“Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham” (Hebrews 2:14-16).
The great redeemer of the Old Testament is Moses. Through him, God took the house of Israel “by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt” (Hebrews 8:9). Without God’s intervention through Moses, the Israelites would have lived and died in endless bondage. All of this foreshadowed the Great Redeemer, Jesus.
Like Moses, our Great Redeemer is our kinsman. He Himself was flesh and blood in the exact manner we are. The only difference between Him in His humanity and us is He never sinned.
Like Moses, our Great Redeemer destroyed our tyrannical slave master. For Moses, it was Pharaoh, the king of the world. For Jesus, the slave master was the devil, the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4).
Like Moses, our Great Redeemer released slaves from their shackles. The fear of death is the most powerful weapon in any tyrant’s arsenal. Through His death, Jesus neutralized this potent warhead. Death is now a welcome door into a glorious eternity. Its sting has been defeated and death has been swallowed up in victory (1 Corinthians 15:54-55).
Like Moses, our Great Redeemer has been focused. Just as Moses did not emancipate every slave on the planet, just those of the family of Abraham, Jesus’ spiritual liberation is only for humans. He tasted death for every person (Hebrews 2:9), so that all can become children of Abraham by faith (Galatians 3:26-29).
How appropriate it is to sing the praises of Our Great Redeemer!
