58. Ransom
Mark 10:45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
The promise of this Gospel passage is that the Son of man will be a ransom for many, and, of course, for you and me as well. A ransom is a payment made to a kidnapper or a slaver so that it will free the kidnapped or enslaved person. For the most part, the analogy is clear enough: Jesus died as the ransom price for your soul and mine, thereby freeing us from the control of the person to whom we do not legitimately belong. This is clear: Jesus served by giving his life as a ransom for us.
What is not so clear or explicit in the Biblical analogy is this: to whom is the ransom paid? The short answer: The Enemy; the enemy is Sin, Death, and the Devil all three as one, or one of these three separately. The probable culprit is the Devil since he tempted us to Sin, which results in Death. So the ransom would be paid to all three or to one or the other separately. Sin has given the Devil legal right to our souls and now he owns and controls us; we are also slaves of sin; and Death is the ultimate master who can claim us when he wants (with God’s permission).
Created human beings belonged to God by right of created birth. Adam, and each one of us as well, surrendered that ownership to the Enemy who usurped the ownership and control of our lives, our persons and our eternal destiny. God cannot legally demand our souls back from the Devil for our Sin gives him the legitimate right to rule. Until our sins are forgiven we belong to the Devil, and Sin and Death. This is where Jesus, the Son of Man, steps in and gives his life a ransom, paid to the Devil, who kidnapped and enslaved us. Now, Satan has no more right to our life, Sin is not our master, and Death cannot claim us. The blood of Jesus ransoms us and we are back where we belong—we belong to God; I am my Beloved’s and He is mine.
We solidify that filial relationship, that eternal belonging, that adoption as sons every day when we repent and believe the Gospel. This Ransom Promise means that Sin, Satan and Death have no claim on our life, although they still try to tempt us to believe that. But we win the court trial: the ransom is paid; the promise is true.