At the Table with JesusSample

Jesus Is Our Redeemer

The prophet often referred to as John the Baptist was a wild sort of man by any standard. Like Jesus, John’s birth was a miraculous event that included an improbable conception and a visit from the angel Gabriel. Unlike Jesus, lots of people knew about John’s birth and the circumstances surrounding it. That’s because John was the son of a priest, a known commodity. And the miracles connected to that moment were witnessed by other known commodities in Jerusalem rather than shepherds from the hills of Bethlehem.

Despite his famous beginning, John took a strange turn when he came of age. Rather than follow in his father’s footsteps as a priest, John decamped to the wilderness around the Jordan River, about twenty miles east of Jerusalem. Perhaps because of his famous birth, crowds of people began visiting John in the wilderness to hear what he had to say. And John had a lot to say. He preached with fire and passion, urging people to confess their sins and be baptized as a sign of their renewed commitment to God. He often spoke against the hypocritical Pharisees and other religious leaders, calling them a “brood of vipers” (Matt. 3:7).

One day, Jesus came out with the crowds to hear John speak. Jesus even waded into the river, requesting to be baptized. What happened next must have shocked everyone except Jesus: “Heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased’ ” (Luke 3:21–22).

What the people didn’t understand was that God the Father had just launched the ministry of Jesus, His Son. The same voice that created the universe spoke out to declare that Jesus’ mission was in full swing and God was “well pleased.”

John understood what was happening, though. He had prepared for this moment his entire life. So when John saw Jesus again, he cried out, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

Now, if you and I were standing on the riverbank, we might have felt confused by this declaration. Lamb of God? we might have wondered. Why a lamb? Why not a lion or a bear? Something a little more powerful?

No. John’s wording was perfect. Jesus is the Lamb because He is pure. Unblemished. Innocent. And Jesus is the “Lamb of God” because He came into our world to offer Himself as a sacrifice, to allow His own blood to be shed for you and for me.

On the cross, Jesus willingly bore the entire weight of human sin. Every sin committed by every person in history was thrown upon Jesus in a single moment. And it was agony. He was pierced by the reality of that sin. Crushed by it. And ultimately killed by it.

Led “like a lamb to the slaughter,” Jesus chose to suffer so you and I might choose to be blessed. He chose to suffer so that we might have life and have it abundantly. He chose to suffer so we would have the opportunity to fortify our minds and stand firm against the same sin, the same evil He endured.

In short, Jesus suffered to limit your suffering. Because He is the Lamb of God.What comes to mind when you hear the words redeem or redemption? Those are church words through and through. Pastors and church leaders use them all the time, and you’ll find them all over the place in articles, books, and Bible studies. But what do those terms actually mean?

The answer might surprise you.

Today, we talk about redemption as a synonym for salvation. But that wasn’t how the term was used for thousands of years. In fact, in the ancient world, redeem and redemption weren’t spiritual terms at all. They were financial words connected to debt. To redeem something meant to buy it out or buy it back.

Humanity exists in slavery to sin and death. We are born into that slavery, and we have no way of repaying that sin debt ourselves. We have no way of solving our own problem.

Instead, Jesus solved the problem for us by redeeming us, by buying us out of that debt, not with silver or gold but with His own “precious blood” as the Lamb of God.

Respond

List people in your circle of friends and family who need to know Jesus, our Redeemer.

How will you go about sharing Him with them?

Prayer

Precious Jesus, thank You for dying on that cross so that I could be redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.