Hebrews 12:24
to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than
that of Abel.
–NKJ
Some Background: Jesus is our mediator. What does that mean? He is the one who goes between us and god. It is said that religion is all about how we should live our lives in a moral way, being at peace with others and ourselves. If that were all there was to it, you could pick among hundreds of religions. There are a lot of teachings, and ways to live a nice life. None of them have any promise of what lays beyond life. To spend eternity with God, the only way there is through Jesus.
New covenant. This is what salvation is all about. From the moment of the first sin, mankind lost all hope of being with God face to face. We are doomed to die, and nothing we can do can elevate us back into any life beyond that. The Old covenant was full of reminders of that shortcoming. Animal sacrifice, and animal blood served only as a reminder of the loss of living with God. It did contain symbology and hinted at a better sacrifice to come.
Blood. Covenants were very serious agreements. To show the depth of what they meant, old testament people often sealed the deal with a sacrifice. Killing an animal so the blood shed also represented the price that should be paid if either party broke the agreement.
The ways that speak of Abel means the good teachings of regular old prophets. According to the book of Hebrews, Abel is counted as the first, and Zechariah is the last among the Biblical prophets. The Bible is full of good teachings. Abel wasn’t around for much in scriptures, but from him we can learn what God expects from our attitudes with our offerings to him. From other prophets, there is a host of do’s and don’t’s that help us to live happily in society. We learn how to get along with our fellow man. That’s good. We learn certain actions that demonstrate our respect to God. We all live happy little lives and then… die. With the new covenant, with the price of blood that was paid by Jesus, we have a much better agreement, covenant, with God.
Sometimes a dispute occurs between people. Each one has their own view point, and believe they are right,but the more that ideas are expressed, the further apart they grow. Communication has broken down. Both parties get to where they keep saying the same thing, but nobody seems to be listening, and the relationship grows weaker, less productive, and soon could break entirely. It happens in marriages. It happens when workers go on strike. It can happen in any relationship. The thing to do is call in a mediator.
The Bible tells us that we do have a mediator. Jesus is our way to get to God, and our way to get to know God. Jesus is the only way. Many roads may lead to Jesus, but he is the only bridge to cross over to God.