In a world filled with conflict and broken relationships, the role of a mediator is essential. Every day across the planet, mediators work to bring parties together—whether in marriage counseling, business negotiations, or family disputes. When two sides cannot seem to agree, they often need a third party who can listen impartially and help them work through their issues.
What many may not realize is that there was such a broken relationship between God and humanity that a mediator was desperately needed. In Hebrews chapter 9, the author reveals that Jesus is the true and greater mediator between God and mankind.
The relationship between humans and God is completely broken. In Romans chapter 3, the Apostle Paul describes this devastating reality by quoting from the Old Testament: "As it is written, none is righteous. No, not one. No one understands. No one seeks for God. All have turned aside. Together they have become worthless. No one does good, not even one."
Paul summarizes all these Old Testament verses in Romans 3:23: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." When Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, they didn't just hurt God's feelings—they completely shattered the relationship between humanity and their Creator.
Just two chapters later in Romans 5, Paul doesn't merely describe humans as sinners, but as enemies of God. God is an others-focused being who lives in perfect Trinity—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit always for one another. Created in God's image, humanity should also be others-centered. But when Adam and Eve chose to eat the forbidden fruit, they became me-centered, acting against God's desires and creating a massive rift between the mortal and divine.
Hebrews 9:15 declares: "Therefore, he is the mediator of a new covenant so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant."
The question naturally arises: What gives Jesus the credibility to mediate this new covenant? Why can humanity trust Him to bring about reconciliation between God and people?
The key lies in that opening word "therefore"—a connector word that ties what was just stated to what comes next. In the preceding verses of Hebrews 9, the author describes the Levitical priests under the Mosaic covenant who had to sacrifice animals daily, entering the holy place repeatedly. Once a year, only the high priest could enter the most holy place on the Day of Atonement to make sacrifice for his own sins and the sins of all the people.
But Jesus did not have to keep returning to make these sacrifices. Though not from the tribe of Levi, Jesus serves as a priest in the order of Melchizedek—a mysterious figure from Genesis who was both king and priest. As the King of Kings and High Priest of God Most High, Jesus sacrificed Himself, becoming the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world. He took His own blood into the heavenly tabernacle to make purification for humanity's sins.
This gives Jesus unparalleled credibility to mediate the new covenant. Both parties must be able to trust the mediator completely. On God's side, the Father completely trusts Jesus because Jesus is God. Throughout Scripture—in John 1, Hebrews 1:3-8, and countless other passages—the divine nature of Christ is made abundantly clear.
But this doesn't mean Jesus is biased against humanity. He created humans in His image, knowing them better than they know themselves. More than that, Jesus set aside His throne in heaven and entered time, taking on human flesh and living a fully human life. He experienced every pain, every joy, every temptation that humans face—yet without sin.
For the author of Hebrews, even this isn't enough. Jesus not only became human but also sacrificed Himself, allowing His blood to be shed in humanity's place. Rather than holding apart those who were enemies of God, He came down and did what humans could not do for themselves in order to reconcile them to the Father. Through the cross, His love is demonstrated perfectly.
First Timothy 2:5-6 affirms this truth: "There is one God and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus who gave himself as a ransom for all."
Beyond mediating a new covenant, Jesus also mediates a divine will—not in the sense of determination or resolve, but in the legal sense of a last will and testament that takes effect after someone's death.
Hebrews 9:16-17 explains: "For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive."
Just as a will sitting in a safe has no power while the person is still living, Jesus's will had to be read—which meant He had to die. When Jesus died, the will went into effect, and the new covenant was established.
This divine will doesn't promise houses or cars or cash. The inheritance is far greater. Verse 22 states: "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins." Under the Mosaic covenant, things had to be sprinkled with blood to be purified. But Jesus shed His blood and entered not an earthly tabernacle but the heavenly one, purifying all who believe in Him.
For followers of Jesus, the instant faith is placed in Christ, sins are purified. Believers inherit the forgiveness of sins. And because sins are forgiven, there's another inheritance waiting—the promised eternal inheritance mentioned in verse 15.
Those who are in Christ inherit heaven. They inherit God's presence. They inherit everything.
No matter how difficult circumstances may be in the present, these trials and struggles are temporary. For those in Christ, a day is coming when they will inherit it all.
The author of Hebrews wants readers to understand that this new covenant Jesus mediated, this divine will, has been accomplished so perfectly that it is complete and eternal.
Verses 25-26 explain: "Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own. For then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself."
Under the old covenant, the high priest entered the holy place every year, and regular Levitical priests went into the outer holy place day after day. These rites had to be repeated constantly.
But Christ appeared once for all. One time. Jesus's work through the cross was so perfect, it's done. When He breathed His last on the cross saying, "It is finished," He wasn't merely announcing the end of His life. He was declaring that the Mosaic law was complete, finished. He was ushering in a new age of a new covenant and a new relationship between God and humanity.
Many believers act as though they need to somehow add to what Christ has done—as if the new covenant needs amendments. They think salvation is "Jesus plus" reading the Bible enough, praying enough, giving enough money, or doing enough good works.
But the message of the new covenant is clear: it's Jesus and Jesus alone.
Those who think they must continue doing things to get God off their back, to impress Him, or to make Him love them more need to stop. There's no need to add amendments to the new covenant. It is complete.
Instead, the call is to lean more into Christ. To seek after Him. As believers seek Him, the desire to study Scripture naturally follows. Conversation with this God who loves so deeply becomes a joy. Serving others flows from His heart working in and through His people. It moves from "have to" to "get to."
Because Christ's work on the cross was so complete, His mediation is also eternal.
Verses 27-28 declare: "It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him."
There is no reincarnation. There are no second chances. This life is it. You only live once—and that phrase is actually biblical. But rather than being a cause for fear, this truth should inspire believers to do what they can with this life and give more fully to Christ.
His work was so good, so perfect, it lasts forever. When believers inherit the forgiveness of their sins, they also inherit Him. They receive an eternity with Christ because His mediation is eternal.
This message raises an important question: Have you put your faith in Jesus so that you can inherit eternity?
If the answer is yes, the encouragement is to rest easy. There's no need to fret over salvation or the relationship with God. Simply look to Christ, because He has done everything needed and necessary for relationship with the Father. Now believers get to do these things for His glory, for the good of others, and for their own joy.
But resting easy doesn't mean taking a break. It means resting in the faith while going out to share. There are people who don't know what Christ has done. They think they must do countless things to earn God's approval. They need to hear that God loved the world so much that He sent His one and only Son, that whoever would believe in Him would not perish but have eternal life under the new covenant.
For those who have not surrendered their lives to Christ, who have not put their complete faith and identity in Him, the invitation is to let today become a spiritual birthday. To make this the day of giving everything to Him.
The good news is clear: Jesus is the true and greater mediator. His credentials are perfect. He is both fully God and fully human. He loves humanity so much that He died in their place. His work on the cross is complete—it needs no additions or amendments. And His mediation lasts forever.
Through Jesus, the broken relationship between God and humanity is healed. Through Jesus, sins are forgiven. Through Jesus, eternal life is inherited. He is the one mediator between God and mankind, and He has done everything necessary to bring reconciliation.
For those going through overwhelming circumstances—struggles at work, difficulties at home, worries about the future, empty bank accounts, uncertain health crises, or unfulfilled dreams—Second Corinthians 4 offers perspective. These are momentary afflictions. These things will only happen in this life.
When this life is done, souls get to be with Christ eternally. The struggles will be gone. Though the present may feel like a winter of the soul, a dark night, spring is coming. The light will shine. There will be a sunrise. This moment is not the totality—there is so much more ahead.
The message is clear: approach God's throne of grace with confidence—not because of personal worthiness or good deeds, but because of Jesus. The One who went to the cross. The One whose blood was shed so sins could be forgiven. The One whose death allows believers to inherit eternal life.
Because of Him, everyone can come to the throne of grace with awe, with gratitude, with thanks. Jesus is the true and greater mediator, and His work is complete, sufficient, and eternal.
