There Is a Redeemer

The Story Behind "There Is a Redeemer"

Curious about the story behind the lyrics, I researched Melody Green and learned fascinating details that lent a deeper meaning to the song. Melody’s mom and grandparents were Jewish refugees, and Melody grew up Jewish. Modern-day Jewish people still await the coming Christ, also known as the “Messiah.” Melody believed in God from a young age, but spent her 20’s searching for a deeper relationship with God. During this time, she met her future husband, Keith Green, while she worked at a production studio. In 1975, when she was 29 years old, Melody Green recognized Jesus as the missing piece to her beliefs. “There is a Redeemer” beautifully blends the Jewish Scriptures (Old Testament) with the Christian interpretation of God’s promise through the person of Jesus.

Let’s peel back the layers of key phrases in the song.

“There Is a Redeemer”

Of the twelve Old Testament references to “redemption,” ten of them refer to the purchase or exchange of property, i.e. land and slaves. This explains why Jewish people in Jesus’s day searched for a Messiah that would free them from the Roman oppression and restore their land. They were focused on earthly treasures and possessions.

That’s why, following Jesus’s death, the disciples were so confused. Without recognizing Jesus, they say to Him, “but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place” Luke 24:21.

In Jewish tradition, ongoing sacrifices are made to atone for the sins of the people. Specifically, on Passover, Israelites offer a white, spotless male lamb, one-year-old, and without defect. Jesus’s disciples had not yet drawn the correlation between the earthly sacrifices they offered year after year for the redemption of their sins, and Jesus’s death on the cross to become the ultimate, once-and-for-all sacrifice for sin.

John the Baptist clearly connected the dots. When he spots Jesus walking along the shore of the Jordan River in Bethany, he shouts, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

"Precious Lamb of God, Messiah, Holy One, Name Above All Names"

These are the names Melody ascribes to Jesus, and they are taken directly from the Jewish Scriptures. Many of the 129 scriptural references to “redeem,” “redeemed,” “redeemer,” and “redemption,” ascribe similar names to God.

• Holy One of Israel
• LORD Almighty
• Savior
• Mighty One
• Messiah Deliverer/ Redeemer

Additional Verses Describing God as our Redeemer include: Nehemiah 1:10, Psalm 49:15, Psalm 74:2, Psalm 77:15, Psalm 103:4, Psalm 106:10 , Isaiah 29:22, Isaiah 43:1, Isaiah 43:14, Isaiah 44:6, Isaiah 44:22-24, Isaiah 48:17-20, Isaiah 49:7; 26, Isaiah 54:5-8, Isaiah 63:16, Lamentations 3:58.
 

“For Sinners Slain”

This phrase points back to Levitical offerings.

The easiest way to understand Leviticus is to replace each animal with “Jesus.”

“‘If the offering is a burnt offering from [Jesus,] you are to offer a male without defect. You must present [Jesus] at the entrance to the tent of meeting so that [your offering] will be acceptable to the Lord. You are to lay your hand on the head of [Jesus], and [He] will be accepted on your behalf to make atonement for you. You are to slaughter [Jesus] before the Lord, and then [the priests] shall bring the blood and splash it against the sides of the altar at the entrance to the tent of meeting.” - Leviticus 1:3-5

This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. - Matthew 26:28

Read this related article, “The Sacrificial Thread That Connects Leviticus to Jesus” for more.

“When I stand in glory I will see his face. And there I'll serve my king forever
In that holy place”

This stanza portrays both the tabernacle/ temple and meeting Jesus face to face in heaven.

The altar of burnt offering, which priests sacrificed animals on, was located right outside the door to the temple. The first section of the temple was referred to as “The Holy Place.” Only priests were allowed to enter there. Beyond the Holy Place was a single room—“The Most Holy Place.” Only the high priest was allowed to enter this room and only once a year, to make atonement for the people of Israel. A wall-like curtain separated the Holy Place from The Most Holy Place.

The moment Jesus—the Lamb of God—died, that curtain tore in two, announcing that Jesus’s sacrifice made it possible for us to have all-access to God.

“He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:12).

We will be able to look upon His face without having to shield our own, as Moses and Elijah were required to do.

Additional Scriptures Referenced in the Song:
 

“Thank you oh my father for giving us your son.”
 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16

“And leaving your spirit, ‘til the work on earth is done.”

“When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.” Luke 12:11-12

“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you”. John 14:26”

See also: Matthew 28:18-20, John 15:26, John 16:13, John 16:15, Acts 1:4-5

Our Response to Redemption

So many people I know try to earn their salvation with the sacrifice of good deeds. Yet, as 1 Peter 1:18-19 says, “… it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect."

As followers of Jesus, ours is not to earn our salvation (Galatians 3:1-5), but to live in loving response to our redemption and rescue from sin. As the Psalmist declares:

"May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer" (Psalm 19:14).

Prior to, and in the wake of, her husband’s death, Melody Green devoted herself to the work of sharing the good news of God’s promise. To this day, she bears witness to Jesus’s loving sacrifice on the cross. You can take a look at the ministries she supports at this website.

“Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story.” Psalm 107:2

Other Bible Verses about Redemption:

• Redemption from slavery in Egypt: Exodus 6:6, Deuteronomy 7:8, Deuteronomy 9:26, Deuteronomy 13:5, Deuteronomy 15:15, Deuteronomy 24:18, 2 Samuel 7:23, 1 Chronicles 17:21, Micah 6:4, Psalm 78:35-42 (they did not remember their redemption), Isaiah 51:10
• Redemption Sacrifices : Exodus 13:13, Exodus 13:15, Exodus 34:20, Numbers 18:15-17, Deuteronomy 21:8
• Redeeming slaves and property: Exodus 21:8-30, Leviticus 25:25-54, Leviticus 27:13-33, Ruth 2:20; 3:9; 3:12-13; 4:3-14, Jeremiah 32:8,
• Jesus as our Redeemer: Isaiah 41:14, Isaiah 47:4, Galatians 3:13-14, Galatians 4:5, Titus 2:14
• Pleas for redemption: Psalm 119:134, Psalm 119:154,
• We are the redeemed: Isaiah 62:12
• Outliers: Psalm 49:7, Hosea 7:13
• Future redemption: Psalm 130:8, Isaiah 35:9. Isaiah 52:3, Isaiah 52:9, Isaiah 59:20, Isaiah 60:16, Jeremiah 31:11, Jeremiah 50:34, Hosea 13:14, Micah 4:10, Zechariah 10:8, Revelation 14:3

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Author Samantha Evans Tschritter, The Grief Advocate: Unedited, specializes in articulating grief and loss, hope and healing. Learn more at LoveUnedited.com or find her on social media at Linktr.ee/LoveSamEvans.