I (me) know (am certain and sure) that my Redeemer (??) lives (not dead… alive… like really alive).
The above Hymn title is from the Amplified Kohlwey Hymn Translation which is not a real thing but used to get you thinking.
This popular Easter hymn, “I Know That My Redeemer Lives” is from Job 19:25-27.
Job 19:25-27 New International Version (NIV)
25 I know that my redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
26 And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet in my flesh I will see God;
27 I myself will see him
with my own eyes—I, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!
Please consider who is writing this. Job has experienced incredible loss and suffering. He lost his children when the house they were gathered in collapsed. He lost almost everything he had when it was taken from him. And, if that wasn’t enough, he developed a severe illness with boils and sores all over his body. At this point his wife couldn’t bear to see him suffer anymore and she told him to “curse God and die”.
Most of you may know that Job was a pretty amazing man. Despite the severe suffering and lost he held on to his faith in God. He was sure and excited about several things as we study the above mentioned verses:
- His Redeemer lives.
- His Redeemer with stand upon the earth.
- When Job dies, in his flesh, he would see God.
- He will see him with his own eyes, personally, to be with Him.
- His heart is yearning for that day!
An important thing to clear up and fine tune is what the word Redeemer means. We hear it this time of year but we need to look back to see what this meant to Job so we can understand and have the same excitement!
Redeemer (redemption) means restoring the rights of another and/or paying a ransom for another.
Job was seeing his Redeemer as a defender and advocate in Heaven who would plead with God on his behalf. The defense is against all accusers or specifically the Accuser (Satan). If God wants all men to be saved and come to knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4) then the Accuser has a goal of wanting all men to be damned and not know the truth. The Accuser will point out our sin and try to distort the truth. The Defender and Advocate will point out how the defendant was bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20) or Redeemed. The price God had to pay to redeem us from what we deserved due to our sin, was the blood of His Son.
Recently we discussed in chapel how the animal sacrifices in the Old Testament were an incredible object lesson for hundreds of years pointing to the ultimate sacrifice and redeeming of all sin, death and evil. The blood of those sacrifices came to a profound climax at 3:00 pm on that Good Friday. The Lamb of God (Jesus) would take away the sin of the world. At the very time the animal sacrifice was being killed, as it was regularly for hundreds of years at 3:00 pm, Jesus cried out, “It is finished.”
At that moment all of your sin and my sin was marked paid in full. The judgment, punishment and the wrath that we deserved from a Holy God that hates sin (because of the pain and separation it causes between us and Him and us and each other) was leveled onto the most perfect and loving person the world has ever known.
But we know it didn’t end there.
My nephew, Elijah, was about 4 years old and was attending a Good Friday service with his parents. It was a full house and the lady next to him was deeply moved by the sermon and video of Jesus’ suffering. Elijah saw the women’s tears. He tapped her on the shoulder and leaned into whisper to her, “I know the end of the story, He comes back to life.”
We know the rest of the story and so did Job. Jesus is not dead, He is alive!
Not only is Jesus’ life well documented and a historical fact but His resurrection is one of the most documented events in history. Please check it out. Christians do not believe in a myth!
As I cover these facts in my class, students often ask me why more people don’t know about this. My response is that they don’t care to know. They don’t check it out. They don’t want to know because if they did it would change everything.
Or more specifically, He has changed everything.
Do you know that your Redeemer lives? That He is alive and defending you. He loved you with His life. He paid your ransom and redeemed you when you were lost and condemned. He loves you now and will never leave you or forsake you. Look forward with me to the day when we will see Him face to face and be with Him forever. Worship and sing this traditional hymn with confidence that your Redeemer LIVES!
He is alive…I just talked to Him! Here are a couple of other songs that will help you worship Him during this time:
https://youtu.be/mj-pZQ_XjyU
https://youtu.be/8eUGUC4Ko30
https://youtu.be/pOnTfCH4Qgc
