A Ransom for Many

A small part of our reading jumped out at me, because it wasn't all that long ago that I learned about it myself.  It's Matthew 20: 26-28 "Not so with you.  Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

The words that give this a deeper meaning, once you understand them, are "Slave" and "Ransom". 

• I learned more about these when I did a Bible study "The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus".  If you EVER get the chance to take this Bible study don't hesitate a second.  If you don't think you'll take a Bible study - then just buy the book and read every page...there is soooo much information in here, a big portion of which the Old Testament is explained and makes the New Testament way more meaningful too.  It's really really worth reading.

Starting with the first word, slave/slavery, there are two parts to be aware of.  First, in Biblical times, people had literal slaves...who were born into slavery, or sold into it as property, or became one if unable to pay back a debt.  A slave was helpless to save him or herself from their situation...they had to have someone else "redeem" them.  To be "redeemed", meant that another individual has to purchase the slave's freedom.  It meant that the slave was no longer held captive once the "ransom" - the money paid for release from captivity - canceled their debt.

The other side of the word slave/slavery relates to our sin nature.  Since Adam and Eve in the garden, we are all born as sinners (slaves).  In this sense, we as slaves are also helpless to change our own situation.  In today's reading Jesus says he has come to give his life as a ransom for many.  His death pays the price to release us from sin's captivity...his blood "redeems" us, and it is this "ransom" that was paid which sets us free.  We no longer owe the cost of sin with our own death.  The debt we owed from our sinful nature is paid in full by Jesus on the cross.  This redemption does not mean that we're never going to sin again...but now we are no longer helpless - we can choose who we serve.