Anyone attending the 2016 Olympics in Rio, or anyone watching the Olympics on TV, has surely seen the statue of Christ the Redeemer.

Christ the Redeemer is an Art Deco statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, created by Polish-French sculptor Paul Landowski and built by the Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa, in collaboration with the French engineer Albert Caquot. (Wikipedia)

The statue is 125 feet tall including a 26 foot tall pedestal and weighs around 635 tons.

The statue sits on the top of the Corcovado Mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park of Brazil overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Who is Christ the Redeemer?

What thoughts should this statue bring to mind?

First, you need to understand that we all need a redeemer.

Everyone is born a sinner.

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. (Romans 5:12 NLT)

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.  (Romans 3:23 NLT)

Sinners owe a debt.  The wages of sin is eternity in hell.

For the wages of sin is death, (Romans 6:23a NLT)

 God provided a way for all of us to be redeemed from this death penalty.

 …. the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.  (Romans 6:23 NLT)

God paid a high price for you….  (1 Corinthians 7:23 NLT)

Christ the Redeemer died to pay the penalty for our sins.

  He (God) is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.  (Ephesians 1:7 NLT)

 For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value.  It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.  (1 Peter 1:18-19 NLT)

So also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates to make his people holy by means of his own blood.  (Hebrews 13:12 NLT)

….     he (Jesus) humbled himself in obedience to God
    and died a criminal’s death on a cross.  (Philippians 2:7-8 NLT)

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.  (Mark 10:45 NLT)

…. the blood of Jesus, his (God’s) Son, cleanses us from all sin.  (1 John 1:9 NLT)

He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people…  (Titus 2:14 NLT)

Christ the Redeemer came to save the world.

God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.  (John 3:17 NLT)

  Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.  (John 11:25 NLT)

I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.  (1 John 5:13 NLT)

Christ the Redeemer gives Christians hope.

^…. You lived in this world without God and without hope.  But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.  (Ephesians 2:12-13 NLT)

For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.  (Colossians 1:13-14 NLT)

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.  There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?   When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.”  (John 14:1-3 NLT)

So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.  (John 8:36 NLT)

For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16 NLT)

Click here to view previous posts on the Seeking His Kingdom website.

You may also want to read “Whoever Believes….”

            If you liked this post, share it with a friend.