The Names of Jesus - Elmer Towns

CHAPTER FIVE
THE SALVATIONAL NAMES OF JESUS
“For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the
earth “ (Job 19:25).
“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O
LORD, my strength, and my redeemer “ (Psalm 19:14).
Theologians refer to certain names and titles of Jesus Christ as the soteriological titles
because they have particular reference to the work of Christ in salvation. I call these names the
“salvational names of Jesus” because they are the names which reveal or clarify our salvation
more fully. Although the Bible speaks of salvation in three tenses (past, present and future), the
names I'll discuss in this chapter refer primarily to salvation past—that is, to our conversion
rather than our sanctification and eventual glorification with Christ. We might designate these
names as evangelistic names, for they tend to preach or explain the evangel or gospel of
salvation.
REDEEMER
When we think of the doctrine of salvation, sooner or later we must consider the concept
of redemption. It is a little surprising, however, that the title “Redeemer” is never used of Jesus
in the New Testament although its verbal form occurs both in the Gospels and Epistles in
connection with His work of redemption (Luke 1:68; 24:21; Galatians 3:13; 4:5; Titus 2:14; I
Peter 1:18; Revelation 5:9; 14:3,4). This name was, nevertheless, a popular title in the Old
Testament, particularly in the Psalms (Job 19:25; Psalm 19:14).
Although the New Testament does not call Jesus “Redeemer,” it certainly emphasizes His
work of redemption throughout. The term “redemption” comes from a word which means “to
buy back. “ Christ gave His blood as a ransom for sin; by it He redeems the lost (I Peter 1:18-
20). In the context of soteriology, the price of redemption is blood which is paid to procure the
remission of sins (Hebrews 9:12,22). The Greek words for “redeemed” denote the purchase of
servants in the ancient slave market. The Bible applies the terms to the redemption of all men.
First, the Bible teaches that Christ purchased the sinner in the marketplace. The verb
agorazo means “to go to the marketplace (agora) and pay the price for a slave. “ The verb was
common in deeds of sale and generally meant the paying of a price for a group of slaves. Those
who were “sold under sin” are redeemed (Galatians 3:10). Each of the following Scriptures uses
the term agorazo: Revelation 14:3,4 speaks of the 144,000 as those redeemed from the earth;
Revelation 5:9 notes that Christ's blood was the price paid for redemption; and 11 Peter 2:1
shows that Christ redeemed (paid the price) not only for the saved but also for the false teachers.
Agorazo is simply the payment, the purchase price-the price of redemption, which is blood.
A second word in the Bible for “redemption” is ekagorazo, meaning “to buy out from the
marketplace.” The prefix ek means “out.” Therefore, this term refers to the fact that Christ paid
the price with His blood and bought the slave “out of the marketplace” of sin. The slave was