Jesus’ apostle Peter says that we have been redeemed with the precious
blood of Christ. But what is meant by this word “redeemed”?
When the descendants of Jacob, the future nation of Israel was enslaved
in the land of Egypt, God’s Angel descended but did not strike the
Israeli homes where the door-frames were smeared with the blood of the
Passover Lamb. The same angel struck down the firstborn
of man and beast in all homes, Egyptian and Israeli, that were not
marked with the blood of a lamb.
Because God had passed over those Israeli homes, the firstborn males of
either man or beast that had been spared actually belonged to the Lord,
and were to be given over to him for sacrifice (animals) or for full-time
service (humans). But where the firstborn
sons were concerned, God provided a way for the parents to redeem their
sons. They could buy them back from God by giving a designated money
offering. We read in the New Testament how this ordinance was observed
by Mary and Joseph when they brought the infant Jesus to the Temple.
Luke 2:22-23: Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”).
What a contrast with the redemption of the human race as carried out by
Christ! There was no cash payment price possible for those doomed to
eternal separation from God because of their sins. The ransom Jesus paid
for us was His blood -- His life sacrificed
in the place of us all.
Lord, I believe were sinners more
Than sands upon the ocean shore,
Thou hast for all a ransom paid,
For all a full atonement made.
Jesus, be endless praise to Thee,
Whose boundless mercy hath for me,
For me, and all Thy hands have made,
An everlasting ransom paid.
(The Lutheran Hymnal, 371:5, 7) |
