There is distance between God and people
When two parties are far apart, a mediator is sometimes needed; someone who can bridge the gap. This applies between people and it also applies between people and God. God is too high for people. The Bible even says that you will not survive if you see God (Exodus 33:20). To bridge the gap, a mediator is needed. This was already true in the Old Testament for the relationship between God and His special people, Israel. Moses was the mediator between God and his kinsmen (see, for example, Exodus 20:18-22 and Acts 7:37-38). But even Moses himself sometimes needed mediation. He received the Torah from angels (Galatians 3:19). So multiple mediators were needed to bridge the enormous distance between God and people.
The distance has grown ever greater
Mediation was already needed when Israel had only just been called, at the beginning of God’s journey with His people. This was followed by a long history of disobedience. Time and again, the Lord God concluded: “You have not listened to Me…” As a result, the gap between God and His people only grew wider: “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.” (Isaiah 59:2) How could that ever be remedied? If two mediators were needed in the beginning, what would be needed now? Who could ever bridge the gap?
Moreover, in addition to the people of Israel, there are countless other nations. They too have become distant from God. Try finding a mediator for that… It will take at least a whole team of mediators to overcome this conflict.
Who can mediate?
For a mediator’s attempt at reconciliation to have any chance of success, he must be above the parties. He must not choose one side in advance. Otherwise, the will of the strongest party will be imposed on the other. Therefore, both parties must agree on the mediator. Who can act as an independent mediator in the conflict between God and humans? God is the demanding party—so it must be someone to whom He entrusts this task. And then God makes a proposal. Does He choose someone between God and humans? One of the archangels, such as Gabriel, who has often acted on His behalf? Or rather a whole team of all the archangels together? No, God chooses “the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). Not a whole team, not an archangel, but a human being!
A unique Mediator
Jesus Christ was appointed by God as Mediator. Only He could fulfill this role. He is God Himself—God the Son. Around the year 0, He also became human. This was necessary because in that capacity He could take upon Himself the punishment for the sin of humanity. “He gave Himself as a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:6). His divinity enabled Him to bear that burden and to live a perfectly righteous life.
Moreover, “the man Christ Jesus” was uniquely able to make God known to us humans. After all, He knew Him through and through — He was one with God the Father. As He said, “I speak of what I have seen with My Father.” (John 8:38) And His followers testified: “No one has ever seen God; the only God, Who is at the Father’s side, He has made Him known.” (John 1:18)
God’s initiative
The initiative for Jesus Christ as mediator was taken by God. People did not make any proposals. They did not ask for mediation. People have always made their own gods, to whom they had free access. They did not even long for mediation with the true God. But He Himself appointed a mediator to resolve the conflict with us humans. He considered this necessary. And He made the most far-reaching proposal: a human being as mediator. A human being in whom God sacrificed Himself—giving Himself completely for people who did not ask for Him. But He asked for us and humbled Himself and surrendered Himself to death to make reconciliation possible. What a marvelous prove of His endless love for us humans!