A Mediator
The author of John is trying to explain God the Father and Jesus the Son. Now think in their terms. The Trinity has not been defined. They know God is One. They know Jesus is divine. How do you explain Jesus as One with God and as God?
Trying to explain this to people who have no understanding of the faith is challenging enough. Jesus points out that the works He does are the same as what God does. But the question remains, God is One, and Jesus is divine, how can Jesus be God? It will take several centuries to figure this out. Therefore, first century Christians struggled to define God to Jewish people. In some ways, we still struggle to define the Triune God to Muslims.
There is a clue in what Jesus says at the end. He tells the people that Moses wrote about Him centuries ago. I can understand Moses as a prophet proclaiming the coming of a prophet greater than he is, but how?
Then reflecting on today’s first reading, I realized Moses is acting as the mediator between God and the people. The people have sinned and built a molten calf as their god. God is ready to destroy the people. Moses stands between God and the people as the mediator, asking God to forgive the people for they know not what they do.
Remind of another person standing between God and the people when He is dying on a cross? What a powerful example of a mediator. Someone who forgives our sins.
May the Lord bless you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen