safety

The Book of Jeremiah 33:16 (NABRE) contains a promise of safety and security in the land. It often can seem to us as Christians that such security is impossible. The model of the early Church of suffering and martyrdom for Christ suggests anything but security, and yet this concept is at the heart of Christianity, though instead of safety or security, we use a synonym that has perhaps taken on larger meaning—salvation.

One of the Hebrew words used to refer to safety in the Book of Jeremiah 33:16 (NABRE), יָשַׁע (yasha), is basically synonymous with the Greek σῴζω (sozo), which means “I keep safe” or “I preserve.” Although these two ideas are essentially identical theologically, the Christian connotation that salvation or being saved means “possessing immortal life” has become predominant enough that any previous meaning has been obscured. In the Gospel According to Luke 13:23 (NABRE) and other New Testament passages, sozo shows up in the passive voice and so refers to being safe. In its literal sense, then, being saved is being made safe, the exact prediction of the prophet Jeremiah.

If we’re finally safe in Christ, there must be some danger that otherwise besets us. What do you think that might be? The implicit answer seems to be death that comes from sin. We see that Christian salvation, while it does amount to the common understanding of gaining immortal life, also includes the concept of being kept safe from the danger of death.

related topics: salvation

you also may like our study of the Gospel According to John
The Gospel According to John: An Encounter with Grace & Truth, a 25-lesson Catholic Bible study with an imprimatur, examines the Fourth Gospel’s view of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, with special emphasis on the institution of the sacraments of the Church as the means by which Christians are purified and made holy. This recently revised study includes maps and additional commentary, and takes a closer look at the way in which Jesus relates to individual men and women. Click here to view a sample of the first lesson.

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