The Promised Redeemer

REDEMPTION - Definition:

1. The act of delivering from sin or saving from evil; in this sense, synonymous with salvation

2. The repayment of the principal amount of a debt or security at or before maturity (as when a corporation repurchases its own stock)

3. The act of purchasing back something previously sold. Synonyms: repurchase, buyback

Related Words:

• absolution, remission, remittal, remission of sin, conversion, rebirth, spiritual rebirth, expiation, atonement, propitiation

Biblically speaking and more to the point, the word redeem means to obtain the release or restoration of, as from captivity, by paying a ransom. It also means to deliver from sin and its consequences, into the blessings of God, by means of a sacrifice offered for those being redeemed.

THE PROMISED REDEEMER:

God had planned redemption for mankind even prior to the fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden:

• Luke 1:68-70: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation [Christ] for us in the house of his servant David; As he [the Lord God of Israel] spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, that which has been since before the world began.”

The first prophetic words in the Bible relating to the promised redeemer were spoken directly by God to the serpent (the devil), in the Garden of Eden, after the fall of Adam and Eve:

• Genesis 3:15: "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."

This promised redeemer (this promised "seed") was anticipated by nation of Israel:

• John 35-41: "Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ."
  
• John 45-49: "Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel."
  

This promised redeemer was also anticipated by people outside of the nation of Israel. John 4:9–26 speaks on this matter regarding the people of Samaria. Another example would be the wise men from the east : see Matthew 2:1-4.

In Luke 2:6 we see the phrase "The Lord's Christ" refering to Jesus as the promised redeemer: “he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ." The word Christ literally means "anointed one". An anointed one is one who is marked out to do a work for God. The work that Jesus was anointed to do was to save and redeem mankind.

Jesus of Nazareth came to complete the work that God had planned from the very beginning. He came to fulfil all that was written in the Old Testament concerning him :

• Luke 24:44: “…all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses, and the prophets, and the psalms concerning me.”

He came to fulfill his God-given mission. He was the promised seed of the woman prophesied in Genesis 3:15. He is the redeemer of mankind who paid for the sins of the whole world:

• John 1:29: "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."
• 1John 2:2: "And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."

But why did Jesus do all that he did? Why did he take the punishment for our sins? We already know from John 3:16 why God sent him:

• Joh 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

And what do the Scriptures say as to why Jesus followed God's plan for him as the annointed promised redeemer, the Christ, the Messiah?

• John 5:30: “I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father, which hath sent me.”
• John 5:36: “for the works which the Father has given me to accomplish, these very works which I am doing, bear me witness that the Father has sent me.”
• John 8:29: “for I do always those things that please him.”
• John 17:4: “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.”

Jesus gave himself as the sacrificial payment for the sins of the world that through his death and resurrection all might have new life, eternal life with God. He came not to do his own will, but the will of God. Jesus emphatically expressed his clarity about his mission when he said that his meat (his sustenance) was “to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” - John 4:34.

He bridged that huge chasm of sin that separates mankind from God. Any, and all, who believe on Jesus Christ receive the abundant and eternal FREE blessings of God. People who accept the gift of God's only begotten son have eternal life and are made holy and blameless before God in love... based on what Jesus accomplished on our behalf, not based on our works:

• 2Timothy 1:9: "Who [God] hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,"
• Ephesians 1:4, 7: "4 According as He [God] hath chosen us in him [Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him [God] in love:..." "...7 In whom [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His [God's] grace;

Those who believe God regarding His only begotten Son, the promised redeemer, have been redeemed by that precious blood which was shed for our sins at Calvary. The penalty for our sins has been PAID! We have been set free to enjoy NEW LIFE in the kingdom of God's dear son:

• Ephesians 1:7 - 8 - "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence"
• 1Peter 1:18,19 - “For as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot”.
• Colossians 1:13-14: "Who [God] hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:"