Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off.
Exodus 20:18

When God gave the Ten Commandments, the people were terrified, understandably and rightly so. They may have been afraid primarily because of the thunder, the lightning, the heavenly trumpet blast, and by the fact that mountain was smoking. They almost certainly did not initially understand the fact that the law they were given was impossible for them to obey.

But for whatever reason they were afraid, they were rightly afraid of God! That is why they pleaded with Moses:

Then they said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die." Exodus 20:19

Though they almost surely did not understand the theological implications of what they said, they cried out for a mediator because they were afraid to stand before God. They were looking to Moses to do for them what Christ does for all who come to God through Him. Moses is a classic example of an Old Testament “type of Christ.”

Christ’s ultimate fulfillment of this prophetic picture sets Jesus apart as the one and only perfect Mediator between sinful people and the one and only true and holy God.

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 2:5

Jesus claimed to be this sole Mediator in the upper room when He said:

"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6

Salvation begins with being aware that we are all—every one of us individually, and all of us together—guilty before a Holy God (Romans 3:11-12). The next and absolutely necessary step is to come to God through faith in Christ alone.

Are you aware that your sins will condemn you to God’s righteous wrath for having broken His perfect Law? Do you understand that trusting in Jesus (because of what He did by dying and rising to pay His people’s sin debt) is the only way to be forgiven? Have you, like the children of Israel did with Moses, cried out to Jesus to stand before God on your behalf for the forgiveness of your sins?

If you have, then listen to and follow Jesus. If you have not, I pray that God will reveal your need, and that you will trust in Christ’s exclusive sufficiency to present you to God!