The Kinsman-Redeemer

When God gave the law through Moses, He knew that the children of Israel would need mercy, so He instituted a series of statutes that would affect the social life of His people. One of those provisions was the law of the kinsman-redeemer. This law is vividly set forth in the Book of Leviticus.

“And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger’s family:
“After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him:
“Either his uncle, or his uncle’s son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself.
“And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto the year of jubile; and the price of his sale shall be according unto the number of years, according to the time
of an hired servant shall it be with him.
“If there be yet many years behind, according unto them he shall give again the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for.
“And if there remain but few years unto the year of jubile, then he shall count with him, and according unto his years shall he give him again the price of his redemption.
“And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him: and the other shall not rule with rigour over him in thy sight.
“And if he be not redeemed in these years, then he shall go out in the year of jubile, both he, and his children with him.
“For unto Me the children of Israel are servants; they are My servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God” (Lev. 25:47-55).

The average person today might read this passage and think, “What does that have to do with me? We are not under the law. Slavery has been abolished. We have no such practice today and this portion is the record of a custom which has long since died.”

Before we so easily dismiss any part of the Word of God as dead history or as not applicable for today, we would do well to consider the testimony of the Word to its own timelessness.

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim. 3:16,17).
“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Rom. 15:4).

The Details and Application

The law of the kinsman-redeemer is not only a record of God’s mercy to poor Jews under the law, but also a wonderful type or shadow of God’s present-day mercy to all the world through the great Kinsman-Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us glean some of the details of this law as to better appreciate its beauty and its fulfillment in Christ.

1. Hebrew brother could sell himself into slavery if poverty should overtake him.
2. After the brother became a slave, he could be redeemed (bought back) out of bondage by a member of his family and set free. (This was the “nigh of kin;” thus the term “kinsman-redeemer”). See the beautiful story of Ruth (Ruth 4:1-22).
3. He could also redeem himself out of slavery from accumulated pay, as he was to receive some wages for his work.
4. His master was not to rule over him with vigor (ruthlessly, severely, or brutally).
5. If he could not redeem himself or if a relative could not or was unwilling, he would go out free in the Year of Jubilee.
6. The Year of Jubilee, also known as the “year of liberty” (Ezek. 46:17), was every fiftieth year after seven cycles of seven years (Lev. 25:10).
7. The poor could also sell the land of their inheritance to another (Lev. 25:25-28), which could later be redeemed or returned to the original owner in the Year of Jubilee.
8. The price for the redemption of land or men was set according to the number of years from the Year of Jubilee. If the number of years was small, the redemption price was small. If the number of years was great, the redemption price was great.
9. The Year of Jubilee was a gracious provision from God because the sons of Israel were really His servants whom He brought out from the bondage of the Egyptians. The land of Israel belonged to God, which He gave to the Hebrews as their eternal inheritance.

Now that we know the details of the law, we can begin to see the spiritual interpretations based on subsequent Bible history and the reality of Jesus Christ as the Kinsman-Redeemer. While the primary interpretation is to Israel, I think we can legitimately make many precious applications for us Gentiles under the dispensation of grace.

The poverty of spirit caused by sin translates into a bondage to the master of darkness to which all men naturally belong (Eph. 2:1-3). Slavery to sin and Satan is the lot of all those born of Adam, and that results in a state of hopelessness from which all are helpless to extricate themselves (Rom. 5:6; Eph. 2:12). What comes next is where the reality is held in sharp contrast with the shadow. Unlike the law of the kinsman-redeemer in Leviticus 25, a slave, sold under sin, is powerless to redeem himself; neither is his kin able to do so.

“None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him: (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)” (Psa. 49:7-8).

The sense of the last part of the above “and it ceaseth for ever” is that kinsmen should halt forever the attempt to pay for their redemption. The abyss of man’s depravity is far too deep and the cost of the soul much too expensive to be purchased with silver or gold. The only answer, if there is an answer, must reside in God Himself. The brightness of the Lord’s voice pierces the darkness with a message of love and hope.

“Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go” (Isa. 48:17).

The title of “Redeemer” is used of God 18 times in the Old Testament (Job 19:25; Psa. 19:14; 78:35; Prov. 23:11; Isa. 41:14; 43:14; 44:6,24; 47:4; 48:17; 49:7,26; 54:5,8; 59:20; 60:16; 63:16; Jer. 50:34) and is the English translation of the Hebrew word “Gaal.” It is the same word that is used in Leviticus concerning the kinsman-redeemer. It means simply to redeem, purchase, or ransom. The first occurrence of the word, and one of the most striking, is from a man whose patience in suffering is legendary.

“I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God” (Job 19:25,26).

An Old Testament Riddle

One thing that must have puzzled the sages of old is how their Gaal (Redeemer), Who is the Lord God, could also be a blood relative. How could this be? Is it even possible? How would God do it? The chasm between the majesty of God and that of man was so great as to seem impossible to bridge. The making of a Kinsman-Redeemer for Israel would, of necessity, involve some kind of miracle in which God would take on human (Jewish) flesh and blood. Perhaps this was confirmed in their minds by passages such as this:

“Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emnanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us” (Matt. 1:23 cf. Isa. 7:14).

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6,7).

A virgin conceiving a son who is “God with us” and a child being born who is called “The mighty God”? Is anything too hard for the Lord? Fast forward 800 years into the future and ear the words of God to the Hebrews of Christ’s day.

“For verily He took not on Him the nature of angels; but He took on Him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren…” (Heb. 2:16,17).

Paul wrote to the Gentiles of the same necessity of God being made in the likeness of human flesh.

“[Christ Jesus] Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:6,7).

The Divine Recompense

We have seen the miracle of the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ into a human body, but it still doesn’t answer the issue of payment. Jesus was a modest carpenter and had little of the world’s goods. What did He have that was so precious that it would purchase freedom for His brethren and satisfy the claims of justice for the sins of the whole world? The next verse from Philippians is the key.

“And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:8).

There was something in Christ’s death on the cross that God found supremely satisfying and which flung open the prison doors to all who would enter in by faith.

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Pet. 1:18,19).

“…and without shedding of blood is no remission [forgiveness]” (Heb. 9:22).

“And He is the propitiation [satisfaction] for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2).

Jesus Christ fulfilled His mission to be man’s Kinsman-Redeemer. He became a man without relinquishing His deity. He lived a perfect life without sin. He voluntarily laid down His life on the cross in obedience to the Father’s will. And the blood that flowed from His body became the precious payment for the sins of the world. This last statement should be unspeakably precious to us Gentiles, since the law of the kinsman-redeemer applied only to Israel. Paul confirmed the wideness of the merits of Christ’s redemption when he wrote to the Gentiles.

“Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24).

“…Christ Jesus, Who of God is made unto us…redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30).

“In Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:7).

Something More?

As wonderful as the redemption of our souls is, it does not stop there. The whole matter of inheritance comes into play, for another function of the kinsman-redeemer is to buy back the property rights of the poor and return them to the family. After Christ’s return, He will bring back the believing remnant of Israel to the land of promise and enlarge their borders far beyond that of Solomon. It will extend from the river of Egypt to the river Euphrates (Gen. 15:18; Ex. 23:31; Deut. 1:7,8) and will be their everlasting possession (Amos 9:14,15). It will be a Jubilee, not for a year, but for a millennium (Rev. 20:4-6). The joy of the Lord will characterize the Kingdom of Christ and it will merge into the eternal state of God’s kingdom.

As for the Gentiles in the dispensation of grace, God has given us a heavenly inheritance which shall not be taken away (Eph. 1:11,18). We are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17). Or to use an earthly illustration: If our father loved us enough to buy us a new car, wouldn’t he also throw in the air-conditioning, power windows, cruise control, and adjustable seats? Our heavenly Father has sent His Son to purchase our redemption and with it all the privileges of inheritance. We have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ and have a heavenly citizenship with all the rights and privileges (Eph. 1:3; Phil. 3:20). God has not left out anything that could diminish our enjoyment of spiritual life on earth or in heaven. Christ Himself is our inheritance as we are His.

“He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Rom. 8:32).

The Final Offer

Are you weary of working a field of harvest that only brings disappointment? Do you long for a life worth living? Has your wise plan gone awry, and now you thirst for the fulfillment that only freedom in Christ can bring? We must be willing not only to recognize our bondage, but also have humility enough to receive the free gift of salvation by faith alone.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph. 2:8,9).

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).

Our Kinsman-Redeemer is waiting with open arms to receive His brother. Your debt of sin has been fully paid with His life’s blood. Trust Him now and God’s family will be your family. Christ’s inheritance will be your inheritance, and you will eat at His table of all good things.

“Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift” (2 Cor. 9:15).

“Timothy Stackpole was a New York Firefighter, who was severely burned in a 1998 fire. After he recovered, he returned to the force despite the advice of some friends and family and the fact that he could retire comfortably.

“He was a great fire fighter and passionate about his work and was soon promoted to captain. Timothy was one of the fire fighters that ran into the second tower to try to save some people. When he did, it collapsed and took his life. He knew his calling—to save people.”¹

We too, as ambassadors for Christ, have a calling to save people from eternal death by sharing the saving gospel of God’s grace, and to do so with the heart of our apostle, who wrote, “I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (1 Cor. 9:22).

Triumph in Christ

“Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in every place” (2 Cor. 2:14).

Paul gave thanks to God because He “always causeth us to triumph in Christ.” The apostle uses a metaphor here in his praise and thanksgiving to God. The idea of “always causeth us to triumph” is a reference to the ancient Roman triumphal procession, which was a victory parade celebrating a successful military campaign. The parade was called the Roman Triumph. In the Triumph, a victorious general was honored with a festive, ceremonial parade through the streets of Rome.

One commentator painted the scene this way:

“In a Triumph the procession of the victorious general marched through the streets of Rome to the Capitol in the following order.
“First came the state officials and the senate.
“Then came the trumpeters.
“Then were carried the spoils taken from the conquered land. For instance, when Titus conquered Jerusalem, the seven-branched candlestick, the golden table of the shewbread and the golden trumpets were carried through the streets of Rome.
“Then came pictures of the conquered land and models of conquered citadels and ships.
“There followed the white bull for the sacrifice which would be made.
“Then there walked the captive princes, leaders and generals in chains, shortly to be flung into prison and in all probability almost immediately to be executed.
“Then came the lictors bearing their rods, followed by the musicians with their lyres; then the priests swinging their censers with the sweet-smelling incense burning in them.
“After that came the general himself. He stood in a chariot drawn by four horses. He was clad in a purple tunic embroidered with golden palm leaves, and over it a purple toga marked out with golden stars. In his hand he held an ivory scepter with the Roman eagle at its top, and over his head a slave held the crown of Jupiter.
“After him rode his family; and finally came the army wearing all their decorations and shouting loud exclamations, ‘Triumph! Triumph! Triumph!’”²

It is reminiscent of a tickertape victory parade for a sports team in their home city after they have won a championship. From this celebratory scene of the Roman Triumph, Paul drew an analogy about our witness for Christ and the advance of the gospel of grace.

Through His cross and resurrection, Christ has triumphed over our enemies of sin, death, and Satan. As believers in Christ, we are forever on the side of victory. And now throughout all our lives, we are always led in a triumphal procession by our Savior. Having defeated the enemy, Christ, the supreme Victor, marches in ultimate triumph, and no one can stand against Him.

Having trusted Christ as our personal Savior, we are on the side of victory. He won the victory for us, and being on the Lord’s side, we get to share in His triumph. He gets the glory, but we, His followers, join Him in the grand celebration of His triumphal procession. And Paul gave thanks to God for this privilege of always being led in triumph in Christ, because it is by the grace of God that we have been saved and that we have victory through Christ.

As the Roman Triumph advanced, clouds of incense permeated the scene, and the sweet fragrance filled the air in the streets of Rome. Paul equated this aroma to how God “maketh manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in every place.” As the Church is led in triumph in Christ, the aroma of the knowledge of God is diffused throughout the world by our life, witness, and deeds.

Paul refers to this “knowledge” a couple of chapters later, where he wrote: “For God, Who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (4:6). At our conversion, the light of the knowledge of the glory of God shined in our hearts, and God then uses the Church to make known to the world His saving knowledge. Paul likened the wafting of the Roman Triumph’s fragrant incense to God’s disseminating, through His people, the knowledge of Christ’s triumph over sin and death.

Paul stated that he and his coworkers made known the knowledge of Christ’s victory “in every place” (2:14) they traveled, as they took the gospel of the grace of God to the nations. Following Paul’s example, the Church, the Body of Christ, is called to do likewise, to be a witness to Christ in every place in this world, because in every place there are sinners in need of the Savior.

To be truly Pauline, we are called to follow Paul’s heart and passion for lost souls. Paul wrote in Philippians 4:9, “Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.” When we look at Paul’s life and ministry in God’s Word, what we see is that evangelism and churchplanting were the very heart of it. And the church-planting had as its purpose the equipping of God’s people to further reach the unbelieving and to be a lighthouse for truth.

As we read and follow Paul in our witnessing, we learn that Paul was bold in sharing Christ, but he apparently didn’t always feel that way, because Paul even asked others to pray for his boldness (Eph. 6:19). At times, Paul was even fearful of speaking out for Christ. Paul was not superhuman, and Paul’s fear and lack of boldness are very relatable, because evangelism is not an easy thing. In Corinth, the Lord spoke to Paul and encouraged him, “Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: For I am with thee…” (Acts 18:9-10). Philippians 4:9 assures us that the God of peace will be with us, too, as we follow Paul in our witness and we reach out to others. God will give us boldness to speak out for Him and He will calm our fears and grant us His peace as we do so.

A Sweet Fragrance

“For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish” (2 Cor. 2:15).

“A sweet savour” refers to a pleasing fragrance, and here it is an aroma that is pleasing to God. Likewise, with the Cross, Ephesians 5:2 tells us that “Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.” Christ’s offering for sin was a pleasing fragrance to God the Father, and He was satisfied and wellpleased with His Son’s perfect sacrifice.

The “sweet savour” in 2 Corinthians 2:15 refers not to the message we proclaim, but to us, the messengers who proclaim the message. As we spread the good news of salvation and are a witness of Christ and His cross, Paul said that “we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ,” and we are pleasing to God.

When we take that step of faith and reach out and share the good news of Christ, that sweet fragrance goes right to the throne of God. As Paul wrote, “For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ,” and God is well-pleased.

The fragrance is sweet to God based on our faithfulness to make the gospel known, not on the success of the response. Paul added that we are “a sweet savour of Christ,” regardless of the response, both “in them that are saved, and in them that perish.”

There are only two categories or camps of people from God’s point of view, and there is no inbetween. Every single person is either saved from their sins, spiritually alive, and going to heaven, or they are perishing in their sins, lost, and headed for judgment in the lake of fire.

The believer’s life is an aroma of the knowledge of God that others react to, either in trusting Christ or rejecting Christ. This being so, may our prayer be that of the missionary Jim Elliot, who once prayed, “Father, make me a crisis man. Bring those I contact to decision. Let me not be a milepost on a single road; make me a fork, that men must turn one way or another on facing Christ in me.”³

Being an aroma of Christ to the world by our witness includes both our words and our lives. It is important how we live; others are watching. A few verses later in chapter three of 2 Corinthians, Paul wrote, “Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men” (v. 2).

In light of this, Paul challenged the Ephesians, “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light” (Eph. 5:8). To live as a child of light, living a righteous, godly life that stands out and is separate from the darkness of the world is to show love to the unbelieving all around us. It is to love them enough to present them with the contrast between faith and unbelief, life and death. The light of a loving, Christ-like life can expose unbelievers to the contrast between the character and destructiveness of sin and their need for salvation. We show love for the world by not being like it. Our walk as light can point and show the way to Christ. And when a faithful testimony backs our words for Christ, it makes our witness more powerful.

“A woman was nervously waiting at the airport for her husband to return from his skydiving lesson. The pilot approached her: ‘I’m sorry, but there’s been an accident. I have some bad news, some good news, some more bad news, and some more good news. The bad news is your husband fell out of the plane. The good news is he had his parachute on. The bad news is he hit the ground before his chute could open. The good news is we hadn’t taken off yet.’”⁴

Who Is Sufficient for These Things?

“To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?” (2 Cor. 2:16).

In the Roman Triumph, the aroma of incense was a perfume of joy, victory, and life for the victors. For the captives, however, it was an aroma of doom, a reminder of defeat, captivity, and their impending death and execution. Similarly, a person’s response to the fragrance of the gospel depends on whether he marches in triumph in Christ or he chooses defeat, captivity, and death.

A person’s response to the gospel has eternal consequences. For those who reject the gospel, “death unto death” refers to the spiritual death they remain in, which will ultimately lead to the eternal second death if they die in their sins. It is God’s desire and heart that people who are “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1) receive life and not death (1 Tim. 2:4), but they must respond in faith to the gospel of grace to have everlasting life. “Life unto life” refers to the spiritual life unto eternal life that one is given the moment one believes the gospel. And for the believer, anytime we hear the gospel of grace, we smell that sweet aroma of its truth, and we know that message means life, peace, and eternity with God for us.

“Death unto death” is what is coming for the unbeliever. In his message at Antioch in Pisidia, Paul warned of God’s judgment by quoting a prophecy from Habakkuk 1:5: “Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you” (Acts 13:41). The judgment that God will pour out in the lake of fire upon those who die in their sins is so severe, frightening, and horrific that it is unimaginable and hard to believe, yet absolutely true.

The second death, to be eternally in the lake of fire, separated from God and His life and goodness (2 Thes. 1:8-9), is a horror that is difficult for our minds to conceive. In that place of doom, unbelievers will spend eternity in the midst of unmixed, all-encompassing evil. They will reside in the presence of demons and Satan for eternity.

The lake of fire is a place of darkness, fearsome blackness of darkness (Jude 1:13). They will never see light again. The morning will never come. They are spiritually blind and in darkness in their sins, and they will remain in darkness forever.

There is no rest in the lake of fire (Rev. 14:11). The horror of that place, its terrifying sounds, the pain and torment, and the restlessness of soul will never allow anyone to rest, ever. Those who find themselves there will reside in a constant, scorching, suffocating stench of burning brimstone and the experience of never-ending, tormenting pain. The fire burns forever; the heat never relents. There is no respite and no relief from the suffering. It never lets up.

Some people are flippant, saying that they’ll party with their friends, in the lake of fire, but the lake of fire is a place of utter loneliness. There will be no companionship; there are no relationships in hell. Each person will be alone forever with their thoughts. And in the anguish and regrets of those thoughts, they will forever weep and gnash their teeth (Matt. 22:13).

You and I have the message, the truth of the good news that saves one from entering this everlasting suffering (2 Cor. 4:7). We have the message that delivers one from this second death and gives one a home in God’s presence forever. That message to others is to trust that Christ died for all, for the sins of each and every one of us, personally, and that He rose again (1 Cor. 15:3-4).

The good news is that Christ took your sins upon Himself; He faced the judgment of God against them at the Cross; and He paid the price for all your sins (2 Cor. 5:21). And when you trust this, God saves you from hell, forgives you of all your sins, and grants you eternal life as a free gift (Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:8-9).

As Paul contemplated the tremendous responsibility of making known the gospel that has such far-reaching, critically important, and eternal consequences, he cried out, “And who is sufficient for these things?” It staggered Paul as it should stagger us. The gospel we share divides humanity eternally. Heaven and hell, life and death, are on the line. Who is equal to such a vitally important task?

God uses rescued people to rescue people, and it is the task of our lives to rescue the perishing (2 Cor. 5:20). And it is true that none of us in ourselves, in our own strength, is adequate or competent to serve God in this supremely consequential ministry. The only way we are sufficient for these things is through God Himself. As 2 Corinthians 3:5 says, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.”

<sub>1. “Know Your Calling,” accessed October 5, 2025, https://ministry127.com/resources/illustration/ know-your-calling.
2. . “2 Corinthians 2 Commentary,” accessed October 5, 2025, https://www.preceptaustin.org/2-corinthians-2-commentary#2:14.
3. “Missionary Quotes” posted October 4,2016, https://missions.tips/missionary-quotes/.
4. “A woman was nervously waiting at the airport for her husband to return from his skydiving lesson” reddit, accessed October 6, 2025, https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/rymtdu/a_woman_was_nervously_waiting_at_the_airport_for/.</sub>