--- title: No Man Can Redeem — But Jesus Did url: https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/ransom-who-can-redeem/ markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/ransom-who-can-redeem.md type: argument perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching topics: [Salvation, Deity of Christ] challenges: [Jesus Is a Created Being] verses: [Psalms 49:7, Hebrews 9:12, Acts 20:28, Psalms 49:15, John 1:29, Hebrews 10:12, Hebrews 1:3, Hebrews 9:14, Hebrews 9:13, Hebrews 10:4, Romans 5:15, 1 Timothy 2:5, Colossians 1:19, 1 Timothy 2:6, Hebrews 9:11] strength: Very Strong tone: Good attribution: Anselm of Canterbury / GotQuestions.org / Christian Study Library added: '2026-04-04' last_reviewed: '2026-04-04' index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt --- # No Man Can Redeem — But Jesus Did *Psalm 49:7-9, 15 / Hebrews 9:12-14 / Acts 20:28* ## Doorstep Question > "Your own NWT says in Psalm 49:7 that 'not one of them can ever redeem a brother.' But Jesus redeemed the whole world. How can a mere man do what the Bible says no man can do?" ## JW Claim Jesus' death was a 'corresponding ransom' — a perfect human life exchanged for Adam's perfect human life. The justice of God would not permit Jesus to be more than a perfect man, because the ransom had to be the exact equal of what Adam lost. ## Strategy This argument uses a simple three-step sequence from Psalm 49. Step one: read Psalm 49:7-9 in the NWT — 'Not one of them can ever redeem a brother or give to God a ransom for him; the redemption price of their life is so precious that it is always beyond their reach.' Establish the principle: NO MAN can pay the redemption price. Step two: read Psalm 49:15 — 'But God will redeem my life from Sheol.' The psalm contrasts human inability with divine ability. Only God redeems. Step three: connect to Jesus. He bore 'the sin of the world' (John 1:29). He 'obtained everlasting deliverance for us' (Hebrews 9:12, NWT). He offered 'one sacrifice for sins for all time' (Hebrews 10:12, NWT). If no man can do this, and Jesus did it, then Jesus must be more than a man. Hebrews confirms: his sacrifice works because of who he is — 'the radiance of God's glory' (Hebrews 1:3) who offered himself 'through an everlasting spirit' (Hebrews 9:14, NWT). The 'how much more' argument in Hebrews 9:13-14 depends on Christ being categorically superior to animal sacrifices and Levitical priests — not just a better specimen of the same kind. ## Key Insight Psalm 49 says no man can redeem his brother — the price is always beyond human reach. But God can redeem. Jesus redeemed the whole world. Therefore Jesus must be God acting to save, not a man attempting what no man can do. ## JW Responses & Counters ### Response 1 **JW says:** "Psalm 49 is about wealthy people trying to buy their way out of death — it's not about the ransom." **Counter:** The psalm establishes a universal principle: 'Not one of them can ever redeem a brother.' It does not say 'no wealthy man' — it says no one. The redemption price is 'so precious' that it is 'always beyond their reach.' This is true of every man — including a perfect one — unless the redeemer is more than a man. And the psalm itself gives the answer: 'But GOD will redeem my life' (v. 15). ### Response 2 **JW says:** "If Jesus were God, the ransom would be too much — it would violate justice." **Counter:** Hebrews 10:4 says the problem with Old Testament sacrifices was that they were too LITTLE, not too much. They had to be repeated year after year because exact-equivalence sacrifices fail. Christ's sacrifice succeeds 'once for all time' because of its infinite value. Romans 5:15 says the gift is 'not like' the trespass — it intentionally exceeds the debt. God's justice is satisfied by abundance, not by bare equivalence. ### Response 3 **JW says:** "Jesus is called 'a man' in 1 Timothy 2:5, so he is just a perfect man." **Counter:** No one denies Jesus is truly human. The question is whether he is ONLY human. Hebrews 1:3 calls him 'the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his nature.' Colossians 1:19 says 'all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in him.' He is genuinely human AND divine — which is precisely why his sacrifice can do what no merely human sacrifice can. ### Response 4 **JW says:** "Acts 20:28 says 'the blood of his own Son' — not God's own blood." **Counter:** The word 'Son' is not in the Greek text. The NWT inserts it. The Greek reads 'tou haimatos tou idiou' — 'the blood of his own.' Most English translations render this as God purchasing the congregation 'with his own blood.' Even if 'his own Son' is the intended sense, it still means GOD purchased the congregation through the blood of his own Son — identifying the blood as God's instrument of purchase, not a finite human transaction. ### Response 5 **JW says:** "The ransom is a 'corresponding ransom' — 1 Timothy 2:6 proves exact equivalence." **Counter:** The Greek word 'antilytron' means 'ransom in exchange' — not 'exact equivalent ransom.' Every major modern lexicon (BDAG, Thayer, HELPS) defines it as 'ransom' or 'ransom in place of.' The 'corresponding' translation was drawn from Parkhurst's 1769 lexicon, whose later editors warned against its 'fanciful and uncertain' etymological speculations. See also argument 045 (ransom-chain) for the full Romans 5 'gift exceeds debt' case. ## What to Avoid Don't get bogged down in the antilytron lexical debate at the door — that is better handled via argument 045. Keep the focus on the Psalm 49 syllogism: no man can redeem, God redeems, Jesus redeemed, therefore Jesus is God. Also avoid the Anselm 'infinite debt' framework — it's theologically sound but too abstract for a doorstep conversation. ## Homework Read Psalm 49 in full, then return to verses 7-9 and 15 until you can walk through the contrast from memory: no man can redeem a brother, but God will redeem. Check the NWT wording of Psalm 49:7-9 and Hebrews 9:12 yourself. Read Hebrews 9:11-14 and 10:1-12 so you can follow the 'how much more' reasoning. Practise the three-step sequence aloud without mentioning Anselm or Greek lexicons. The likeliest reply is that Psalm 49 is only about wealthy people buying their way out of death; rehearse pointing to 'not one of them' in verse 7 and to the answer in verse 15. ## Next Moves - [The Corresponding Ransom Chain](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/ransom-chain.md) - [Jesus' Eternality](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/psalm102-hebrews1.md)