Job 19:23-27

            {Prayer}

            Show of hands … who likes to go to haunted houses? For those of you who don’t like them … why? What’s a few reasons?

            Let me just say … my wife is not a fan. And by the way Heath jumps when I really scare him, I’m going to say he’s not a fan either.

            I enjoyed them in college. One night I was able to convince Jessica to go with me to one. As we were approaching this long, dark hallway, the eerie music was playing, red lights were flickering, I told her “There is going to be a guy up here on your left who will jump out and scare you.” She said okay … and held on onto me tighter.

And we proceeded down the hallway. I turned to my left, looked at the guy, looked into his eyes. As soon as I passed him and Jessica was there … BOO! He jumped out and scared the life out of her.

            I had told her he was there. But telling her wasn’t enough. My words weren’t enough. She needed someone with their skin on. That’s the difference between hearing something … and having someone there.

            And honestly … so do we.

            Job knows all about long, dark hallways. As Pastor Ethan has led us through this series on the book of Job, we’ve stopped at points along the hallway and explored Job’s life. And in Job 19, Job sitting in the middle of the hallway.

            Job has a broken heart and sores all over his body. His ten children died when a tornado destroyed their home. Raiders took his animals. Fire fell from the sky. His servants were gone. It all reduced Job from his former position as the greatest man in the east to a broken man sitting in the dust. Any number of giants had jumped out and chewed him up for an eerie late-night snack.

            In the midst of all this, Job, this Easter morning says, “I know that my Redeemer lives” (Job 19:25). Like Job, we aren’t insulated from life’s tragedies. But like Job … we aren’t destroyed by them either. And why? Because we have someone to walk with us through life’s long, dark, winding hallways. And He’s got skin on.

So let’s unpack this verse.

            “I know.” Job is living his worst nightmare. Earlier in chapter 3 Job says, “What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me” (3:25). Losing God’s favor has devastated him. And yet, Job doesn’t say, “I kinda think.” Or “Wouldn’t it be nice if …”. Or “Knock on wood … maybe.” No! Although Job lost much that was valuable to him, he still has what is most valuable … his faith in God. Job is down … but he’s not out.

            So Job dares to say, “I know.” There’s a lot of things I don’t know. Just ask my kids. Ask my confirmation class. I don’t know why bad things happen to “good” people. I don’t know why devoted Christian parents have children who grow up to become unbelievers. I don’t know why some of the dearest members of our church have experienced divorce, financial setbacks, and even death. And many times, I don’t know what God is doing.

            But instead of letting the giants chew me up and spit me out … with Job … today I dare to say … “I know!”

            “I know” … what? “I know my Redeemer.” Notice Job doesn’t say, “I know his Redeemer, her Redeemer, their Redeemer, or your Redeemer.” No! For Job it’s personal. It’s intimate and individual. I know my Redeemer.

            A little background on this. In the Old Testament … a redeemer was a close relative, someone with skin on, who would rescue, ransom, recover, and redeem anyone in his family going through poverty, war, sickness, or death. So, for instance … if someone had fallen into debt and had sold himself into slavery to pay off that debt … his redeemer bought him back and set him free. If a piece of property had to be sold, the redeemer made sure that the title to the property stayed in the family. If a family member was hurt or killed, the redeemer pursued every legal option to bring about restoration.

            Here’s the point: whatever goes bad, your redeemer makes good. Whatever goes bad … your redeemer makes perfectly good. What’s broken is mended. What’s sick is healed. What’s lost is found. What’s dead is made alive again. This is what Job says in Job 19, “and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God” (19:26 NKJV).

            “I know … my Redeemer.” And my Redeemer has a name. His name is Jesus.

            Jesus is not a mystical, vague, abstract presence. When we’re faced with life’s long, dark hallways, with multiple rooms where giants are just waiting to jump out … our Redeemer, Jesus, has a strong hand guiding us and a tender heart loving us.

            Jesus bears whatever needs to be borne. He carries whatever needs to be carried. If a sentence needs to be served, He serves it. If a fine needs to be paid, He pays it. Jesus does whatever it takes to buy us back and set us free. Whatever it takes.

            But what does that look like?

            It’s the most utterly vile and cruel death ever invented … crucifixion. For you, Jesus walked that long, dark hallway and he most certainly had skin on. Skin that felt the whip. Skin that felt the thorns. Skin that felt the nails. Skin that, for six hours, bled and sweat as He hung on the cross of shame and death.

            And you can bet there were giants who jumped out and chewed Him up. Roman soldiers. Scribes. Chief Priests. Elders. Pharisees. Sadducees. And then there was Satan who stalked our Savior, took aim, shot straight and killed.

            But there’s a word that is louder than any haunted scream or eerie sound. Lives! (pause) “I know that my Redeemer lives!”

            The angel asks the women, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” John outruns Peter to the tomb, looks in, and believes! Jesus says “Mary” and she cries out “Rabonni!” The disciples on the road to Emmaus recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread. And when Thomas sees the Savior’s skin marked with scars, he cries out “My Lord and my God!”

            This isn’t a feeling. This isn’t a memory. This is a man … alive!

My Redeemer lives! Sin is forgiven. The grave is defeated! Death is dead!

            People saw Jesus. They didn’t see a phantom or experience a sentiment. Funeral eulogies often included phrases like, “She’ll always live in my heart” or “I’ll remember him forever.” The disciples never said that. They didn’t say it because they saw Jesus and He had skin on. Skin marked with scars.

            And Jesus didn’t rise and then leave in secret. He appeared to more than 500 people on 10 different occasions. Jesus was physically and factually risen from the dead.

            And there’s a word for all this. It’s grace. Grace is the gift of forgiveness … free, full, and forever. Grace is the gift of power. The power to be free from guilt and shame. Grace is the promise of God’s love to the loveless; joy to the joyless; power to the powerless; and hope to those who feel absolutely hopeless. Grace is exactly this … whatever goes bad, my Redeemer makes perfectly good.

            What does that look like for you?

            Maybe your hallway is a diagnosis you didn’t expect.
            Maybe it’s a marriage that feels like it’s falling apart.
            Maybe it’s guilt from something you’ve done … or something done to you.
            Maybe it’s loneliness … or fear … or just feeling stuck.
            Whatever your hallway looks like … this matters because you don’t face it alone.

            Your Redeemer lives. And He’s not distant. He’s not an idea. He’s with you … strong hand, tender heart, skin on.

            “And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God. Whom I shall see for myself, and my eye shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19:26-27).

            What does this mean for you?

             It means that whatever your long, dark hallway looks like … this week … this year … in your real life … you don’t walk through it alone.

You don’t have to figure it all out. You don’t have to be strong enough.

            You will never, ever walk through it alone! You have a strong hand guiding you and a tender heart loving you.

            And why is that? I know that my Redeemer lives!

“He lives, all glory to His name!
He lives my Jesus, still the same.
Oh, the sweet joy this sentence gives:
‘I know that my Redeemer lives!’”

Amen.