Jesus Came to Give His Life as a Ransom for Many

Jesus came to give His life as a ransom for many.

And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. And Jesus called them to Him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” –Mark 10:41-45

In this well-known passage, Jesus calls His arguing disciples together and teaches them about true greatness in the Kingdom and also gives a very clear statement of why He came to earth.

Jesus said that greatness involves being a servant and a slave. We are to be the “table waiter,” serving food to the dinner guests, rather than to be the guest of honor at the banquet. We are to be a slave, not just a servant doing a job, but owned and totally controlled by our master.

Jesus then explained that He came into the world not only to serve but to be a ransom for many. The word for ransom, lutron, means the price paid for the release of a slave. You and I are slaves; we have sold ourselves into slavery to sin and death by our disobedience. Jesus is our ransom; His life and His blood are payment in full for our release from captivity. He exchanged His life for our release. And this ransom payment was accepted by God Himself. He is the judge who had to be satisfied; He is the One we sinned against and it is His wrath toward my sin that had to be appeased.

Let’s give thanks this Advent season that Jesus came to give His life as our ransom, to buy our release from slavery to sin and death. Let’s give thanks that the wrath of our righteous God toward our sin is satisfied by the sacrifice of His precious Son. And let’s look forward to the day when with many ransomed believers, from every tribe and language and people and nation, we will worship the Lamb that was slain.