LUTROSIS (Redemption)

What is the Word?

A common theme throughout the Bible is the theme of redemption. While there are many Greek words that can convey this idea, one of the most interesting is the word Lutrósis.

How does the Bible use this word?

Several times in the Biblical narrative, we see a general longing for deliverance. This may be deliverance in a national sense, where we speak of the Lord delivering Israel from the oppression of other nations. There is also a sense of spiritual deliverance, where the text may speak of being set free from the clutches of sin, death, or the Devil. Derived from the more abbreviated lutron (ransom), Lutrósis is unique in that it captures both senses in a single word. Depending on its context, this noun can carry undertones of paying a full ransom in order to free a slave. In this sense, it is the literal redemption from slavery that leads one to true deliverance and liberation from their captors and their debts, giving one a new beginning.

Where in the Bible?

We can see the word used in a spiritual sense in Hebrews 9:12:

…he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption (λύτρωσιν).

Under the Old Covenant, redemption could not occur without sacrifice and the shedding of blood (Lev 16:19, Heb 9:22). However, these were only types and shadows of the one true sacrifice that would come in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The blood of goats and calves did not have the power to permanently deliver and redeem us from sin. Only the blood of a divine man could do so, and the author of the Hebrews drives this point home using the language of eternal ransom or redemption to describe Jesus’ suffering and death on our behalf.

We can also see the word used in a second, more collective sense in Luke 2. Here we are introduced to the prophetess Anna. Although she was very old, she had been praying and fasting for the coming of a deliverer who would redeem Jerusalem:

And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption (λύτρωσιν) of Jerusalem.

Anna’s faithful prayers were answered when the infant Jesus was taken to the temple. The faithful man, Simeon, prophesied that Jesus would deliver Israel and gather the gentiles to himself (Luke 2:33-35), ransoming all of God’s people from sin and death and creating a new beginning for all who believe in him.

Living as Redeemed People

Having been purchased by the blood of Christ, we have been redeemed from sin and delivered from the killing power of the Law and from the oppression of the Devil. This sets us free from the anxiety of moralism and perfectionism, in order that we may be free to love; not out of obligation, but flowing forth from a cleansed heart.

Written By Drew Matz