Ep. 26 - The Redeemer & Redemption Pt. 2
EPISODE DESCRIPTION
In this concluding installment on redemption, Pastor Josh completes the qualifications of the Redeemer by adding a fourth: sympathy. Then he moves to the cross itself — the mode of payment. Why blood? Because life is in the blood, and Christ’s blood is precious because it is the blood of the God-man. That blood, willingly shed, was fully satisfactory to God. Justice and grace — which seemed to collide in every Old Testament pardon — met and were resolved at Calvary.
From the cross, Pastor Josh turns to the free gift: the righteousness and justification that the Redeemer’s work makes available, received by faith alone. He closes by reading John Flavel’s vivid meditation on the eternal counsel between the Father and the Son — the Son volunteering to bear every bill, every debt, every drop of wrath — so that we would bear none. The fitting conclusion to a series that began in Ephesians 1:7: in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.
KEY SCRIPTURES
Ephesians 1:7
“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.”
Romans 1:1–4
“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”
Romans 3:23–25
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.”
Romans 5:1, 15
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God... But not as the offence, so also is the free gift.”
Romans 4:23–25
“Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.”
2 Corinthians 9:8
“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.”
Romans 15:13
“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”
Philippians 2:13
“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”
EPISODE OUTLINE
Qualification 4: sympathy — Christ went to the cross with compassion, not reluctance
The seal of His uncompromised qualification — the resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:4)
The cross — the mode of payment for redemption
Why blood? Life is in the blood; Christ’s blood is the precious blood of the God-man
God set forth Christ as a propitiation — His faith in His Son’s blood before Calvary
Justice and grace collide and meet at the cross — God is just and the justifier (Romans 3:26)
The free gift — provision versus reception; unto all, upon all them that believe
Romans 4:23–25 — delivered for our offences, raised for our justification
Romans 5:15 — not as the offence, so also is the free gift
Saving faith as the first submission and the ongoing pattern of the Christian walk
John Flavel’s meditation — the eternal counsel of the Father and Son before the foundation of the world
We will never experience one drop of God’s wrath — every drop fell upon His Son
QUESTIONS DISCUSSED
What does Christ’s sympathy on the cross — “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” — reveal about His willingness as Redeemer?
How does the resurrection prove that Christ was uncompromised by sin and that His cross-work fully satisfied God’s justice?
Why is blood the instrument of redemption? What does “life is in the blood” mean for understanding the cross?
Pastor Josh distinguishes provision and reception — Christ’s work is “unto all” but “upon all them that believe.” How does this shape your understanding of the gospel?
John Flavel imagines the Son saying, “Upon me, my Father, upon me be all their debt.” How does meditating on that eternal counsel affect the way you think about your sin and your standing before God?
Pastor Josh closes by saying the cross is not only our justification but our wisdom. In what way is the cross your wisdom — what does it teach you about God and about yourself?
