Jesus is Our Greater Mediator
Sermon Audio
Sermon Notes
Intro:
Today we’re continuing our series on a book of the bible called Esther, it’s about God’s hidden work in our imperfect world, and what we’re gonna talk about in particular today is despair. We’re gonna talk about despair, and by despair I’m talking about facing situations that are beyond your control. Facing situations where you’re helpless, you’re powerless to save yourself. As Americans we don’t like admitting it, we don’t like using words like despair, helpless, or powerless because we think it shows weakness. So a lot of us go through life trying to man up, woman up, acting like everything’s okay, which prevents us from getting the help we need. We don’t get the help we need, because nobody knows we’re in need.
But concealing our despair also denies the inevitable, which is that despair will come... Eventually despair will come...Eventually you’ll face a situation in life beyond your control, and you’ll need somebody to deliver you form that despair. Eventually an addict will need the help of a counselor or Celebrate Recovery group. Eventually the person diagnosed with cancer will need the help of a doctor. Eventually you and I will need the help of somebody, a deliverer, a mediator who can intervene to deliver us from our despair. So today we’re gonna talk about being delivered from despair, but also helping to deliver others from their despair. We need to be delivered from despair, but God’s also placed us in this city to help relieve and deliver others from their despair. So let’s turn to Esther 4:1-17 and get into it. Just open to the middle of your bible, turn left to Psalms, and a few books over is Esther. We’ll be in Esther 4:1-17. The title of today’s message is Jesus Is The Greater Mediator, and here’s the big idea. God placed you in this city, to help relieve and deliver others from despair. But Jesus is the greater mediator...God placed you in this city, to help relieve and deliver others from despair. But Jesus is the greater mediator.
Context:
Here’s your context. In ch’s 1-3 we’ve learned there’s four primary players in the book of Esther. The 1st is King Ahasuerus, who’s the same powerful evil King Xerxes in history who led the massive Persian Empire. We also learned about a young Jewish girl named Esther whose parents died at a young age, and her older cousin Mordecai who adopted and raised her like a daughter. But through a series of events beyond her control, Xerxes marries her for her beauty, and she becomes Queen of Persia. Then in ch. 3 we’re introduced to a guy named Haman the Agagite, who Xerxes promotes to a very high position in the Persian Empire. Haman has a deep hatred for Jews, especially Mordecai, because Mordecai won’t bow to him. So with Xerxes approval, he issues a decree to annihilate all the Jews including the women, children, and elderly. It’s a decree for mass genocide...It’s a decree for mass genocide of the Jews, but what Xerxes and Haman don’t realize. Is Esther’s a Jew, which means this decree entails the death of the very queen of Persia. We’ll pick it up from there, and I’ve broken the text down into 3 sections: despair, deliverance, and decision. It’s despair, deliverance, and decision. Let’s check it out.
The Word:
Esther 4:1-17 states this, “When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and he cried out with a loud and bitter cry. 2 He went up to the entrance of the king’s gate, for no one was allowed to enter the king’s gate clothed in sackcloth. 3 And in every province, wherever the king’s command and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and many of them lay in sackcloth and ashes.” That’s despair. Mordecai and the Jews are in great despair over Haman’s genocidal decree. Mordecai’s crying out with a loud and bitter cry, the Jews are weeping and lamenting, and notice that Mordecai’s crying at the king’s gate. Last week we learned Mordecai had some sort of government position at the king’s gate, but now the text says he’s at the entrance of the king’s gate and isn’t allowed inside anymore. The text says it’s because he’s mourning, he’s in despair. We know historically Xerxes didn’t want people mourning around him, he didn’t want his joy bubble busted. He wanted Disney World, Magic Kingdom without any kids throwing tantrums at the end of the night after the fireworks. He only wanted happy people, with good vibes, and good news around him. So since Mordecai’s mourning and in despair, he’s not allowed in the king’s gates anymore.
Vs. 4, “When Esther’s young women and her eunuchs came and told her, the queen was deeply distressed. She sent garments to clothe Mordecai, so that he might take off his sackcloth, but he would not accept them.” So Esther doesn’t know about Haman’s genocidal decree yet, she hasn’t heard the news yet, but word’s spreading about Mordecai mourning in public. There’s a bit of a crowd forming at the king’s gate, Mordecai’s trending on Twitter, people are posting about it on Facebook #Mordecai, and Esther finds out. She’s worried about him, she wants to know why he’s mourning, so she sends him garments to allow him to enter the palace again, but he won’t accept her clothes which tells her just how much despair he’s really in. Mordecai and the Jews are in deep despair, and what we’re learning so far is despair can happen to anybody... Despair can happen to anybody, including God’s people, including Christians. So don’t believe things like the prosperity gospel or Karma that teach if you do good things then good will come back to you, because it’s not true. You know by personal experience those teachings aren’t true, because sometimes you do good things but bad things still happen to you. So don’t believe in the prosperity gospel or Karma, believe the bible because the bible always tells the truth about life. It’s telling the truth right here, which is that sometimes we’ll do good things, but bad things still happen to us. Despair can happen to anybody, just like it’s happening to Mordecai and the Jews.
Vs. 5, “Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs, who had been appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what this was and why it was. 6 Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate, 7 and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king’s treasuries for the destruction of the Jews. 8 Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her and command her to go to the king to beg his favor and plead with him on behalf of her people.” That’s a cry for deliverance. Mordecai’s in despair and he’s asking Esther to help deliver them, to use her position as queen to be a mediator, to intervene on their behalf and ask the king to spare their lives. So now we’re learning that despair can happen to anybody, but you also need a deliverer, a mediator, somebody to intervene to help deliver you when you’re in despair. Both Mordecai and the Jews need Esther to be a mediator for them, to ask the king to spare their lives, but it’s a task that’s much easier said than done..
Vs. 9, “And Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said. 10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to go to Mordecai and say, 11 ‘All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law, to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.’” Okay so Mordecai asks Esther to be a mediator for them to the king, but Esther’s saying it’s much easier said than done. It’s because the Persians had a law that nobody could go to the king without being invited, and if you go to the king without being invited you’d be killed. In fact archaeologists found a picture that showed this, it showed the king sitting on his throne, and a soldier standing behind him with an enormous axe. If the king extended his staff to you then you could go to him, but if he didn’t, the solider would cut off your head. So you’re like “Hey I have an issue I’d like to talk to the king about.” Okay, we’ll ask if he wants to see you. In the meantime, put your head on the massage chair by the guy with the axe...It’s a risk...It’s a risk going to the king, and it’s a risk for Esther too, because that same law applied to the queen. It’s why she hasn’t seen him in 30 days. Xerxes had hundreds of women in his harem, so the only way Esther could see him is if he asked for her, and he hasn’t asked for her in 30 days. Esther’s like, “I want to do something to help, but it’s dangerous. Xerxes hasn’t wanted to see me in 30 days. He drinks a lot, sleeps around a lot, and if he’s not happy to see me he’ll kill me.” It’s the first time we hear Esther speak, and she’s scared for her life.
Vs. 12, “And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. 13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, ‘Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews.’” Mordecai’s warning Esther that despair’s coming for her too. They’ll find out she’s a Jew and kill her too. Despair can happen to anybody, including Queen Esther.
Vs. 14, “For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place...” Mordecai’s faith is growing here. It’s growing from despair to confidence that God will send relief and deliverance from somewhere. Mordecai’s remembering his Jewish history and how God’s repeatedly delivered the Jews or sent leaders, kings, prophets to deliver them, and he trusts God will do the same here. The sovereign power of God is a security blanket to his soul and turns his despair into hope. The sovereign power of God can be a security blanket to YOUR soul and turn your despair into hope. It’s okay to mourn in your despair, but there’s always hope if you face that despair with God. For those who don’t have faith in God, they’ll eventually reach a time of despair where there’s no hope at all. It’ll be a time when the doctors say there’s nothing more they can do, or when humanity and technology fail to deliver them from their despair. But for those who have faith in God, for the Christian there’s always hope because God’s power far exceeds the limitations of humanity and technology. God’s power works through humanity and technology, but it’s not limited to humanity and technology. So when everything fails there’s still hope! When everything fails there’s still God!...There’s still God!...There’s always hope with God! And the God of the bible isn’t a hateful Father who walks out on His kids, He’s a loving Father who’s always there for His kids. He’s a loving Father who won’t ever leave you, forsake you, abandon you without hope in your despair. You and I haven’t always walked faithfully with God, but it’s God who’s always willing to walk faithfully with us. Mordecai trusts this, has faith in this, and believes God’s put Esther in the position she’s in for such a time as this! It’s to be a mediator, it’s to provide relief and deliverance for the Jews.
Again vs. 14, “For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Mordecai’s starting to believe all this isn’t coincidence, it’s God’s providence. He’s like “What if all this chaos is God’s hidden work in our imperfect world? What if God has you as queen of Persia to deliver the Jews from genocide? What if God has you in this position for a reason, for such a time as this?” It’s a great question we should be asking ourselves too. I mean what if God has you in this city for a reason?..What if God has you in this city, in your neighborhood, school, or job for a reason?..What if God brought you here today to start thinking through ways you can use your time, talent, and treasure to provide relief and deliverance to others in our city, by loving a few so we can love the many?..
City Awakening God’s made you who you are, and has you where you are for a reason. It’s to bring glory to God, and to provide relief and deliverance to others in our city. Just like God made Mordecai and Esther with certain leadership gifts and brains to provide relief and deliverance to the Jews, He’s made you and I with certain gifts and brains to provide relief and deliverance to others in our city. He’s made some of you athletic and sports minded for a reason. He’s made some of you engineers or mechanically minded for a reason. He’s made some of you good at crunching numbers, carpentry, building, working with children, working with addicts, or caring for the marginalized outcasts in society for a reason. Psalm 139:13 says, “God knitted me together in my mother's womb,” which means He knitted together the DNA you have, the gifts you have, the talents you have for a reason. He made you who you are, and has you where you are for a reason. It’s to bring glory to God, and to provide relief and deliverance to others in our city. So like Mordecai and Esther you might not like where you are in life, but there’s a purpose for your life wherever you are...You might not like where you are in life, but there’s a purpose for your life wherever you are...Mordecai’s trying to get Esther to realize her purpose is to help provide relief and deliverance for the Jews. But she needs to make a decision. The text goes from despair, to deliverance, to decision. Esther needs to make a decision. She needs to decide if she’ll remain passive and do nothing with her gifts and position, or if she’ll be active and do something with her gifts and position to help provide relief and deliverance for the Jews. We need to decide what we’ll do with our gifts and positions in our city. Let’s see what Esther decides.
Vs. 15, “Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, 16 ‘Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.’ 17 Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.” She decides to do something, rather than nothing. She decides to be active, not passive, to use her gifts and position to provide relief and deliverance for the Jews. She says if I perish, I perish, and she’s not being flippant here. She’s simply expressing her willingness to do whatever God wants her to do, even if it means risking her life. It’s why she calls the Jews to fast for 3 days. Fasting for the Jews was usually accompanied with prayer, and so the implication is she wants them to fast, to pray, to plead with her in asking God for favor in Xerxes eyes so she can deliver the Jews. Mordecai and Esther both, have decided to trust God in their despair, and decided to use their gifts, their positions, their lives to help deliver the Jews from despair.
But there’s an even bigger story to all this, a story that still relates with us today. I mean we’ve all sinned, disobeyed God, worshiped and chased other things rather than God, and so we don’t deserve to be in the presence of God. What we deserve isn’t the grace of God it’s the wrath of God, but what we get isn’t the wrath of God it’s the grace of God. We get the grace of God through Jesus. See Esther became a mediator to deliver the Jews from death so they’d have life, but Jesus became a mediator to deliver us from eternal death so we’d have eternal life. Esther stood between the Jews and the wrath of Xerxes, but Jesus stood between us and the wrath of God. Esther risked her life, but Jesus actually gave up his life. Jesus is our greater mediator who lived the perfect life you and I haven’t lived, and died the death we deserved to die for our sins. 1 Timothy 2:5-6 states, “There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all...” Jesus is our greater mediator who can forgive us of our sins, give us eternal life, give us an eternal relationship with God, and give us the hope and power we need to overcome any despair in life. The question is will you trust him with your life, and use your life to relieve and deliver others from despair? Will you trust Jesus with your life, and use your life to point others in our city to Jesus...for such a time as this?
The Big Idea:
Let’s have the worship team come up and get to the big idea. Here’s the big idea. God placed you in this city, to help relieve and deliver others from despair. But Jesus is the greater mediator...Jesus is our greater mediator...Do you trust Jesus as your mediator?..Do you trust Jesus as your mediator?..Do you trust him with whatever you’re going through in life, do you trust he has the very power to deliver you from your both temporal and eternal despair?..Do you trust him with your life?..Do you trust Jesus with your life, and will you decide to use your life to help relieve and deliver others in our city from their despair?..
Look there’s too many people in our city who care more about living a comfortable life, than about using their life to help others in our city. The result is very few people in our city are getting the relief and deliverance they need from their despair. So you need to make a decision. You need to decide if you’ll be like most people in our city, not trusting Jesus with your life and not using your life to help others...or if you’ll trust Jesus with your life and use your life to help others. Jesus has you in this city for a reason, it’s for such a time as this...It’s for such a time as this, so put your trust in Jesus, and go fulfill your purpose in this city...If you’re in a time of despair and want somebody to pray for you, or if you want to know how to have a relationship with Jesus, some of our team will be standing in the back left corner of the room to pray with you. Feel free to go back there anytime you want during the last song. City Awakening let’s stand and worship Jesus for being our great mediator, let’s trust him with our despair, and then let’s go use our lives to help others in despair. Let’s worship Jesus for being our great mediator.