I know that my saviour is alive!

Jesus was dead, he was resurrected! He is risen! Jesus lives! Job was aware of this truth and proclaimed: “I know that my Redeemer lives!” This is the main idea and central theme of this sermon.

Job was a pious and righteous man. He avoided evil like no other person of his time. Nevertheless, God let him fall into a great test. At Satan's hand, his seven sons, three daughters died and all his possessions were taken away from him. He became a broken and seriously ill man. Although this “bad news” deeply shocked him, he remained steadfast in his faith and exclaimed:

Hiob 1,21-22 «I came naked from my mother's womb, naked I will go there again. The Lord gave, the Lord took away; Blessed be the name of the Lord! – In all this Job did not sin or do anything foolish against God."

Job's friends Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar paid him a visit. They barely recognized him, wept and tore their clothes while Job confidently described his suffering to them. In the course of their discussions, a veritable tribunal developed against Job, in which they attributed considerable responsibility for his misery to him. They compared him to the wicked who are judged by God because of their sins. When Job could no longer bear the accusations of his friends and could no longer find an advocate, he cried out these words:

Job 19,25-27 «But I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will rise last from the dust. After my skin is thus battered, I will see God without my flesh. I myself will see him, my eyes will see him and not a stranger. This is what my heart longs for in my chest»

The term redeemer can also mean redeemer. It refers to the Messiah, the Son of God, who is destined to bring redemption and salvation for all humanity. Job announces a prophecy so important that he desires to have it engraved in stone for all time. In the verses immediately before he says:

Job 19,23-24 «Oh, that my speeches were written down! Oh that they would be recorded as an inscription, carved with an iron stylus and lead forever into a rock!

We look at four key aspects that Job wanted immortalized in a book or engraved in rock for all eternity. The first word is certainty!

1. certainty

Job's message reveals a deep and unshakable certainty about the existence and promised goodness of his Redeemer. This firm conviction is the center of his faith and hope, even in the midst of the deepest misery and suffering. People who don't believe in God explain: Believing doesn't mean knowing! Although they themselves do not believe, they speak about faith as if they fully understand its nature. But they miss the essence of a living faith.

I would like to explain this with an example: Imagine you discover a banknote worth 30 francs. They use it for payments because people value it at 30 francs, even though it is just a piece of paper. Why do we put our trust and faith in this banknote (pick up the 20 banknote), which is worth 20 francs? This happens because an important institution, the National Bank and the state, stand behind this value. They guarantee the value of this paper. That's why we trust this banknote. In contrast to counterfeit banknotes. It doesn't retain value because many people trust it and use it for payments.

I want to state one fact clearly: God is alive, He exists, whether you believe it or not! God is not dependent on your faith. He will not come to life if we call all people to believe. He won't be any less God if we don't want to know anything about him! The foundation of our faith is God's presence. It is also Job's basis for his certainty, as the Bible also confirms:

Hebrews 11,1 “But faith is a firm confidence in what one hopes for and a non-doubt about what one does not see” [Schlachter: a conviction in facts about what one does not see]

We live in two time zones: We live in one physically perceptible world, comparable to a transitory time zone. At the same time, we also live in an invisible world, in an eternal and heavenly time zone. There are things that we do not see or recognize and yet they are real.

In 1876, the German doctor Robert Koch used the model of the anthrax pathogen (Bacillus anthracis) to demonstrate the clear connection between a disease and a bacterial pathogen. Before the existence of bacteria and viruses was known, they already existed. Likewise, there was a time when nothing was known about atoms and yet they were always present. The statement “I only believe what I see” is one of the most naive assumptions ever formulated. There is a reality beyond what we can grasp with our senses - that reality is the spiritual and spiritual world of God, along with the kingdom of Satan and his demons. Our five senses are not enough to grasp this spiritual dimension. A sixth sense is required: faith:

Hebrews 11,1-2 “But faith is a firm confidence in what one hopes for and a non-doubt about what one does not see. In this faith the ancestors received God's testimony.

Job is one of these ancestors. Please pay close attention to the following verse:

Hebrews 11,3 “By faith we know that the world was created by the word of God, that everything that we see came from nothing.”

We have knowledge through faith! This verse reveals a deep truth that touches my heart because it shows that faith does not come from human knowledge. In fact, it is the exact opposite. When God gives you the blessing of living faith, or as you might say, "faith eyes," you begin to see realities that you previously thought were impossible. Addressing us Christians, the Bible says:

1. John 5,19-20 «We know that we are from God, and the whole world is in trouble. But we know that the Son of God came and gave us understanding, that we might know the truthful one. And we are in the True One, in his Son Jesus Christ."

Job also had this certainty:

Job 19,25 “But I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will rise above the dust as the last.”

The second essential aspect that Job wanted immortalized in the rock is the word Redeemer.

2. Redeemer

The Hebrew word for redeemer is “Goel” and is rendered with two different meanings. The first meaning is: Job's redeemer is his closest relative.

Job's Savior is his closest relative

The word Goel reminds us of Naomi and her Moabite daughter-in-law Ruth. When Boaz appeared in Ruth's life, Naomi enlightened her and said that he was her Goel. As a next of kin, according to the law of Moses, he had the duty to support the impoverished family. He had to ensure that the over-indebted property returned to the family. Relatives who had fallen into slavery were ransomed and redeemed. This is what Job meant by Savior.

There are no biological brothers, uncles or aunts in heaven. All family ties come to an end here on earth through death. Only a relationship lasts beyond our death and lasts forever. This is our spiritual father, his Son Jesus Christ and our kinship with him. Jesus is and will forever remain our firstborn brother, our Goel and our closest relative:

Roman 8,29 "For those whom he chose he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren."

Job's friends were ashamed of their impoverished and lonely friend. But the Holy Spirit came into his loneliness and desolation. He came to the one who no longer had a family, no sons or daughters, and made him proclaim: I know that my relative is alive! He knew that his closest relative was not ashamed of him:

Hebrews 2,11 "For because they all come from one, both he who sanctifies and those who are to be sanctified, therefore he is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters."

God is not ashamed of you! He commits to you. When everyone despises you and doesn't think you're socially acceptable, your closest relative stands by you. Not only Job, but you too have such a “Goel”, such a big brother, who never forgets you and always takes care of you. The second meaning of Goel or redeemer is: Job's redeemer is his defender.

Job's Redeemer is his defender

Have you also been slandered like Job? Were you blamed like he was? Do you know these accusations: If you hadn't done this, or if you had behaved differently, then God would be with you. But he can't be with you like that. You see your condition! Poor Job! Job's children were dead, his wife had turned away from God, his farm and herds were destroyed, his health was ruined, along with these accusations, lies and burdens. Job was at the end of his strength, he sighed deeply and exclaimed: "I know that my defender is alive!" Even if you have sinned, if you have become guilty, you have a defender, because the Bible says:

1. John 2,1 «My children, I write this to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, who is righteous."

Paul explains that we have Jesus as our advocate:

Roman 8,34 «Who wants to condemn? Christ Jesus is here, who died, and moreover, who was also raised, who is at the right hand of God, making intercession for us."

What an advocate! You will not find a lawyer like Jesus anywhere in this world. Let the rich pay their star lawyers. You don't have to pay your lawyer. He has paid all the debts for which you are being charged, so you stand before the judge debt-free. No conviction should burden you anymore. Your defense attorney paid for you with his blood and life. Therefore rejoice and shout with the afflicted Job: “I know that my defender lives!” The third aspect that Job wants to carve into the stone is the word: He lives!

3. He lives!

At the heart of Job's statement is a profound meaning found in the little word "mine." In the depth of this knowledge lies the truth: My Redeemer lives. Have you gained that personal relationship with Jesus? Who gives you support in your life? Is Jesus also your Savior that you can cling to because you cling to the living Christ? Job did not simply say that there is a Savior. His words were much more precise: I know he is alive! He does not speak of a Savior of the past or of the future. No, Jesus is his Savior – here and now. Jesus is alive, he is risen.

1. Corinthians 15,20-22 “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, even so through a man comes the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all are made alive."

Therefore Job said, I know that my Redeemer lives! My kinsman lives, my defender lives, my Savior and Savior lives. This fact is confirmed in:

Luke 24,1-6 “But on the first day of the week very early they came to the tomb, carrying with them the fragrant oils which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb and went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And as they were perplexed about this, behold, there came to them two men in shining garments. But they were afraid and bowed their faces to the ground. Then they said to them, Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, he has risen!"

Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James and the other women with them are witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the fourth aspect, Job writes in the rock that his eyes will see him.

4. My eyes will see him

The Holy Spirit unfolds the great salvation that Job can expect. In prophetic words Job proclaims:

Job 19,25 Hope for All «But one thing I know: My Redeemer lives; on this doomed earth he speaks the last word!”

Despite the dust in which I lie, despite my misery and the fact that my friends have abandoned me, my Savior speaks the last word. Not my enemies, not my sin, not the devil have the last word - Jesus makes the judgment. He rises above my dust. Even though I become dust and my body is laid in the ground, Job continues to proclaim:

Job 19,26 “After my skin is bruised, I will see God without my flesh.”

What a great idea! The vitality of his Redeemer is so powerful that Job will live even in the decay of his body. The Holy Spirit reveals to him the eventual resurrection of his body. This reminds me of the words Jesus spoke to Martha:

John 11,25-26 «I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, even though he dies, he will live; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you think the?"

Yes, Job, your body also became dust, but your body will not be lost, but it will be raised up in that day:

Job 19,27 «I myself will see him, my eyes will see him and not a stranger. This is what my heart longs for in my chest»

If we close our eyes here on earth, we will be brought to life at the resurrection. There we will not meet Jesus as strangers, because we already know him. We never forget how he met us, how he forgave our sins and loved us even when we were still his enemies. We remember the times when he walked with us through joy and sorrow. He never abandoned us, but always guided and guided us. What a faithful friend Jesus is in our lives! In eternity we will see face to face Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, Savior, Savior and God. What a joyful expectation!

by Pablo Nauer

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