You Need a Mediator

Jesus Christ can fill the gap between us and God, helping us to reach for God’s outstretched hand.

It was a wonder that happened just once a year. People came from miles around to see the spectacle. It was the most powerful of religious spectacles — if you happened to be a Jew living in ancient Israel. Had you been there, here’s what you would have experienced:

As the first rays of dawn break across the Mount of Olives, a priest standing on the very pinnacle of the temple sounds the trumpet. It’s the signal that the morning sacrifice is about to begin.

Fifteen large animals — cattle, sheep, goats — are led before the massive altar that stands before the temple. Before the eyes of thousands of witnesses, the high priest lifts high his ceremonial knife and plunges it into the neck of the first animal. A second and a third follow. Before long all 15 have been slain. The stones of the courtyard run red with blood. The crowd looks on, in awed silence.

A portion of the blood from the sacrificial animals is gathered and poured into a cup. Hours later, when ...