsimile of the other as truly as the typewriter’s carbon copy is the accurate reproduction of the original. Just as two right-angled triangles if laid one upon the other coincide precisely, angle for angle and line for line, so that which is written in the mind agrees with that which is written in the heart. Knowledge and will cover absolutely the same ground, so that inclination and knowledge are identical. In " Social Statics " Herbert Spencer says: "Education alone never makes a man better. Creeds fixed on the memory, good principles learned by rote, lessons in right and wrong, will not eradicate vicious propensities, but if in place of making a child understand that this is right, and the other wrong, you make it feel that they are so, if you make virtue loved and vice loathed, if you produce a state of mind to which proper behavior is natural, spontaneous, instinctive, you do some good." But this is the divine prerogative. God alone can produce this state of mind. The ancient Israelites were commanded to write the articles of the first covenant as signs upon their hands, as frontlets between their eyes, upon their gates, and upon the door-posts of their houses, but their strict obedience to this command hardened into a lifeless form. The complete writing on the heart was beyond their power, and though in after years the Psalmist said, "Thy law is within my heart," he immediately adds, " Mine iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head, and my heart hath failed me." (Psalms 40:12). There has never been but one who transcribed the divine will on his will without the blurring of a letter, or the omission of a clause, and this one who has so completely written, obeyed, and preserved the law of his Father, if we ask him, will, by his Spirit write that law upon our hearts, and this law " of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus makes us free from the law of sin and death." With great earnestness Tennyson writes: "Our wills are ours, we know not how;
Our wills are ours to make them thine."
There is only one way, however, by which our wills can be made his, and that way is to let him write his will into our wills. Doing this we may say with humility and gratitude, "Lo, I am come; In the roll of the book it is written of me: I delight to do thy will, 0 my God." With the will thus yielded to his will, the heart thus written upon, we may face the future with the prayer, "Lead kindly light," and there will be no fear. 2. The mutual possession of each other by God and his people. This mutual possession of God and his people is in the new covenant substituted for those outward relations that existed between the Hebrews and Jehovah under the terms of the old covenant. "I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people." Someone has declared that this is love’s mother tongue. "I am thine, and thou art mine." God gives himself to us; we give ourselves to him. Two mirrors placed the one opposite the other, will reflect one another and themselves in each other in endless perspective. Likewise two hearts that love with complete reciprocation mirror back to each other their mutual affections. If between the two mirrors there be placed a bright light its reflection also will be seen multiplied over and over in the depths of both the mirrors. So it is with this covenant of mutual possession in which God and man are brought face to face in love. Christ brings the two together and appears in the midst. It is he who reveals the Father to us and then shines into our hearts with the light of the glory of God. God gave himself to us when he " spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all." We give ourselves to him when in joyful surrender we can say, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me." (Galatians 2:20). "I have a friend so precious,
So very dear to me,
He loves me with such tender love,
He loves so faithfully,
I could not live apart from him,
I love to feel him nigh,
And so we dwell together,
My Lord and I."
3. Intimate acquaintance with God. "They shall not teach every man his fellow-citizen, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest of them." In the words of Dr. McLaren: "The prerogative of every Christian man is direct accession to, communication with, and instruction from God himself." No priest, no preacher, no church, no infallible earthly head of the church, no creed, no ordinance must come in between the individual and his God. "There is one mediator between God and man, Christ Jesus." With brotherly hand we may help our friends in finding the way, but we must not get in the way that leads to God. We can do what he does who gives away the bride. We may bring the soul to its Lord and then step aside while these two enter into the terms of the covenant in the presence of the officiating Mediator. The pain and pity of Christendom have been, and still are, that millions of people are supinely willing to make all their religious relations at second hand in direct antagonism to this article of the new covenant, ignoring the necessity of deep personal experience. Such an attitude is fatal to spirituality in religion. The beautiful stained windows in a chapel can not be appreciated from the outside. One must stand within in order to enjoy the rich design of the colors. Nor can Christianity be appreciated or appropriated from the outside. To be known it must be experienced. The necessity of this spiritual experience has been emphasized and illustrated by reference to the five physical senses. We are exhorted to hear, to see, and to taste, thus proving and appropriating the grace and goodness of God. So we are told also of those who " feel after God," while in Isaiah 11:3 the words "and his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord" if more literally rendered would be, " and he shall be of quickened scent" to discover the fear of the Lord. Thus all the bodily senses are made to illustrate the soul’s quest of God and its entrance into relations with him. Only such an experience can fulfill the requirements of this third article of the new covenant. 4s. Divine forgiveness as the foundation of all spiritual blessings. Though named last this is in reality the first article of the new covenant because all the others rest on it and proceed from it. It is the keystone of the arch. There must be forgiveness of sin, otherwise there can be no acquaintance with God, no mutual possession, no divine hand-writing on the heart. The first covenant, mediated by Moses, was dedicated with blood, which was sprinkled both upon the book and upon the people, while the mediator said, "Behold the blood of the covenant which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words." Likewise Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant, seals the covenant with his own blood; but this shedding of blood is closely connected with the forgiveness of sins. A Christianity which does not offer forgiveness of sins is impotent. It only mocks at the despair of man. A gospel which does not base forgiveness on Christ’s sacrifice is no gospel at all. If there is anything clearly taught in the New Testament it is that "apart from shedding of blood there is no remission." If the gospel is offensive it must be offensive to those to whom it is the savor of death unto death. "I will be merciful to their iniquities and their sins will I remember no more." On what ground will God be merciful? On what ground will he remember no more their iniquities and their sins? Let Paul answer: "In whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins." (Colossians 1:14). Let Peter answer: "Who his own self bare our sins in his body upon the tree, that we, having died unto sins, might live unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed." (1 Peter 2:24). Let John answer: "And he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world." (1 John 2:2). Without entering into a discussion of the atonement it may be here stated that upon this declaration "their sins will I remember no more" rests the new covenant in its entirety, and of this new and better covenant Jesus Christ is the Mediator. On the same night on which he was betrayed he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood." So then as Moses dedicates the first covenant with blood, in like manner the new covenant was dedicated in the blood of Christ. And as the blood under Moses was applied not only to the covenant but to the people also, so the blood of Christ cleanses and seals those who accept his blood covenant. The scriptures make the whole question of salvation depend upon the atonement of Christ and the atonement is epitomized in the one word blood. Notice these references: "The church of the Lord which he purchased with his own blood." (Acts 20:28). "Whom God set forth to be a propitiation, through faith, in his blood, to show his righteousness because of the passing over of the sins done aforetime, in the forbearance of God." (Romans 3:25). "Much more then, being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the wrath of God through him." (Romans 5:9). "In whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace." (Ephesians 1:7). "Knowing that ye were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers; but with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, even the blood of Christ." (1 Peter 1:18-19). "And the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin." (1 John 1:7). "These are they that come out of the great tribulation, and they washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (Revelation 7:14). "And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb." (Revelation 12:11). And finally we are to be made perfect in every good thing to do his will " with the blood of an eternal covenant." (Hebrews 13:20). From this array of scripture references — and it might be greatly extended — one thing is clear: That the forgiveness of sin is made possible through the death of Jesus Christ, and this fact of forgiveness is the foundation article of the new covenant relation between God and his people. CHRIST: THE MINISTER Closely subjoined to Christ’s title of Mediator is that of Minister. "But now hath he obtained a ministry the more excellent, by so much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which hath been enacted upon better promises." (8:6). In the second verse of the same chapter he is called "the minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle." The word minister (Gr. leitourgos) stands for the service rendered by one individual to another of high rank for the public good, as of Joshua to Moses who is called Moses’ minister in Joshua 1:1, and of Moses in relation to God in Numbers 12:7, "My servant (minister) Moses is faithful in all mine house." Of the fifteen times in which it is used in the New Testament not once does it refer directly to the priesthood, but to a work broader and more general in its scope. To appreciate the full significance of the office designated by this word it will be necessary to trace in an indirect way its historical development. As heretofore noted, Christianity is unique in both its covenant and in its long line of prophetic promises. As relates to the covenant, it has just been shown that its agent is the Mediator. As regards the promises the Minister, as just defined, is the fulfiller and inspirer. This statement becomes clearly evident when it is remembered that the Hebrew religion from which Christianity was evolved was fore looking and anticipatory in its character and made its strongest appeal to hope. This anticipatory quality based on the divine pledges was a mighty incentive to progress and finds continuous expression in the note of promise which sounds throughout the whole Hebrew literature. These promises were given through the long line of prophets whose messages fill up more than one quarter of the entire Hebrew scripture, so that we have two principal limbs of scripture: The law based on the covenant and the promises commonly spoken of as the prophets. These two are recognized in the New Testament as standing in apposition to, and complementing, each other, finally uniting in one point in the Golden Rule, "All things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them: for this is the law and the prophets." (Matthew 7:12); and in the two-fold law of love, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second like unto it is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments the whole law hangeth, and the prophets." (Matthew 22:37-40). For their complete fulfillment they centered in Christ who on the one hand was the Mediator of the covenant (law), and on the other the Minister of the promises. "We have found him, of whom Moses, in the law and the prophets, wrote, Jesus of Nazareth." On this point Christ, after his resurrection, sets his own interpretation: "And he said unto them, These are my words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must needs be fulfilled, which are written in the law of Moses and the prophets concerning me." (Luke 24:44). Regarding this anticipatory feature of the Hebrew religion Dr. Abbot, in his "Life and Literature of the Ancient Hebrews" gives a most illuminative treatment. In this discussion he points out that the act of creation with which the book of Genesis opens declares that God has created the world for man, has given it to him to possess, and bids him have dominion over it and over all which it contains, and that such a command accompanying such a gift is itself a promise of wisdom and power adequate to accomplish the so great achievement. He also points out that the story of the fall is accompanied by a promise at once greater and more explicit in that the head of the serpent which has brought disobedience shall be crushed by the seed of the woman. And just as the theme of a symphony is indicated in the opening movements, so in these early accounts appear those glorious promises which shall terminate in man’s final triumph and success in his struggle with evil. This note of promise is sounded throughout the Hebrew literature, and this attitude of expectancy characterizes the devout and faithful in Israel in all the stages of their national history. Following the flood appears the bow set in the cloud as a sign of God’s pledge of fidelity with Noah and his descendants. Abraham, the father of the Hebrews, received his call from the land of idolatry by the promise that he should be made the father of a great nation to be blessed in a goodly land. Commissioned in the desert to lead Israel out of bondage, Moses carries the promise of freedom, plenty, and safety in the goodly land to be given to them. At Mount Sinai when the law is given and the covenant accepted the promise is also made that if the people keep their covenant God will make of them a great and holy nation. To Joshua the promise is repeated that the land will be given to Israel if the leader is strong, courageous, obedient. After the land had been possesed the promises take on a new form. They are now of a king, and then of a kingdom. When troubles gather about the kingdom the promise changes again. It is no longer of a land nor of a kingdom, but it is a promise of happy deliverance. When the nation is in darkness there is promise of light. When it is under the hand of tyranny the promise is that the rod of the oppressor shall be broken. At last when Jerusalem is destroyed and the people carried into captivity the promise still remains, though its form changes. It is now a promise of restoration. Thus throughout the entire history the promises grow larger and continue to freshen and sustain the expectancy of the nation. They tell in turn of establishment, deliverance, recovery, and restoration. The Central Figure of the Mighty Minister of the Promises. The interesting thing about these ever enlarging promises is that they cluster about some particular person whose coming will guarantee their fulfillment. Sometimes he is spoken of as a prince, who shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Sometimes this central figure is a priest, sometimes a prophet, sometimes a king, sometimes the suffering servant of Jehovah. These promises, the fulfillment of which would devolve upon the coming of this glorious person the delineations of whose character became more clearly marked through the years, became the basis of the cherished messianic hope. In relation to the covenant and the law, Emil Schurer, in his " History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ," says: "As the work of the Israelites was virtually the observance of the law, so was their faith virtually belief in a better future. Round these two poles did the religious life of the Jewish people revolve." The Increasingly Spiritual Conception of the Promises. Another thing to be observed is that this expanding vision, while it cheers, invites and inspires, becomes more markedly spiritual in meaning. At first it was almost wholly material in its offers. The land was to be possessed, then the nation built, followed by the establishment of the kingdom, the erection of the temple, with the increase and extension of the national power and glory. Gradually the prospect widens, the horizon expands until the knowledge of the Lord covers the earth as the waters cover the deep. The heathen nations hear the call and come, the kingdom becomes an everlasting kingdom, and the expected Messiah rules the whole earth. Glory Through Suffering. Though the sufferings of the Messiah were portrayed by the prophets, the Hebrew people were far from entertaining such a conception of him. After discussing the many phases of the messianic hope and the Hebrew books written on this subject, Schurer, in the work above mentioned, says: "In no one of the numerous works discussed by us have we found even the slightest allusion to an atoning suffering of the Messiah." Beyond doubt there are various passages in the New Testament which show that both the friends and enemies of Jesus shared the idea that the Messiah was not to suffer. This seems strange since, in what is possibly the most notable passage in the old prophetic literature, the prophet sees in the distance of the future a single, central figure, bearing in his own bosom the burden of humanity, a mighty, sinless sufferer, who by his suffering brings healing and redemption to men. This preview found in the 53rd chapter of Isaiah and reproduced here from the Polychrome Bible, presents the form which the Messiah was to fill out in fact, thus becoming the fulfillment and the fulfiller of the promises, pledges and prophecies which fed the hopes and fostered the faith of the Hebrew people throughout their history: "He grew up as a sapling before us, And as a sprout from a root in dry ground, He had no form nor majesty, And no beauty that we should delight in him. "Despised was he, and forsaken of men,
A man of many pains, and familiar with sickness,
Yea, like one from whom men hide their face,
Despised, and we esteemed him not.
"But our sicknesses, alone, he bore,
And our pains — he carried them,
Whilst we esteemed him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
"But alone he was humiliated because of our rebellions, Alone he was crushed because of our iniquities;
A chastisement, all for our peace, was upon him,
And to us came healing through his stripes.
"All we, like sheep, had gone astray,
We had turned, every one to his own way,
While Jehovah made to light upon him
The guilt of us all.
"He was treated with rigor, but he resigned himself, And opened not his mouth, Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, And like a sheep that before her shearers is dumb. "Through an oppressive doom was he taken away, And as for his fate, who thought thereon,
That he had been cut off out of the land of the living,
That for my people’s rebellion he had been stricken to death?
"And his grave was appointed with the rebellious,
And with the wicked his tomb,
Although he had done no injustice,
Nor was there deceit in his mouth.
"But it had pleased Jehovah to crush and to humiliate him. If he were to make himself an offering for guilt,
He would see a posterity, he would prolong his days,
And the pleasure of Jehovah would prosper in his hands.
"With knowledge thereof my Servant will interpose for many, And take up the load of their iniquities. Therefore shall he receive a possession among the great, And with the strong shall he divide spoil. "Forasmuch as he poured out his life-blood,
And let himself be reckoned with the rebellious,
While it was he who had borne the sin of many,
And for the rebellious had interposed."
And so it is that by becoming the Mediator of the new covenant he becomes also the Minister of the hopes and promises held forth by that covenant. The burden of the greater part of the Epistle to the Hebrews is to show to the Hebrew Christians how the Mediator through his death becomes the Minister of hope and of the mighty comprehensive program which lay embryonate in the prophecies to spring forth in larger life in the gospel. In the painting of " The Shadow of the Cross " by Morris, the mother is giving the Christ child his first lessons in walking, but seems all unconscious of the ominous shadow which appears in front of the child in the shape of a cross. The child’s hands are extended, the one toward the spiny cactus, the symbol of suffering, the other toward the fronded palm, the symbol of victory. The conception is correct in delineating the double attitude of Christ as Mediator and Minister, since in the one office he is the sufferer, while in the other he is the victor. As Mediator Christ brings in the covenant, dedicating it in his blood; as Minister he brings to fruitage the hopes which spring from the covenant. In doing this he sustains a three-fold attitude toward the redemptive program which rests on his work of atonement. In his official capacity of Minister he stands related to the life of the believer, to the promises to be fulfilled for the believer, and to the ultimate success of the kingdom. The Determining Factor of Conduct. As Minister Christ bears an intimate relation to the believer and becomes the determining factor in his life and conduct. In the tenth chapter, the sixteenth and seventeenth verses, the new covenant is given in abridged form, and is followed by what may be called the "therefore" of our relation to him, or, as may be stated otherwise, our covenant relation. These relations appear as three exhortations: "Let us draw near;" "Let us hold fast;" "Let us consider one another." Verse 22. "Let us draw near with a true heart in fulness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience: and having our body washed with pure water." The basis of the exhortation appears in the preceding verses in which we are told a new and living way has been dedicated for us, and because of this we ought to draw near. Notice that the requirements for drawing near enumerated in verse twenty-two are fully met in the terms of the covenant. (1) In drawing near there must be a true heart. This demand is met in the first article of the covenant which shows that the heart is made true by the divine law inwritten and inwrought upon it. (2) To draw near there must be a full assurance of faith and this requirement is met by the second article of the covenant which eliminates all doubt through the mutual and loving possession of God and the believer. (3) Again in order to draw near there must be the purified conscience and this demand is met in that first-hand and intimate knowledge of God based on experience which is the third article of the covenant. (4) Once more there must be the consecrated life, "having our body washed with pure water." This provision is met by the fourth article of the covenant — the forgiveness of sin and the cleansing in the blood of Christ. The second exhortation is found in verse twenty-three. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope that it waver not; for he is faithful that promised." The word confession as here used really means a compact or a treaty in which are summed up the terms of surrender as in war. The suggestion seems then to be that we ought to live up to, and within, our treaty. We are called upon to hold fast our full privilege under the covenant and claim all that has been secured for us under its terms, seeing that he who submitted the terms of the treaty is faithful. Verse 24. "Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works." Thus is stated the third of the covenant exhortations. "Consider one another." Being brought into proper relation with Christ means that we must enter into proper relation with one another. The spirit of envy must be cast out, while mutual love and cooperative good works are to be the bonds of fellowship. The Guarantor of the Promises. In the history of prophecy in the Old Testament the promises are seen to take the form now of an inheritance, now of a kingdom, and again of a great and glorious city; sometimes it was the temple, sometimes a Sabbath rest, and sometimes better things not clearly described. In the Book of Hebrews the great Minister who is the fulfiller of the prophetic office and the fulfiller of the prophecies leads his people into the true inheritance. "And 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, they that have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance." "For ye both had compassion on them that were in bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your possessions, knowing that ye have for yourselves a better possession and an abiding one." (9:15; 10:34). Like Abraham, the father of the faithful, we "look for the city which hath the foundations whose builder and maker is God." (11:10). "We have not here an abiding city, but we seek after the city which is to come." (13:14). And "are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem." (12:22)’ "Receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken." (12:28). After this summing up of the promises whose fulfillment is looked for in Christ, expectation is rekindled and enlarged in the declaration that "God has provided even better things for us." (11:40). Of those heroes whose names stand written on the golden scroll of the faithful in the eleventh chapter it is said, " Not having received the promises, but having seen them and greeted them afar off, they confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." Herein is discovered the aim and purpose of prophecy in keeping hope expectant and in giving continual enlargement to the noblest ideals. The Expanding Boundaries of the Kingdom. As Joseph, prime minister of Egypt, through many successive years carried forward the program which resulted finally in preserving his own father’s family as well as all Egypt, this divine servant, this prophetic Minister, is setting forward his program, and will continue setting it forward until the boundaries of his kingdom shall touch and include the limits of the most daring and jubilant prophetic vision. And through it all he will take care of his own that they shall not suffer. "Behold my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul delighteth: I have put my Spirit upon him; he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth; and the isles shall wait for his law." (Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 42:4). "But he, when he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; henceforth expecting till his enemies be made the footstool of his feet." (Hebrews 10:12-13). Having brought in the covenant and sat down on the right hand of God he is now in the attitude of expectancy. Here is the one true picture of the divine Minister. He is the Expectant Christ. Not only is he the center and source of expectation among his people, but he himself is expectant. The Saviour becomes the Sovereign — the cactus gives way to the palm. He who offered the sacrifice sits on the right hand of God. This Enthroned Saviour, this Exalted Servant, this Expectant Sovereign, he is the Excellent Minister, in whom meet the hopes and the prophecies, the ideals of those who believe.