Kinsman Redeemer

Our Text. (If you are able, please stand for the reading of the word of God)

Luke 1:68–79

““Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.””

Introduction

The questions of many in our world past, present, and future are:

Why did Jesus have to be born?

Why did Jesus have to die?

and

Couldn’t God just save everyone without Jesus dying on the cross?

The short answers are:

He was born to die,

He died to save,

And NO.

The answers to these questions are quite simple, but the simple answers lead to more questions. The way God sometimes gives us information in His word looks similar to one of those mosaic Photos. An image made up of hundreds of smaller images,

As we read scripture we find stories that seemingly are out of place or on the surface do not make any sense, but are actually a piece of a larger picture. The stories and people are typologies, or types of Christ.

All of the scriptures point to Jesus Christ, that is why it is so easy for children to get the biblical questions right when they are asked… the answer is always…. Jesus!

Looking Closely into the Mosaic

we find two very interesting pieces of scripture, which are often confusing and odd to our modern culture.

The first is the Levirate Custom, from the latin Levir “Brother-in-law”

Deuteronomy 25:5–10 .

If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. 6 And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel. 7 And if the man does not wish to take his brother’s wife, then his brother’s wife shall go up to the gate to the elders and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to perpetuate his brother’s name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband’s brother to me.’ 8 Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him, and if he persists, saying, ‘I do not wish to take her,’ 9 then his brother’s wife shall go up to him in the presence of the elders and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face. And she shall answer and say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house.’ 10 And the name of his house shall be called in Israel, ‘The house of him who had his sandal pulled off.’

This was not a law but a custom that should be taken seriously, or else go through much humiliation and shame.

The second piece of scripture is in the law.

Leviticus 25:23–26 ““The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me. And in all the country you possess, you shall allow a redemption of the land. “If your brother becomes poor and sells part of his property, then his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem what his brother has sold. If a man has no one to redeem it and then himself becomes prosperous and finds sufficient means to redeem it,”

Leviticus 25:47–49 ““If a stranger or sojourner with you becomes rich, and your brother beside him becomes poor and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner with you or to a member of the stranger’s clan, then after he is sold he may be redeemed. One of his brothers may redeem him, or his uncle or his cousin may redeem him, or a close relative from his clan may redeem him. Or if he grows rich he may redeem himself.”

This portion of the law falls under the “Year of Jubilee” set of laws.

The year of Jubilee was 7 sabbath years times 7, so every 49 years on the 10th day in the 7th month a trumpet would blast signaling the beginning of the Jubilee year.

For the following year all indentured slaves were to be set free, all land sold was to be returned, and no crops were to be sewn nor harvested, not even what grew on its own accord.

God made a provision in blessing the crops of the 6th year and would give them enough food to eat for 3 years.

All of this for God to show that the land being the promised land did not actually belong to the people, but to God.

What does this mean, and how is it tied to the birth of Jesus?

We must keep looking closely at the mosaic.

We see the levirate marriage throughout scripture being practiced

in the genealogies there are what seem to be discrepancies, but upon closer study it is apparent that the levirate marriage was in affect.

This seems to be the case in the line of Zerubbabel

and Jesus earthly father, Joseph.

God used the Levirate marriages to secure the lineage of Christ through Joseph’s line and Mary’s.

Now I would like to show you an image of the mosaic that is very familiar.

The book of Ruth.

Ruth a Moabite woman marries Mahlon, the son of Elimelech.

Elimelech and his sons die, Ruths mother in law Naomi goes back to the Land of Judah.

Naomi tells her daughters in law that they don’t have to come with her. Orpah, Ruth’s sister in law went back to her people and her gods,

but Ruth clung to Naomi and followed her back to Bethlehem, where Elimelech and Naomi were from.

Back in Bethlehem we find a close relative of Elimelech named Boaz.

Boaz was a wealthy man and a man of integrity.

Ruth asks Naomi if she might go into Boaz’s field to glean the the heads of grain. which brings up another piece of scripture, where God says to NOT Glean the corners of the field, so that the widows and poor may get the grain.

Boaz, being a man of God and of integrity commanding his men not to touch her (being a moabite foreigner, animosity might arise) Boaz also commanded his men to purposely let grain drop from the bundles, so that it would be easy for her to get the grain.

now Boaz again be a noble and godly man identified a relative closer to Elimelech, Boaz gave him the opportunity, rightly so, to be the redeemer of his family members land and along with redeeming the land would be obligated to mary Ruth and perpetuate the name of the dead.

Ruth 4:6–10 “Then the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.” Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel. So when the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” he drew off his sandal. Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon. Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day.””

Ironically enough the closer relative, passing up being the redeemer, will continue to be nameless and be known as the man who pulled off his sandal.

So Boaz became the redeemer, marrying Ruth and went on to have a child.

Ruth 4:14–15 “Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.””

- His name was Obed, meaning “servant of God”

He is the father of Jesse

and grandfather of David.

Now let’s zoom out and look at the big picture

Each of theses major events are themselves are a mosaic, and yet these are a pieces of yet a much larger mosaic.

His plan and Purpose

the creation

the fall

the exodus

the law

the promised land

the royal lineage

the exile

the return to the promised land

the Birth of Jesus Christ

The cross

The tomb

The ascencion

The Return

Why did Jesus have to be born?

Why did God have to become a man?

Why did Jesus have to die?

What was veiled in the Old Testament is Unveiled in the New.

Hebrews 2:14–17 “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”

He is our Kinsman Redeemer

God poured himself into the body of a man, humbled himself to that of an infant and humbled himself even to the point of death.

Jesus had to become a man, for only a close relative could redeem us. Hence all man came from two people. we are all related, but there is only One that could redeem us.

One that was born under the law, had a ministry of suffering, that He shared in the same suffering and temptation in that He aids all His people.

He fulfilled the law, suffered death to destroy the power of death, freeing his people from bondage and the fear of death.

The devil comes to steal, kill and destroy

Christ Came to Redeem, Give life and Restore

And to answer the question

Couldn’t God just save everyone without Jesus dying on the cross?

Again no, Why?

God would no longer be a perfect and just Creator God if he reconciled without the punishment of sin.

2. God told Adam, “the day you eat of the tree, you shall surely die” so if God Just forgave and reconciled, not only would he be unjust, he would be a liar. These are 2 things that God can not be, and that is NOT putting God in a box.

Glory to God in the Highest

I hope that in the understanding of how these images create the mosaic of Gods redemptive plan, that we all have a better understanding and a deeper reverence for the birth of our redeemer.

Jesus Christ is our blessed kinsman redeemer, He has purchased us from our slavery to sin, called us, the Church, His bride!

Glory to God

Call to Repentance

Christ has made the way of salvation,

he commands us to repent and be saved, so…

Come now Repent and be saved you who are unrepentant,

come now Repent and confess you who are saved.

You who need prayer, come and be prayed for,

you who are not members of this body, come to me or any of the Deacons of this church.

I urge you to not delay, Isaiah said “seek the LORD while you can still find him”

All the time in the world is not ours for taking.

lets pray