Jesus, Our Kinsman- Redeemer
It was not until I sat under Ray and Linda Leatherman’s teaching that I really understood the
foreshadowing of the redemption story in the Old Testament book of Ruth. Boaz was a type of kinsman-redeemer, a foreshadowing of Jesus, who would become our rescuer and restorer.
Let us look at the story of Ruth and Boaz to help us understand. Both Naomi and Ruth, her daughter-in-law, were widows. They had lost income, possessions, and property. They needed someone to be willing to pay their price for redemption. Boaz was not the first in line to be the redeemer. There was another closer relative who was first in line to redeemer the land, but who chose not to because of jeopardizing his own inheritance. He wanted the land, but he did not want Ruth and Naomi. Thus, he said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself, (Ruth 2:8),” and he did and took Ruth along with the land, and Naomi as his wife.
Ruth gave birth to Obed, the father of Jesse who was the father of David and through whose lineage the birth of our Savior would come. This genealogy is recorded in Matthew 1:1-17. Enjoy reading this passage which will highlight for you the fact that Jesus’s human genealogy was not much different from yours and mine. Yet, we know that the Holy Spirit conceived Him.
What constitutes the qualities of a kinsman-redeemer:
1. One had to be kin – you had to be of the same family.
2. One had to be willing. No one could be forced to be the kinsman-redeemer.
3. One had to be able to redeem. One had to have the means – financial or otherwise.
4. One had to pay the price in full. It had to be all or nothing proposition.
Are you beginning to see the parallel?
1. Because the redeemer had to be of like kind, Jesus had to take on our humanity (John 1:1).
2. Jesus willingly laid down His life to buy us back. The nails did not hold Him to the cross. Love did (John 10:18).
3. Willingness means nothing without the legal means to satisfy the debt owed (to God).
Therefore, just as one trespass brought about condemnation for humanity (Adam and Eve), so
also, one righteous act (Jesus’s death) resulted in the legal justification for all people (Romans
5:18-19).
4. Jesus’s willingness to take on humanity, dying freely for the payment of our sin, paying a debt He
did not owe for a debt we could not pay, God stamped “Paid in Full” on our ‘receipt.’
While the debt is fully paid, there is one action that must be made. Each one must receive this gift of
redemption by putting his or her faith in the Redeemer of your soul, Jesus – our Kinsman Redeemer for the forgiveness of sin and the gift of eternal life.
What a beautiful picture: you and I were lost without hope. There was no way we could make amends with God in a way that would satisfy our sin-debt. But for Jesus…. Who stepped into the world, became flesh, lived a sinless life, and out of obedience to His Father, went to the cross as a sinless sacrifice for you and for me. He rose from the dead, conquering the evil one, and is now interceding and seated at the Father’s right hand. How glorious!
Especially at Christmastime, I ponder one of my favorite names for Jesus – our Kinsman-Redeemer. Do you see afresh and anew the strong implication for how Jesus is revealed both in the Old and New Testaments? I am thankful for this wonderful teaching from the Leatherman’s!
If you would like to reach out to Jeannie, you may email her at jbrostrand@redeemerdayschool.org.