Hope Possessed Because Redemption Provided (Titus 2:13-14)

Sometimes we discover a person is much greater than we actually thought when we first saw that individual. The subsequent discovery of his dignity not only changed our estimation of his person, but also enabled us to assess his previous activities in a new light. This can happen in the world of business when a person from a poor background becomes wealthy and uses his wealth for the benefit of others; it can happen in the world of sport when a person with little advantage becomes a champion and reveals the steps he took to become as competent as he did.

 

There are different ways of considering the greatness of Jesus. We can start with his eternal dignity and work forwards and recognise that who he is gives authenticity and quality to his life on earth. Or we can begin with his second coming and look back and realise that his glory which will be revealed when he returns is connected to what happened when he was crucified, when he redeemed and purified his people. And becoming aware of what he did then affects us as we respond to him now.

 

The second coming of Jesus 

Paul says two things about the second coming of Jesus. First, he tells us what our attitude should be – we ‘are waiting for our blessed hope’; second, he tells us what we will see – ‘the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.’

 

Hope is essential for healthy living. When a person loses hope, perhaps through ill health or bereavement or financial bankruptcy, it is very difficult to bring that person to see anything positive in life. Everything becomes dark and the future is bleak. But if a person has something to look forward to, such as a wedding or the birth of a child or coming into an inheritance, then there is buoyancy and optimism in that individual’s life.

 

Christians have a hope. Sometimes it is described as a living hope; here it is a blessed hope. It will be an occasion that will be marked by great blessings. Believers will be resurrected from the dead, will be reunited with one another, will be sinless and holy, and will be glorified. It will be the commencement of the life of the ages, eternal life in its fullness. The new heavens and new earth will appear. 

 

Such certainly is a great hope to possess, one that enables them to cope with the difficulties and disappointments of life. They know that, as others have said, ‘the best is yet to be.’ Their experience will not always be what it currently is, because even the best of times have things that mar them. A great future is ahead of them, a future that is impossible to describe in all its beauty and fullness. But the hope connected to that future burns within their hearts.

 

Paul reminds Titus that they are waiting for the blessed hope. The attitude of waiting reveals certain features. Obviously, there is an acceptance that the desired event will definitely occur. In addition, waiting indicates the necessity of patience until it happens. And the willingness to wait points to an anticipation that the occurrence will be worthwhile when it comes to pass. If that were not the case, why would someone wait for it/ In Romans 8, while writing about the future renewal of creation Paul stresses how to focus on it: ‘But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience’ (Rom. 8:25). The fulfilment of the hope will reveal that it was worth waiting for.

 

Paul focuses on one amazing feature of that great future day when Jesus returns and his people gather in his presence. The feature that he highlights concerns ‘the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.’ This statement by the apostle is a very full one as with its range of titles it details the deity and the humanity of the Saviour. Paul says that it will be a day when Jesus will be seen in an awesome manner.

 

What will be seen on that day is the glory of Jesus. A foretaste of this experience was given to Peter, James and John on the Mount of Transfiguration when they saw the glory of Jesus for a short time (Matt. 17:1-8). Jesus had prayed about his glory on the evening of his arrest: ‘And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed’ (John 17:5). That prayer was answered at his ascension to the Father’s right hand and since then his glory has been visible to the inhabitants of heaven. On the day that he returns, his glory will be seen by all his creatures and they will recognise that he is indeed the divine Saviour, God and man.

 

We live between the two appearings of Jesus and they are both mentioned by Paul in this paragraph. In verse 11, he refers to the first coming of Jesus when the grace of God was revealed in the life of service give by the Saviour. We look back with wonder at what he did for us in his life and death. But we also look ahead to his return and anticipate with joy the recognition that will be given to him then.

 

How will we react when he is revealed in glory before our eyes? Surely, our response will be enthralled worship. Isaiah was overwhelmed when he was given a brief experience of being in the presence of the glory of Jesus (Isa. 6; John 12:47). The prophet realised how sinful he was on that occasion. When the future event comes, it will not be brief but endless. Instead of a deep sense of sinfulness, his people will be transformed into his likeness, glorified along with him forevermore, although not becoming divine. The thought of being with Jesus, our great God and Saviour, should be overwhelming as we anticipate the outcome of his grace.

 

The purchase of his people (2:14)

Paul returns once again to write about the first coming of Jesus and why he went to the cross. He died on the cross to redeem his people. Redemption refers to the purchase of someone or something, usually by paying a financial price. In the case of Jesus, however, the price was not financial but personal. He ‘have himself for us’. 

 

How do we describe his self-giving? He gave himself freely because he was not compelled to do so by any external power. Out of his love for his Father and for his people, he agreed to give himself and that is why he became a man. He knew what he was doing when he did so, and he did so gladly, even although the experience on the cross would be very distressing.

 

Moreover, Jesus gave himself fully as well as freely. He offered himself without spot to God. He held nothing back. His whole heart and strength went into his action of paying the price. He went as far as he had to go in order to pay it. It is impossible for us to put a value on it except to say that it was infinite. He satisfied the demands of divine justice. Only he was capable of paying it, and he did.

 

This means that Jesus, as well as giving himself freely and fully, also gave himself finally. He only had to do it once. Since the price has been paid for the redemption of his people, it will never be required again by the God of justice. We can look at Jesus today and contemplate the One, who out of his great love for us, redeemed us freely, fully and finally.

 

What were we redeemed from? Paul describes our state as ‘lawlessness’. In other words, we were rebels against out God. We had disobeyed his laws deliberately and that disobedience was inward as well as outward. Moreover it was increasing all the time. Our disobedience had put us in a prison with no prospect of us ever being able to find a way of release. The prison was the state of sin, and all we did in that state was to keep on sinning, increasing our guilt and the penalty we had to pay. We truly were slaves of sin, requiring a remarkable Redeemer. And although we did not realise he existed, he knew that we did and he came to pay the price and set us free from the grip of lawlessness.

 

Paul assures us that the redeeming work of Jesus dealt with whatever sins we were guilty of. None of us are exactly the same as another person, and even although we have all broken the same law, we have not all broken it in the same manner. Yet  Paul states very clearly that Jesus redeemed his people from ‘all lawlessness’. As far as the offended Judge is concerned, the price has been paid and they are set free.

 

What was the intended outcome of this redemption? What did the Redeemer have in mind for those he liberated? Although he delivered them from lawlessness, they were not set free from all authority. Rather, they became his property, his possession. He purchased them in order for them to be a pure people, suitable to serve him, cleansed by his blood.

 

God’s special people

Paul uses a description here ‘own possession’ that was used of Israel in the Old Testament God regarded them as his special people: ‘For you are a people holy to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth’ (Deut. 14:2). It is clear from this description that believers are very dear to God.

 

Paul has already reminded Titus of several ways in which the Lord revealed his love for his people. In eternity past, he had chosen them to be his, a reminder that his love for them had no beginning. Although they were sinners, Jesus came into the world and paid a great price to redeem them so that they would be his purified people. And they can look forward to the second coming of Jesus when they will enter into the inheritance that he will give to them as his people.

 

Sometimes Christians are so overwhelmed by their sinfulness that they forget who they are. Can it be the case that Jesus still wants them as his people? Of course, he did not discover their sinfulness only when they discovered it. He has known all along who they are and what they are like. Their sinfulness does not reduce his love for them. It is his intention to present them spotless at the end of the day. Then they will be like him. As the German hymn writer Paul Gerhardt wrote:

 

He, who in the hour of sorrow,

Bore the curse alone;

I who through the lonely desert,

Trod where He had gone.

He and I in that bright glory,

One deep joy shall share.

Mine, to be forever with Him.

His, that I am there.

 

Responding to Jesus 

Let us reflect on this description of believers by Paul. They have a great future described as the blessed hope; they have been redeemed from the state of sin and cleansed from the defilement that their sins caused; they have been purchased to be the possession of Jesus forever. Surely the only response is to dedicate ourselves to the Saviour in a spirit marked by deep gratitude and intense love.

 

One of the great privileges of the Christian life is that we don’t only live for Jesus, but that we can live also with Jesus. People who live together speak with one another and share their opinions and values. It is good for us to say, ‘I must live for Jesus.’ It is also good for us to speak to him as one that we know closely and love dearly, the one who gave himself in the past at the cross so that he can continually give this great blessing to his own special possession, his beloved people. 

 

Who can say or estimate how much Jesus wants to be with us? A glance at his invitation to the believers in Laodicea, as he knocks loudly at the door of their lives, tells us: ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me’ (Rev. 3:20).