LESSON 11
Jesus, Mediator of a new Covenant. The Paschal Meal and the People of the new Covenant. The trial of Jesus. Death and Resurrection. Appearances of the Risen Christ and apostolic mission.
In the first letter to Timothy (2:5), St Paul writes
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
Jim Seghers, in "One Mediation of Christ and the Saints", explains:
A mediator is a person who intervenes between estranged parties to effect a reconciliation. In regard to the distance between God and fallen humanity Jesus Christ, true God and true man, was the only person capable of mending this breach. This is a belief that Protestants and Catholics share.
Seghers also explains that this does not take away the subordinate mediatorship of the saints, as St Paul himself said in the verses preceding verse 5 above (2:1-4):
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way. This is good, and it is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
The Catholic Encyclopedia explains why Christ is the Perfect Mediator between God and men:
The perfection of a mediator is measured by his influence with the parties he has to reconcile, and this power flows from his connection with both: the highest possible perfection would be reached if the mediator were substantially one with both parties.
Jesus is the Perfect Mediator because he is God and he is man. Only he can best represent both sides. As man, he sacrifices himself on our behalf. He is perfect man, he is the perfect Sacrifice. As God he has the power to forgive and to restore what we have lost.
In Luke (22:20), when Jesus institutes the Holy Eucharist, he affirms that henceforth, they have passed from the Old Covenant to the New:
This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
See The Paschal Feast in the Bible.
The Jews had seven festivals (see Peter Klein, The Catholic Source Book, 3rd ed. Harcourt, 2000):
There were four principal types of Old Testament sacrifices:
Jesus' death is directly connected to human sin (cf Rom 5:12-17), and to reconciliation with God (cf II Cor 5:18-19). The New Testament vigorously and persistently draws our attention to the fact that Christ’s death is a true sacrifice, that is, a supreme act of worship to be rendered to God alone. And it sets this sacrifice against the background of the Old Testament sacrifices; but it is much greater than they were, as reality is so much greater than figure (cf Heb 9:9-14). At the same time it is seen as a new Covenant against the background of the Old Testament covenants, and greater than them too. According to the New Testament, Christ’s death is closely connected to three key sacrifices of the OT:
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 613 teaches:
Christ’s death is both the Paschal sacrifice that accomplishes the definitive redemption of men, through ‘the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world’ (Jn 1:29; cf 8:34-36; I Cor 5:7; I Pt 1:19) and the sacrifice of the new Covenant, which restores man to communion with God by reconciling him to God through the ‘blood of the covenant, which was poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’ (Mt. 26:28: cf Ex 24:8; Lev 16:15-16; I Cor 11:25).
Reference to the sacrifice of the Covenant is to be found in the words Our Lord says over the cup, calling his blood the “blood of the covenant” (cf Mt 26:28; Mk 14:24; Lk 22:20). St Paul reminds us of this when he passes on the tradition he has received about the Eucharist (cf I Cor 11:23-27). That is why the Letter to the Hebrews stresses so much that Christ is the mediator of a New Testament, a new Covenant, a new Alliance with the Lord (cf Heb 7:22), that is, of a new and everlasting covenant.
The Passover and the sacrifice of the paschal lamb are referred to by the Baptist when he introduces Our Lord as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29). The Last Supper takes place in an obvious Passover setting, and the evangelists emphasise this, pointing to Christ’s death as a sacrifice which seals the new Covenant. The words used at the institution of the Eucharist also allude to the Passover sacrifice, when they include the instruction to renew the sacrifice of the bread and wine as a “memorial” of Our Lord’s death (cf I Cor 11:24, 26), thereby connecting it with an essential feature of the Jewish Passover -the fact that it is a commemoration of God’s liberation of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt (cf Ex 12:14). In St John there are many allusions linking Christ’s death to the Passover sacrifice- for example, when he calls attention to the fact that “they did not break his legs”, thereby fulfilling the regulation that not a bone be broken of the Passover lamb (cf Jn 19:33-36; Ex 12:46; Num 9:12). Also the Lamb (sacrificed and glorified) in the Book of Revelation is evocative of the Passover lamb (cf Rev 5:6, 9; 12:4; 15:3). And St Paul, in a clear reference to the Passover meal, exhorts the faithful of Corinth to get rid of the old leaven and become “a new lump”, that is, “unleavened because Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed” (I Cor 5:7).
The Letter to the Hebrews makes a lengthy comparison between the sacrifice Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) and the death of Christ and his entry into the sanctuary (cf. Heb 9:1-7).
In the hymn in Philippians 2:5-11. Jesus "emptied himself unto death" out of obedience, because the father had commanded him to give up his life for his sheep (cf Jn 10:18; 14:31). St Paul repeatedly says that Christ gave his life for us, out of love for us: "Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her" (Eph 5:25); "he died for all" (II Cor 5:14); one died for all (cf Rom 5:6, 8: 932; 14:15; I Cor 11:24; Gal 2:20; I Tim 2:6; Tit 2:14); "Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (Eph 5:2). In Hebrews, Christ's death, of greater value than all sacrifices, replaces them; it, on its own, suffices to purify the consciences of all men (cf. Heb 9:11-28).
The Fathers of the Church also depict Christ's death as a sacrifice (e.g. the Paschal Homilies of Melitus of Sardis in 2nd century), often using quite technical, exact sacrificial terminology (e.g., Origen, St Basil, St Gregory of Nyssa, St Augustine).
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 599 says:
Jesus' violent death was not the result of chance in an unfortunate coincidence of circumstances, but is part of the mystery of God's plan, as St Peter explains to the Jews of Jerusalem in his first sermon on Pentecost: 'This Jesus [was] delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God' (Acts 2:23). This biblical language does not mean that those who handed him over were merely passive players in a scenario written in advance by God (cf. Acts 3:13).
The Catechism, 601, further says:
The Scriptures had foretold this divine plan of salvation through the putting to death of 'the righteous one, my Servant' as a mystery of universal redemption, that is, as the ransom that would free men from the slavery of sin. Citing a confession of faith that he himself had 'received', St Paul professes that 'Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures.' In particular Jesus' redemptive death fulfils Isaiah's prophecy of the suffering Servant. Indeed Jesus himself explained the meaning of his life and death in the light of God's suffering Servant (Mt 20:28). After his Resurrection he gave this interpretation of the Scriptures to the disciples at Emmaus, and then to the apostles.
Jesus' whole life is a sacrificial offering for our sins; but, in his Passion and Death this offering reaches its high point.
The Catechism, 614, teaches:
This sacrifice of Christ is unique; it completes and surpasses all other sacrifices. First, it is a gift from God the Father himself, for the Father handed his Son over to sinners in order to reconcile us with himself. At the same time it is the offering of the Son of God made man, who in freedom and love offered his life to his Father through the Holy Spirit in reparation for our disobedience.
Moreover, it says in no 616:
[...] No man, not even the holiest, was ever able to take on himself the sins of all men and offer himself as a sacrifice for all. The existence in Christ of the divine person of the Son, who at once surpasses and embraces all human persons, and constitutes himself as the Head of all mankind, makes possible his redemptive sacrifice for all.
The Catechism, 652, explains:
Christ's Resurrection is the fulfilment of the promises both of the OT and of Jesus himself during his earthly life. [...]
Romans 4:25 gives the key to the theology of divine salvation in Christ:
[Jesus our Lord] was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
The Passion-Death-Resurrection of Jesus form a unity, the saving act which the Church calls the "Paschal Mystery".
The Catechism, 654, says:
The Paschal mystery has two aspects: by his death, Christ liberates us from sin; by his Resurrection, he opens for us the way to a new life. This new life is above all justification that reinstates us in God's grace, 'so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life' (Rom 6:4; cf. 4:25). Justification consists in both victory over death caused by sin and a new participation in grace. It brings about filial adoption so that men become Christ's brethren, as Jesus himself called his disciples after his Resurrection: 'Go and tell my brethren' (Mt 28:10). We are brethren not by nature, but by the gift of grace, because that adoptive filiation gains us a real share in the life of the only Son, which was fully revealed in his Resurrection.
In no 655, it further explains:
Finally, Christ's Resurrection -and the risen Christ himself- is the principal source of our future resurrection: 'Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep... For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive' (I Cor 15:20-22). The risen Christ lives in the hearts of his faithful while they await that fulfilment. In Christ, Christians 'have tasted... the powers of the age to come' (Heb 6:5) and their lives are swept up by Christ into the heart of divine life, so that they may 'live no longer for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised' (II Cor 5:15).
Here is what the Catechism teaches in no 642:
Everything that happened during those Paschal days involves each of the apostles -and Peter in particular- in the building of the new era begun on Easter morning. As witnesses of the Risen One, they remain the foundation stones of his Church. The faith of the first community of believers is based on the witness of concrete men known to the Christians and for the most part still living among them. Peter and the Twelve are the primary 'witnesses to his Resurrection', but they are not the only ones - Paul speaks clearly of more than five hundred persons to whom Jesus appeared on a single occasion and also of James and of all the apostles. His last appearance to his disciples was on the occasion of his Ascension into heaven. Jesus is not just a man to be admired who has left us the most relevant example of what human existence should be: Jesus Christ is the cause of our salvation. In his Ascension into heaven we see the exaltation of his humanity to a state of heavenly glory. He is the first-fruits and the anticipation of our future glorification.
It further teaches in no 662:
"And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself" (Jn 12:32). The lifting up of Jesus on the cross signifies and announces his lifting up by his Ascension into heaven, and indeed begins it. Jesus Christ, the one high priest of the new and eternal Covenant "entered, not into a sanctuary made by human hands... but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf." (Heb 9:24). There Christ permanently exercises his priesthood, for he "always lives to make intercession" for "those who draw near to God through him" (Heb 7:25). As "high priest of the good things to come" (Heb 9:11) he is the centre and the principal actor in the liturgy that honours the Father in heaven.
There is a sense of a promise and a taste of future fulfilment.
As the Catechism says in no 666:
Jesus Christ, the head of the Church, precedes us into the Father's glorious kingdom so that we, the members of his Body, may live in the hope of one day being with him for ever.
No 667 states:
Jesus Christ, having entered the sanctuary of heaven once and for all, intercedes constantly for us as the mediator who assures us of the permanent outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
The Ascension also marks the giving of a clear mandate to the Church to carry on Christ's mission of salvation. St Matthew records our Lords words (28:18-20):
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.
A footnote on this passage in the Navarre Bible (St Matthew) says:
Here Christ passes on to the Apostles and their successors the power to baptise, that is, to receive people into the Church, thereby opening up for them the way to personal salvation. The mission which the Church is definitively given here at the end of St Matthew's Gospel is one of continuing the work of Christ -teaching men and women the truths concerning God and the duty incumbent on them to identify with these truths, to make them their own by having constant recourse to the grace of the sacraments. This mission will endure until the end of time and, to enable it to do this work, the risen Christ promises to stay with the Church and never leave it. When Sacred Scripture says that God is with someone, this means that that person will be successful in everything he undertakes. Therefore, the Church, helped in this way by the presence of its divine Founder, can be confident of never failing to fulfil its mission down the centuries until the end of time.