This may not sit well with an American Jew at the end of the twentieth century, accustomed to thinking about religious matters in individualistic terms. Nevertheless, it is a fair depiction of the historic Jewish understanding of relationship with God.

This is the reality that is expressed in the first blessing of the Amidah, the basic prayer of Jewish tradition.  This blessing begins by addressing God as “our God and the God of our ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”  Thus, we inaugurate our prayer by acknowledging that we have confidence to stand before God only because we are part of the people of Israel, descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and heir to all the promises made to the Patriarchs.  This is mediation in the strongest sense.

Many scholars of the Apostolic Writings would see the opening phrase of the Lord’s prayer, “Our Father,” as functioning in a similar fashion.  The disciple of Yeshua addresses God as Father, not because all human beings have such a filial relationship with God by right, but because the disciple has been brought into Yeshua’s own filial relationship with God. Before God, the follower of Yeshua stands in Yeshua, just as the Jew stands in Israel.

From this perspective, Messianic Jews have a unique stance.  We come to God in Israel and in Messiah.  This is clarified by another text in Herberg, where he refers to Yeshua as a “one-man Israel.”  In Messianic thought, Yeshua is the individual and personal embodiment of the entire people, like Jacob himself.  This is a key aspect of his role as mediator.

Mediation does have a significant place in Judaism. Surprisingly, understanding that place sheds new light on the mediatorial role of Yeshua in Messianic faith.