The Redeemer

"The Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob," Says the LORD. "As for Me," says the LORD, "this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants' descendants," says the LORD, "from this time and forevermore." – Isaiah 59.20-21

I’ve been thinking a lot about redemption recently as I have been working on a message from 1 Peter and trying to get my head around what this means instead of just knowing the textbook definition. In this sense the word redeem means to ‘buy back’ to ‘pay off’ or to ‘reclaim.’ It is a word and a concept that has been known as far back as Job who wrote ‘I know that my Redeemer lives.’

We need to ask the question ‘what do I need to be reclaimed from?’ Why do I need bought back? Why do I need a redeemer?

The world needs a redeemer because of our sin. God made us. We are His by virtue of creation. But man broke that relationship through sin. Sin separates us from our Holy God. None of us would want a God who was no better than us. His holiness and our sin make it clear that something has to happen in order for our relationship to be restored.

Job saw the sense of a redeemer. Isaiah knew that the redeemer would come. These men and others accepted the idea of a redeemer by faith even though they never knew how it would all take place.

We though now know how. Jesus came as our Redeemer to pay the reclamation price through His blood on the cross. Man is not stuck in sin. God wants to restores His relationship with everyone. He provided the redemption price. That is the wonderful message that we have to share.