I Know That My Redeemer Lives

Today is Easter Sunday…

I’ve been reading the ‘Job’. Job has lost everything- his family, his reputation, his self-respect, his friends, his perceived integrity. He feels alone, abandoned by his friends and betrayed by his God. In chapter 19 he describes his suffering and complaints: ‘…God has wronged me and drawn his net around me… though I call for help, there is no justice… My breath is offensive to my wife…’

He describes a catalogue of troubles, yet in his despair he says with certain faith ‘I know that my redeemer lives’… which is the basic Christian truth of Easter.

I know that my redeemer liveth
And that he shall stand
At the latter day, upon the earth

And though worms destroy this body
Yet in my flesh shall I see God

I… This a personal statement of faith. Know… It’s a statement of certainty. My Redeemer… The one who rescues Job from his desperation. Lives… Job’s absent, inactive God is alive…

Job sees the bigger picture too. The eternal, immortal God will stand on the earth; Job is finite and mortal. Job’s hope is certain: one day he will see his living God

This Easter Sunday Christians throughout the world will express their faith and joy in Jesus’ resurrection with traditional hymns or modern worship songs. In ‘The Messiah’, Handel chooses thirty two words from Job …

We shall remember the empty tomb and Jesus’ resurrection appearances to his friends. The trauma and tragedy of Good Friday and Dark Saturday end happily and triumphantly.

Job isn’t in that place. His darkness and despair are still present, but he still says ‘I know that my redeemer lives’ with certainty.

It will be easy to say: ‘I know that my redeemer lives’ today in church, with other believers, and I’m feeling good. If – when – I face disappointment, difficulty and despair I hope and pray that I can say with Job’s unquestioning certainty, ‘I know that my redeemer lives’.