You Tube Theology

Redemption Q+R (E12) — Is deliverance from evil spirits a redemption from the evil one over to God’s possession? Was God demanding a redemption payment through Jesus’ death? And are salvation and redemption basically the same thing? In this episode, Tim and Jon respond to your questions from our Redemption series. Thank you to our audience for your thoughtful contributions to this episode!

Timestamps:

Introduction (0:00-2:50)
How does payment relate to redemption, and why does God demand a payment? (2:50-24:15)
Why did Jesus’ death have to be such an awful, gruesome crucifixion? (24:15-36:12)
When Jesus delivers a person possessed by an evil spirit, is this a redemption from the evil one over to God’s possession? (36:12-42:50)
What does it mean to be saved, and is it the same as redemption? (42:50-55:09)

Referenced Resources:

When discussing Jesus’ redemption of people possessed by evil spirits, Tim references episode 7 of this series: How Does Jesus Redeem People?
You can view annotations for this episode—plus our entire library of videos, podcasts, articles, and classes—in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music:

BibleProject theme song by TENTS

Show Credits:

Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer, and Cooper Peltz, managing producer. Tyler Bailey is our supervising engineer, who also edited today’s episode and provided the sound design and mix. JB Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Our host and creative director is Jon Collins, and our lead scholar is Tim Mackie.

Transcribed Questions:

David From Timmins, Ontario, Canada
“Hi, Jon and Tim, my name is David, and I live in Timmins, Ontario, Canada. In my faith tradition, Jesus’ death is often referred to as a payment for the penalty of sin. How does this payment relate to redemption? If there is no payment to the powers that hold humans as slaves, why does God demand a payment? Thanks for your fantastic work.”

Kayra From Istanbul, Turkey
“Hi, Tim and Jon, this is Kayra from Istanbul, Turkey. I’ve really enjoyed wrestling through this theme with you guys. I have two questions. One is: You talked about Jesus pulling us through death from the other side. My question is: Why did it have to be such an awful, gruesome death of the crucifixion? Couldn’t any death have accomplished the same thing? My second question is: You talked about redemption and release or forgiveness, almost as if it was two sides of the same coin, rather than a prerequisite of the price having been paid on the cross of redemption. So now God can forgive us. I would love to hear more of your thoughts on how forgiveness fits around this topic. Thank you so much. God bless.”

Nathan in Bloomington, Indiana
“Understanding Jesus’ death in the model of the Passover lamb and understanding redemption as a transfer of possession is echoing through my understanding of many different spiritual concepts. And one of those that keeps coming to mind is how Jesus delivers those who are possessed by evil spirits. Is it appropriate to view these individuals as undergoing a redemption of sorts and transitioning from being under the possession of sin and death and the evil one and then into the possession of God? Or are these events better understood, as I've always in the past understood them, as Jesus just simply removing these entities from those who are being controlled by them? Thank you.”

Cody from Wilsonville, Oregon
“Hello, Tim and Jon. This is Cody from Wilsonville, Oregon. Thank you for your rich exploration of redemption as a transfer of possession back to the rightful owner. I’d love your insight on a related and foundational question. What does it mean to be saved? Is being saved simply another way of saying being redeemed, or are there meaningful distinctions between the two? Does seeing salvation primarily as redemption shift how we interpret verses about being saved, and does it challenge the common assumption that salvation only means avoiding hell someday? I would absolutely eat up hearing you two riff on what it means to truly be saved. Thank you for all you do. You guys mean more to me than you’ll ever know.”