“Redemption” is a rich
word and perhaps somewhat unique among the great gospel words in our
theological vocabulary, in that it’s a word that easily resonates with
unbelievers. Some of our favorite stories, songs, and films are built around
the themes of redemption. George Lucas, for example once said that the original
Star Wars films were about the
redemption of Anakin Skywalker. One of Johnny Cash’s greatest songs is titled “Redemption.”[1]
Or, if you want an example a bit more highbrow, look no further than the
character of Jean Valjean in Victor Hugo’s Les
Miserables.
None of this suggests, of
course, that redemption in our cultural artifacts bears a one-to-one
relationship to redemption in Christianity. There are very important biblical
features of redemption through the Lord Jesus Christ that set it apart from all
other redemption stories. But the widespread use of the word in our culture
does indicate an innate recognition of the human need for forgiveness and hope.
Christians often use the
word “redemption” in a broad sense, as a synonym for salvation. Think of
phrases like “the history of redemption” or the four big events in the
Christian metanarrative: creation, fall, redemption, restoration. But in the
New Testament, “redemption” (apolutrosis)
and the related words, redeem (lutrow), and ransom (lutron) -- each belonging to the lutro word group in Greek -- carry connotations that are both
richer and more precise.[2] For at its
root, to redeem means to set someone free
from slavery through the payment of a ransom.
In
the words of John Murray,
“The idea of redemption must not be
reduced to the general notion of deliverance. The language of redemption is the
language of purchase and more specifically of ransom. And ransom is the
securing of release by the payment of a price.”[3]
A
full unfolding of the doctrine of redemption would show:
- Our need for redemption (because of our bondage to the law, sin, and death);
- God’s provision of redemption (through his eternal covenant and the gift of his Son);
- Christ’s accomplishment of redemption (by his obedient life, his payment of a blood ransom in his sin-atoning death, and his victorious resurrection);
- Along with all the fruits of redemption (including the forgiveness of sins, the gift of adoption, our inheritance as heirs of God and coheirs with Christ, the future resurrection of the body, and more).
But
this isn’t a theology textbook and many good theologians have already done this
work. (The above referenced work by John Murray, Redemption: Accomplished and Applied, is a good place to start.)
Instead,
I want to suggest three ways Scripture links redemption to our lives: with a
story, a meal, and a forward-looking hope. My hope is that meditating in this
way will foster not just deeper understanding of the doctrine of redemption
itself, but especially richer worship of the Redeemer.
1. A story
Redemption,
in the Scriptures, doesn’t start with Jesus dying on the cross for our sins, as
glorious and climatic moment as this is. Even in the New Testament, redemption
was closely linked to another story deep in the memory of God’s people. Just
think about the features of redemption we’ve already seen: bondage in slavery,
liberation and freedom, the payment of a blood ransom, inheritance, etc.[4]
You
don’t have to think long before remembering the story of Israel’s exodus from
Egypt, that great paradigmatic saving event of the Old Testament. God’s people
were enslaved in a land of darkness, but in faithfulness to his covenant, God
stretched out his mighty hand and rescued his people, providing a covering for
their sins, so he could pass over them while executing judgment on their
oppressors, and finally give them an inheritance in the land of promise.
This
story ran so deep in the consciousness of God’s people that the prophets
returned to it again and again. This is especially obvious in Isaiah 40-55, as
the prophet evokes all kinds of exodus imagery while calling Israel to fresh
faith in the Lord their Redeemer who will lead them out of exile. And those
very themes (and texts) get picked up again in the gospel narratives, as the
evangelists skillfully present the story of Jesus in terms of a New Exodus, in
which Jesus will pay Israel’s ransom through his own death.[5]
2. A meal
A second way Scripture
links the doctrine of redemption to our lives is with a meal, the meal given to
us by Jesus himself on the day before his crucifixion. This connection is
slightly more round about than the one above, but there all the same,
especially when we remember that the Christian celebration of the Lord’s Supper
is itself an outgrowth of the Jewish celebration of Passover.
But you also can see the
connection when you compare Jesus’ words of institution in that last Passover
meal with his disciples with a previous statement he made about the purpose for
which he came.
“…the Son of Man came not to be served but to
serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28)
Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and
after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat;
this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to
them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the
covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. (Matthew 26:26-28)
The similar structure in
the two passages is striking. Jesus came to serve and give his life as a ransom
for many. And then when Jesus serves his disciples the Passover meal, he says
that the wine is his blood, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of
sins.
And lest there be any
doubt in our mind, Paul makes the connection explicit, reminding us that
“Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7). And this
means that every time we sit at this sacred feast we do so in celebration of
the true Passover, the new exodus, the full and final redemption that Jesus has
purchased for us by death.
3. A forward-looking hope
But when we come to the
table of the Lord, we not only look back, we look forward. When we remember the
redemption story, we are to think not only of Israel’s redemption out of Egypt,
and its fulfillment in the atoning work of Jesus. We also set our eyes on the
future, as we wait with confident and expectant hope for the consummation of
redemption.
In Romans 8, Paul reminds
us that we join the created order itself, in our waiting:
For we know that the whole creation has been
groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the
creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan
inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who
hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it
with patience. (Romans 8:22-25)
And what is it we wait
for? The redemption of our bodies. And how do we know it will happen? Because
we’ve already received the first down payment, “the firstfruits of the Spirit.”
(That’s surely one reason why Paul reminds us not to grieve the Spirit who has
sealed us “for the day of redemption” in Ephesians 4:30).
And the presence of the
Spirit in our hearts, prompting us to cry “Abba, Father,” assures us that we
will one day join the heavenly chorus in the everlasting joy of extoling the
Lamb who has ransomed us by his blood. May we, even now, join the worshipers around
the throne and sing:
“Worthy
are you to take the scroll and to open its seals,
for you
were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every
tribe and language and people and nation,
and you
have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they
shall reign on the earth.” (Revelation
5:9-10)
Notes
[1] Cash, of course, was a
believer and the song shows it. But his music is so mainstream that I thought
it worth mentioning among these cultural references to redemption.
[2] See especially B. B.
Warfield, “The New Testament Terminology of ‘Redemption’ in The Works of Benjamin B. Warfield, vol.
2 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1932; reprint Grand Rapids: Baker Book
House Company, 2000), pp. 327-372.
[3] John Murray, Redemption: Accomplished and Applied (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1955), p. 42.
[4] Of course, the Old
Testament concept of the kinsman-redeemer, best known from the book of Ruth,
also shapes our understanding of redemption.
[5] See especially Rikki E.
Watts, Isaiah’s New Exodus in Mark (Grand
Rapids: Baker, 2000).
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