One of the ways that Jesus is described in the New Testament is as a mediator. Paul wrote, “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). It is important that we understand what this means. Let us consider what the New Testament teaches about Jesus as our mediator.
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“Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, ‘Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.’ And He answered and said to them, ‘Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, “Honor your father and mother,” and, “He who speaks evil of father or mother is to be put to death.” But you say, “Whoever says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God,’ he is not to honor his father or his mother.” And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition.’
“‘You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men”’” (Matthew 15:1-9).
Jesus confronted the Pharisees over their traditions. The Pharisees asked Jesus why His disciples broke “the tradition of the elders” (Matthew 15:2). In response, Jesus asked them why they allowed their tradition to serve as justification for them to “transgress the commandment of God” (Matthew 15:3). They were zealously defending their traditions instead of the law of God.
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When Peter asked Jesus a question about how often he should forgive his brother, Jesus answered and told him to forgive his brother “seventy times seven” times (Matthew 18:21-22). His point was not that we should keep a record of the number of times we forgive someone and then after the four hundred and ninetieth time we refuse to forgive them again. Instead, Jesus’ point was that we should always be ready to forgive.
After Jesus answered, He used a parable to explain His answer. In the parable, He showed that we must forgive because we have been forgiven. There are several lessons to be learned from this parable about forgiveness.
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“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets” (Matthew 23:29-31).
We might wonder why Jesus said what He did on this occasion. He condemned the Pharisees as hypocrites for building monuments to honor the prophets that had been killed by their forefathers. Consider a couple of points:
With these two points in mind, how could Jesus condemn the Pharisees and associate them with the sins of those who lived generations before them, especially when it appeared as though they were honoring the prophets instead of opposing them?
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“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.’ But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:13-17).
The passage above is often cited to emphasize the uncertainty and brevity of life. It also teaches us the importance of remembering our dependence upon God (“If the Lord wills…”). In this article, we are going to consider four lessons from this passage. Forgetting these lessons will always lead us into sin. We will notice how that happens.
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“But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.
“But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. But the greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted” (Matthew 23:5-12).
The Pharisees, in their arrogance, believed they were better than others. We discussed this in an earlier lesson when Jesus exposed those “who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt” (Luke 18:9) by comparing the prayers of a Pharisee and a tax collector (Luke 18:10-14). The Pharisees had this elevated estimation of themselves and they wanted others to see it as well. In order to receive this recognition, they did three things:
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“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation” (Matthew 23:14).
We already discussed the first part of this verse (devouring widow’s houses) to see how they took advantage of others. Now we are going to consider the second part: “For a pretense you make long prayers.” When something is done “for a pretense,” it is done for a show. It is all about what other people see.
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What does “propitiation” mean? How is “justification” connected to salvation? What does “sanctification” look like in our day-to-day lives? The Bible uses some powerful words to describe God’s plan to save mankind. However, these words are not always easy to understand, especially when they are not part of our everyday vocabulary. This book explores key Bible terms that unlock the message of the gospel.
Big Words in the Bible examines five important words – Propitiation, Reconciliation, Sanctification, Justification, and Resurrection – using plain language to see how the Scriptures describe these concepts and how the apostle Paul employs them in his letter to the Romans. This book also contains an appendix with eleven additional articles to explore these topics further.
Whether you are new to the Bible and want to grow in your understanding or want a simple way to explain these core gospel doctrines to others, this book will be helpful. With a focus on the Scriptures, Big Words in the Bible helps break down these fundamental topics to shed light on the life-changing message of the gospel and the salvation found in it.
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