31
March
+ In the Name of Jesus +
Job 19:23–27
I Know that My Redeemer Lives!
Easter Day
March 30, 2024
Job lost everything. That’s pretty much the story of Job. As a great test of faith—a temptation allowed by God’s hand—Job lost everything. All his wealth—in those days wealth wasn’t measured in dollars, pounds, euros or shekels—it was measured with flocks, herds and crops—and it was all wiped out in a day. Even most of his family—gone. In all the pain of his loss, Job fell down in worship and said, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. May the name of the Lord be blessed.”
Then Job was afflicted with painful sores, and said, “If we accept the good that comes from God, shouldn’t we also accept the bad?”
Other afflictions were yet to come. His wife said, “You’ve had enough of this Job! Curse God and die!” And if that wasn’t bad enough, three friends showed up who said, “You must have done something to deserve all these losses. Maybe if you shape up, things will get better” (Summarized from Job chapters 4-5, 8, 11). “Maybe you’re weak in faith. Trust in God and then things will get better.” (Summarized from Job 15). Another friend said, “You are hiding some evil. That’s why you’re suffering.” (Job 18). All this advice from his friends was as bad as the losses and the illness—continued afflictions.
Job had enough—but he doesn’t yell. He doesn’t kick his wife and friends out. Instead he confesses his faith again.
“Oh, that my words were recorded,
that they were written on a scroll,
24 that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead,
or engraved in rock forever!
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!
In other words, “Write this down. Chisel it in granite so what I say can be seen forever!—I know that my redeemer lives.”
In the ancient world, a redeemer was someone who came to your rescue. Ruth was a foreigner and a widow who was about to lose her husband’s property until a relative stepped in and helped her have a legal claim on her husband’s inheritance, a kinsman-redeemer. Without him, she would have lost everything. With him, she had hope and a future. The words redeem and redemption also had another meaning in history. If someone was a slave, a wealthy friend or relative could buy that slave and give him or her freedom. That was the meaning of redemption. Yes, redeem means to buy back. It also can mean to rescue. To fight for someone’s rights or privileges. To pay a price to set someone free. Job calls God his Redeemer. His protector, his liberator, one who brings justice, the one who sets things right. Job is answering his friends, “Everything is my world is turning to garbage now—but my Redeemer lives. He will set things right—either now, or at the end of time. Either way, I’ll get redemption. Rescue. Relief.
We know that Old Testament people had some idea of a Savior who was yet to come. Around the same time as Job lived, Abraham was receiving promises from God, “I am your shield, your very great reward” … “Through your seed all nations on earth will be blessed.” About a thousand years later, King David wrote about “The LORD’s Anointed.” “The LORD’s Son.” (Psalm 2). And Friday we sang David’s psalm about the Messiah, with hands and feet pierced, shouting, “My God, why have you forsaken me,” who later says, “I will proclaim your name and your praise to my people” (Psalm 22). That is the same as Job’s “Redeemer.” Jesus Christ.
And what does Job say about his “Redeemer”? “In the end he will stand on the earth.” Sounds like the last lines of the second article of the creed—“From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.” “And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.” That sounds like the last lines of the third article. “I believe in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.” And Job takes those truths and makes them as personal as he possibly can. “I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!”
“I know that my redeemer lives.” 2,000 years before Jesus was born, Job confessed his faith in the living God. We know more about how God set about to be our Redeemer himself—and what he did to redeem, avenge, vindicate and free us. Think again of the context of Job’s words. “Everything is a loss. Property, family, health, and even an unhelpful spouse and unhelpful friends—but my redeemer lives!” What is your loss? Struggle with disease? Chronic disease? A diagnosis of a terminal disease? Unshakable grief at the loss of someone you love? Or maybe it’s a cloud of doubt that just won’t go away? Your redeemer lives. Know that your redeemer lives. Job did not say “I guess that my redeemer lives.” He expresses faith with certainty. So can you. You have the testimony of eleven apostles plus Paul who were willing to lay down their lives for the truth they spoke about the living Christ they saw, touched, talked and ate with. You have your Redeemer, present with you in Word and Sacrament, refreshing and empowering your faith and hope. He gives you his promise, “I am with you always.” “I have gone to prepare a place for you.” “Where I am you will be also.” “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world.” “I know that my Redeemer lives! / What comfort this sweet sentence gives!”
Amen.