Christmas 2 (2)
Born under the law, Jesus was a human; thus he was voluntarily subject to the structured universe that he had created (John 1:3–5) and that had been marred by human rebellion. More significantly, Jesus lived as a Jew, subject to God’s revealed law. In keeping with this, Jesus was both circumcised and presented at the temple (Luke 2:21–32). Yet while no other human being has been able to perfectly fulfill God’s law, Jesus kept it completely (Matthew 5:17; Hebrews 4:15). Thus, Jesus could be the perfect sacrifice because, although fully human, he never sinned. His death bought freedom for us who were enslaved to sin, offering us redemption and adoption into God’s family.
4:5 To redeem those under the law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Jesus was himself born “under the law” (4:4) so that by his living and dying he could accomplish two purposes: (1) to redeem those under the law and (2) to allow those “redeemed” people to receive the full rights of sons.
To “redeem” means “to buy back” (see 3:13). “Redemption” was the price paid to gain freedom for a slave (Leviticus 25:47–54). Through his life, Jesus demonstrated his unique eligibility to be our Redeemer. Through his death, Jesus paid the price to release us from slavery to sin. When Christ redeemed “those under the law,” he did not redeem the Jews alone. His death set people free from bondage to any law or religious system (see 4:3)—offering, instead, salvation by faith alone. But because the law was God’s clearest revelation of his justice, being born under the law and keeping it perfectly proved that Jesus was the perfect sacrifice. He took upon himself the curse the law required in order to set believers free of that curse.
Redemption had an ongoing purpose—“that we might receive the full rights of sons.” Until Christ redeemed us (that is, paid the ultimate price by taking the penalty for our sins), we could never have been acceptable to God. In our sinful state, God could have nothing to do with us. Even our good works or religious rituals could bring us no closer to a relationship with him. But when Christ “bought us back,” he gave us freedom from the slavery we faced before and brought us into a new relationship with God the Father. Our new position in Christ goes beyond mere acceptance by God. So close is that relationship that Paul called it huiothesian (sonship) or “adoption as children” (NRSV) or “full rights of sons.” In Roman culture, a wealthy, childless man could take a slave youth and make that slave his child and heir. The adopted person was no longer a slave. He became a full heir to his new family, guaranteed all legal rights to his father’s property. He was not a second-class son; he was equal to all other sons, biological or adopted, in his father’s family. That person’s origin or past was no longer a factor in his legal standing. Likewise, when a person becomes a Christian, he or she leaves the slavery of trying to please God through works and gains all the privileges and responsibilities of a child in God’s family.