Mark 10:45 - The Ransom Christ Paid

Mark 10:45
"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

Message: The Ransom Christ Paid

Time: Mark's personal connection with Peter gave him the source material for this book. This book was composed probably between AD 57 and AD 59. It's a book that is on the move, leading to the cross. 39 times is the word 'immediately' used. Mark reveals Jesus as God's servant, reaching into the lives of people and effecting physical and circumstantial change.

What the Lord is Saying:

Preface - James and John, after finding out from Jesus that He would be rising from the dead, wanted to request that they have a position of greatness on the left and right of Jesus in heaven. Jesus uses that question to expand further on how he defines greatness. There isn't a problem with achieving greatness, but greatness comes about for the purpose of serving others. To be great, to be first means that you will be a servant or a slave to all.

As I now examine this verse from Jesus that I have often quoted, I see that one level it simply provides an example from the life of Jesus of the need for any person to also do likewise or copy what Jesus has done and that is, serve others. Previously, I have looked at the idea of Jesus referring to Himself as the Son of Man. He seems to be appealing here to the idea of his humanity. In essence, the question could be, "why is man here on earth?" Why is Jesus here on earth? It is not for the purpose of lording ourselves over others (Mark 10:42). Or stated another way, the Son of Man did not come to be served. Jesus is not here on this earth to be served. Granted, many people can't help but serve him as they see him. But, he is not here waiting for this to happen.

To me, it has always been appealing to me to see someone in society with riches and fame to still live a somewhat simple life. Granted, big houses and rich lifestyles do provide jobs for servants, but still to see someone that can afford it and then choose to not simply let people serve them lavishly is appealing. I've heard about this of the Chick-Fil-A founder. But, examples of these sorts of people seems rare. Granted, people of importance often need servants to help them continue to achieve their calling, but still it is appealing to see people that still understand modesty.

For Jesus he did not come to be served, but to serve. His desire all along has been service to others. In the gospels, specifically the first half of Mark's gospel, this is seen over and over as Jesus went from place to place and as he went people came to him wanting to be healed and he healed them. At times as I read this I was baffled because I thought salvation should be his main concern, but then I also forget that serving others is his strong desire. He still obviously wants all people to be saved, but his desire is to serve others. He did want to help people. He wanted to give them what they requested. But, this doesn't mean that all people must be healed of their problems in order to live good lives. But, that's another idea.

For Jesus, to further clarify ultimately what it means for him to serve us is He wanted to give His life a ransom for many. While we need to see Him as an example of one that did serve and therefore, we need to also want to serve others, ultimately Jesus' purpose of giving his life as a ransom for many describes the greatest type of service that a person can do. It is also something that only Jesus could do. We cannot copy this type of service for none of us are worthy to give our lives as a ransom for many.

A ransom is a price paid to secure the release of captives from a captor.  To see justice served is something we all love to see. We love to watch prisoners held captive released. There are stories like Louis Zamperini whereby he was a prisoner of war and then became freed that thrill us. I saw two movies on this. The first one Unbroken detailed his imprisonment in World War II. The second movie, Unbroken: A path to redemption detailed his imprisonment from his addictions and his restless existence following that imprisonment. Eventually, he was saved by realizing that Jesus had died for him. In both movies, there was a thrilling release that took place. We will often watch movies like Kidnap that show someone being taken against their will and then released. We love those stories. This is what Jesus did for many. He gave his own life, dying on the cross, being scourged and spit and mocked. He gave up his own good life, at the prime of his life at the age of 33, for me. He has set me free.

I also noticed something interesting here in Jesus' words. He says, a ransom for many. He does not say a ransom for all. This seems to speak to the idea that Jesus died for a certain number of people and not everyone would be saved. 2 Corinthians 5:15 says that "Christ died for all." Yes, Jesus died for all. Every person has the same means necessary for salvation. Yet full salvation or full freedom or the complete ransom happens for many, not all. This is not a popular message today. What I call the American version of the gospel is Jesus will save the majority and only what society calls as the really bad people (murderers, serial killers, rapists, child pornographers) will not be saved. On the contrary, all have sinned, the road is narrow that leads to eternal life, and so many will be saved, but not all. I would venture to say that most will reject him.

Summary - Jesus shows that he can be an example of what he means by greatness, namely that greatness is found in serving others, not being served. And ultimately he offered the greatest example in this, though one that cannot be copied, by being a ransom for many. Man was captive in his sin, but Jesus released us from being captive. He died for all, but only some are saved.   

Promise:  Christ’s death was a ransom that secured our release from our bondage to sin.

Prayer: Lord, the ransom you paid for me, setting me free is more than I will ever understand or deserve. Thank you for choosing me to be your child. That I am one of the many amazes me. I pray that I would honor you in all I do.