goel / kinsman redeemer
Definition
Goel (Hebrew: גֹּאֵל, participial form of ga’al = to redeem/reclaim) is the nearest blood-relative who has both the legal right AND the obligation to:
- Redeem forfeited property (Lev. 25:25–28)
- Buy relatives out of servitude (Lev. 25:47–55)
- Continue the lineage of a deceased brother (Deut. 25:5–6)
In Jones IGCSE, Christ is presented as goel: the Kinsman Redeemer who meets all three legal conditions to redeem all humanity.
The Three Conditions of Goel (Jones IGCSE)
Jones argues that Christ must fulfill three legal conditions to be the goel of all mankind:
Condition 1: Right as Nearest Kinsman (Heb. 2:11–17)
For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for this reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren… Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same. 1
Application: Christ had to become “flesh and blood” — literally take on the seed of Abraham — to qualify as nearest kinsman to all people. This is not merely ceremonial but genetic and genealogical.
He [Jesus] came rather as a man, born of a woman, taking upon Himself the seed of Abraham in order to qualify as a relative to Israel and Judah… Jesus Christ came in ‘flesh and blood,’ in order to qualify as a relative to all men.
The Incarnation is legally necessary, not merely mystical.
Condition 2: Sufficient Payment (1John 2:2)
And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. 2
Application: Christ must pay with something equivalent to what was lost — in this case, the soul/life of a human. Rom. 6:23: “the wages of sin is death.” Christ paid this “price” through His own death. Because Christ is of infinite value (God), His payment suffices for all humanity.
If you had the lawful right to redeem all men, and you had the cash to do so, and you loved them as much as God loves the world, what would YOU do?
Christ had:
- The right ✓ (flesh and blood)
- The payment ✓ (His life)
- The motivation ✓ (love)
Therefore redemption MUST be universal.
Condition 3: Motivation (John 3:16)
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 3
Application: Love is the motivation. A goel who had the right and the means, but NOT the love, was not obligated to redeem. Christ, however — matching God’s love for “the world” — MUST desire to redeem all people.
If you loved them as much as God loves the world — this is the litmus test. God’s love is universal. Christ’s motivation IS God’s motivation.
Legal Conclusion
Because Christ fulfills all three conditions — right (flesh), payment (death), motivation (love) — Christ must be goel for:
- Not a select few, but all humanity
- Not merely in principle, but in actual execution
Eschatological Implication
- Believers accept redemption in this age (voluntary)
- Unbelievers are placed under constraint in servitude until Jubilee (involuntary)
- Ultimately: All people are redeemed — the goel privilege is fully exercised
This aligns with:
- God all in all — endpoint of goel operation
- Jubilee — cycles of redemption and restitution
- Universal Reconciliation — the juridical-theological conclusion
Core quotation (Jones):
Yes, God would indeed save all mankind if He were capable of doing so. And that is why He has actually done it.