I love the old chorus, “I will sing of my redeemer, by his blood he purchased me. On the cross he sealed my pardon, paid the debt and made me free.” Jesus is our Redeemer. Job looked forward to his coming when he said, “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives and he will stand upon the earth at last.” (Job 19:25) Christians have each been redeemed by Jesus, but what does that mean?
Christian theologians tell us that the Greek word apolutrosis, translated to English as redeem, is used in the New Testament to refer to deliverance from sin and freedom from captivity. An example is a ransom paid for the return of someone kidnapped. It has always been so comforting for me to think that God loved me so much that He paid my ransom and set me free from sin.
Since I am not a theologian, I want to share with you a dictionary definition of redeem that jumped off the page for me when I saw it (that usually happens when the Holy Spirit wants to get my attention), “To exchange for something of value”. My wife was the coupon clipping queen of our household. There were few items she ever paid full price for. I learned from her that manufacturer coupons were the best because they could be “redeemed” at any place that sells that item. I think I was once a “Manufacturer’s coupon” created with valuable potential, but only one Redeemer could complete the transaction and exchange me for something of value to Him.
There is an old joke that goes, “How many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb? Only one, but the bulb has to want to change.” How many redeemers did it take to exchange me? Only One, but I had to want to change.