Job 9:2-3 (ESV)

[2] “Truly I know that it is so:

But how can a man be in the right before God?

[3] If one wished to contend with him,

one could not answer him once in a thousand times.

Job just listened to Bildad’s argument that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. We get what we deserve. Job agrees with Bildad’s assessment. His contention isn’t with the justice of God. He realizes that no one can stand as righteous in the presence of God. Job’s contention is that God has stacked the deck against us. Not only can no one stand as righteous before God, but we have no recourse. The is no way to argue our case before God. There is no way to challenge his findings. Even if we were able to stand before him to present our case, we would be wrong. Our only option is to plead for mercy.

Job 9:15 (ESV)

Though I am in the right, I cannot answer him;

I must appeal for mercy to my accuser.

The problem is that, from Job’s perspective, we don’t even get that possibility.

Job 9:33 (ESV)

There is no arbiter between us,

who might lay his hand on us both.

“There is no arbiter.” The NASB says, “There is no umpire between us.” NKJV says that there is no “mediator between us.” There is no one to stand between us and God, put a hand on each shoulder, and bring us together. There is no one to present our case to God and explain his case to us. There is no one outside of God to bring reconciliation. God has stacked the deck.

This demonstrates the genius of the incarnation. God became man. Jesus stands between God and Man as a mediator bringing reconciliation.  Paul wrote to Timothy, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:5-6 ESV). What Job could only dream about, God provided. But it goes further than that. Jesus is not just a mediator trying to explain to God that we are not all that bad compared to other people. He is the once for all sacrifice that makes us acceptable to God.

Four time Hebrews says that Jesus sacrifice was “once for all.” Hebrews 9:26 says that “he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” Hebrews 10:10 assures us that, “We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Job’s problem was two-fold. First, no one can be righteous before God. Second, there is no one to serve as a mediator between us and God. Jesus solves both problems. By offering himself as a perfect and complete sacrifice he not only invites us into relationship with God, he makes it possible. Having declared us righteous, he then intercedes on our behalf. He is both the sacrifice that makes us righteous, and the mediator that argues our case before the Father.

What Job could only dream about we too often take for granted. “I prayed a prayer. I’m saved. All is forgiven. Let’s party!” Imagine if Jesus had descended in the middle of Job’s experience, had taken Job’s pain, had argued with God for mercy, and then restored Job’s life. Do you think Job would be saying, “I prayed a prayer. I’m saved. All is forgiven. Let’s party!?” It is in brokenness that we come to understand mercy and appreciate forgiveness. The gospel is not about trying harder. It is not about changing your ways. That was Bildad’s solution.  The gospel is about mercy.

The gospel is the solution to Job’s dilemma. How can we be right before God and who will argue our case? The answer is that old Sunday School answer. The answer is Jesus. The solution is not to try harder. The solution is to throw yourself on the mercy of God and trust that he has accepted you because of Jesus. That is the good news we have to bring to a lost and broken world. That is why it is called good news.