You Need a Redeemer
Harriet Tubman’s story is an inspiring tale of a woman whose courage helped her kinsmen escape from chattel slavery. She fulfilled the role of a redeemer to her people bringing many slaves by way of the ‘underground railroad’ to safety in Canada. Yet the greater story of redemption is that of the Creator redeeming his creation from the slavery of death and decay, into the liberty of God’s eternal children. Do you know that story?
Longing for Freedom
There seems to be a universal longing for freedom. And yet, in our time, we see an increasingly oppressive society that strips people of their individual liberty and tries to squelch freedom of conscience. The people of Mexico are looking for help to free themselves from powerful cartels, the people of Hong Kong are hoping for freedom from the Chinese surveillance state, and many worldwide desire the freedom to worship without harassment and fear. And in the final analysis, everyone needs freedom from death, the penalty of our own lawlessness. You need a redeemer who will pay the ransom for your sins and release your debts, so you can be free.
The Price of Freedom
The apostle Paul wrote of the need for a redeemer who would purchase our freedom. He lived in the Roman society that was built on slavery, where everyone was subject to the whims of the emperor. It was a dark time for freedom.
But Paul offered a message of hope, and deliverance. There was the possibility of being rescued from the kingdom of darkness and being delivered into the kingdom of light. But a ransom had to be paid and the price was the death of the Creator, the Son of God. Matthew wrote on a similar theme, about the Great King settling accounts and forgiving the debts of the one who owed him an enormous sum, a debt that could not be paid even in a lifetime of effort.
Our Kinsman-Redeemer
Both David and Job understood their need for a Kinsman-Redeemer, and the only one who qualified for that role was the Lord. It was only the Lord, the one who would return as Messiah, who could pay sin’s penalty. He was the true Passover lamb without spot and blemish, whose life was worth all the lives of those he had created. And it was the Lord who had redeemed Israel from slavery, and purchased them to himself. It was the Lord who inspired Moses to write the laws about the kinsman-redeemers who could free their brethren from debt and slavery. And in the end it was only the Lord, who became flesh, who could truly redeem all of his brethren from death. He was the ultimate Kinsman-Redeemer.
John’s Vision of the Redeemer
The prophet Isaiah and the apostle Paul understood that the Lord, the Creator, Jesus the Messiah, was the one who could forgive sins and be Israel’s Redeemer. But the ultimate redemption was to be deliverance from the bondage of corruption, the fear of suffering and death. John’s vision in Revelation makes it clear that it was Lamb who alone would be Redeemer. He was the one who was slain and through his sacrifice purchased all people to himself. He is the one who alone has liberated all those who believe into the glorious freedom of God’s children. And through the power of our Kinsman-Redeemer we are able to conquer and overcome death.
Are you now able to understand why you need a redeemer?
