10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.  John 1:10-12 NLT

Introduction: Today, Jesus is arguably the most known person in the world, yet some still do not know Him at all. For thousands of years, the prophets spoke of the Messiah coming and taking up his kingdom. They made all kinds of predictions, and when Jesus showed up on the scene, only a few recognized who He really was. If God were to show up in your life today, would you recognize Him?

Who is Jesus?

Jesus is our Redeemer!

What does that word mean?

· To buy back: repurchase.

· To get or win back.

· To free from what distresses or harms, such as

· To free from captivity by payment of RANSOM

· To release from blame or debt: CLEAR

· To free from the consequences of sin

· Repair, restore.

· To free from lien or payment

The Old Testament Use of the Word

Ga’al – to buy back, ransom, or redeem by paying the price

6“Therefore, say to the people of Israel: ‘I am the Lord. I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgment. Exodus 6:6 NLT

Here, we see God redeeming His people from Pharaoh and Egyptian captivity. To this point, God had revealed Himself as El Shaddai, and then He revealed His Name – YHVH. From this point on, He revealed himself as Deliverer. (Yahweh Mephalti)

Where would the people of Ancient Israel have been without Jehovah Mephalti, their Deliverer?

We also see in the Book of Ruth that Boaz was called the Kinsman-Redeemer. This occurred when Boaz stepped in and claimed the property for his relative, Elimelech. He offered another guy to purchase it since he was a closer relative, but when he found out that Ruth came along with the package, he backed out. Boaz paid the price to keep the family's land and give Ruth an honorable name. Thank God he did, since we know that Ruth and Boaz gave birth to a son named Obed, and Obed was the father of Jesse, who was the father of David. From this very line came our Lord Jesus Christ.

Padah - We also see the legal term padah used in the OT, which is associated with an animal being sacrificed for a person or another animal.

13 A firstborn donkey may be bought back from the Lord by presenting a lamb or young goat in its place. But if you do not buy it back, you must break its neck. However, you must buy back every firstborn son. Exodus 13:13 NLT

7 Yet they cannot redeem themselves from death by paying a ransom to God. Psalm 49:7 NLT

The New Testament Use of the Word

The theme of redemption is realized in the New Testament in the Life, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Two terms are used: Lutron and agorazein.

LUTRON – To REDEEM, LIBERATE, OR RANSOM

28For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28 NLT

23For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. Romans 3:23-24 NLT

15That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant. Hebrews 9:15 NLT

AGORAZEIN – EXPRESSES THE COSTLY NATURE OF GOD’S REDEMPTIVE WORK IN CHRIST

20for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:20 NLT

5God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. Galatians 4:5 NLT

Why Do We Need Redemption?

Adam sinned, and with that, all of humanity bore the curse of death and separation. To reverse that, a sacrifice had to be made; a price had to be put up for the penalty. And we know that the price for sin is death. Someone had to die to pay that price. We must understand how desperately we need God’s mercy. We are all headed to hell without it!

Jesus Christ took upon Himself the sin of all of us and died a sinner’s death and, in turn, gave life to those who would accept His gift. The debt was too high a price for anyone to pay. The only way that it could be paid was by one who had never sinned, and that was the God-Man Himself.

Praise the Lord that He gave His one and only Son that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16 paraphrase.)

Jesus does 3 things as our Redeemer:

Jesus Restores‌

· Jesus Restores our relationship with the Father!

· ‌He restores our right standing and removes every lie told about us!

· ‌He restores our direction!

· ‌He restores our minds and hearts!

Jesus Releases‌

· He releases every penalty against you!

· ‌He releases you from every bond!

· ‌He releases you from every chain!

· ‌He releases you from every curse!

Jesus Requires‌

· He requires you to walk in light of this knowledge.

· He requires you not to keep the good news to yourself but to share it.

· He requires you to walk as one with HOPE!

· He requires that you believe Him!

Story of Lottery Ticket given to Debbie at Farmers Furniture‌

· The ticket was not redeemable.

· ‌Unlike the lottery ticket, Jesus can be trusted.

One day, we will sing the song of the redeemed, “Worthy are you oh Lord (Rev. 5-9)