Job 9:1-35
Our Mediator
1 Then Job replied:
2 “Indeed, I know that this is true.
But how can mere mortals prove their innocence before God?
3 Though they wished to dispute with him,
they could not answer him one time out of a thousand.
4 His wisdom is profound, his power is vast.
Who has resisted him and come out unscathed?
5 He moves mountains without their knowing it
and overturns them in his anger.
6 He shakes the earth from its place
and makes its pillars tremble.
7 He speaks to the sun and it does not shine;
he seals off the light of the stars.
8 He alone stretches out the heavens
and treads on the waves of the sea.
9 He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.
10 He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,
miracles that cannot be counted.
11 When he passes me, I cannot see him;
when he goes by, I cannot perceive him.
12 If he snatches away, who can stop him?
Who can say to him, ‘What are you doing?’
13 God does not restrain his anger;
even the cohorts of Rahab cowered at his feet.
14 “How then can I dispute with him?
How can I find words to argue with him?
15 Though I were innocent, I could not answer him;
I could only plead with my Judge for mercy.
16 Even if I summoned him and he responded,
I do not believe he would give me a hearing.
17 He would crush me with a storm
and multiply my wounds for no reason.
18 He would not let me catch my breath
but would overwhelm me with misery.
19 If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty!
And if it is a matter of justice, who can challenge him?
20 Even if I were innocent, my mouth would condemn me;
if I were blameless, it would pronounce me guilty.
21 “Although I am blameless,
I have no concern for myself;
I despise my own life.
22 It is all the same; that is why I say,
‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’
23 When a scourge brings sudden death,
he mocks the despair of the innocent.
24 When a land falls into the hands of the wicked,
he blindfolds its judges.
If it is not he, then who is it?
25 “My days are swifter than a runner;
they fly away without a glimpse of joy.
26 They skim past like boats of papyrus,
like eagles swooping down on their prey.
27 If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,
I will change my expression, and smile,’
28 I still dread all my sufferings,
for I know you will not hold me innocent.
29 Since I am already found guilty,
why should I struggle in vain?
30 Even if I washed myself with soap
and my hands with cleansing powder,
31 you would plunge me into a slime pit
so that even my clothes would detest me.
32 "He is not a mere mortal like me that I might answer him,
that we might confront each other in court.
33 If only there were someone to mediate between us,
someone to bring us together,
34 someone to remove God’s rod from me,
so that his terror would frighten me no more.
35 Then I would speak up without fear of him,
but as it now stands with me, I cannot."
Job 19:25
I Know My Redeemer Lives
25 I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
John 1:1-2
Jesus Was with God in the Beginning
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.
John 14:6-7
Jesus is the Way to God
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
1 Timothy 2:5-6
Jesus is Our Mediator
5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.
Job wanted to know how can a man such as himself, could give evidence to God to prove their own innocence...After all God's wisdom is profound, His power is vast...Who has resisted God and come out unscathed?...God can move mountains without their even knowing it and He can overturn them in His anger...God can shake the earth from its place and make its pillars tremble...God speaks to the sun and it does not shine; He can seal off the light of the stars...He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea...If it is a matter of strength, He is mighty!...And if it is a matter of justice, who can challenge Him?...God is God and man is man...How can one make this more equal, when we want to debate Him?...How can a sinner debate the Holiest One of the Universe?...What would it take for this to be able to happen?...
The Book of Job was written thousands of years before Jesus...But in the Book of Job, Job asks God for a Mediator between God and himself...Job wants a Mediator because God is Almighty and has Complete Understanding of all things...Job says that God is not a mere mortal like him, that we might be able to confront each other in court and discuss their differences...If only there were Someone to mediate between us, Someone to bring them together, Someone to remove God’s rod from him, so that His terror would no longer frighten him...Then Job could speak up without fear of Him, but as it now stands with Job, there is no Mediator...The time was not right for a Mediator...
God would centuries later would send a Mediator, a Redeemer to earth and it would be Jesus...Jesus was such a Man as Job wanted...Jesus came and dwelt among us...One who could talk to God for all men...Jesus was One who knew God and was with God from the beginning...Jesus would tell His Disciples and us that He is the Way and the Truth and the Life...No one comes to the Father except through Him...If we want to get to God and come to God, then we have to go through this Mediator...And if we really know Jesus, then we really know God as well...Because we know Jesus, we know God...And because His Disciples had seen Jesus they had also seen God...For there is One God and One Mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself paid a ransom for all people on the cross...This has now been witnessed to at the proper time...