Power Hungry

Mark 10:35-45
Gerrit Buddingh’ | Sunday, April 11, 2021
Copyright © 2021, Gerrit Buddingh’

We live in a day of self-exaltation. In 2 Timothy 3, starting in verse 1, it says, “But mark this: things are going to get really bad. People will be lovers of themselves, . . .  conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people” (2 Tim. 3:1–5).

What is amazing about this is not just that things are going to get really bad in the world in the last days, but that here Paul is talking about the church. In the church, people will become lovers of self. People come to the church thinking about themselves, wondering how the church will meet their “felt needs” and what the church will do for them, especially what job or position they should be given, the more visible, the better. If someone else is appointed to the position they think they should have, they are offended and embittered. Or if they are asked to step aside in favor of someone younger, or even someone, in their minds, less capable, they are angry because they think they own the position. They are in “selfie” mode. It is destructive to the church and to themselves.

During the time I worked for a large secular organization, I witnessed and experienced a number of power plays by arrogant people who thought they should be in charge. If a supervisory position was open, people would jockey for position to fill it. There were even attempted coup d’états against the very talented president of the organization, who made that organization what it was to become. In each case, the insurrectionists proudly thought they should be in charge and did everything they could to put themselves forward or to worm their way into positions from which they could then attack the boss with the design to take him out so that they could step in and take over.

More tragically, I have seen proud people put themselves forward to campaign for various roles in churches. I have witnessed at least two major takeover attempts in my lifetime. They failed, but not without causing real harm to the leaders and their wives, and to the rank-and-file members of the church flock.

It is in that context that I was asked several weeks ago to preach about being power hungry. We will consider, first, the power move; second, what is in it for me; third, worldly rulership; fourth, humble service; and, finally, Christ’s service in suffering.

1. The Power Move: The Illicit Request of James and John

In the preceding section (Mark 10:32–34), Jesus gives his final and most detailed foretelling of what will happen to him—his soon coming trial, suffering, death, and resurrection. But the disciples are not really comprehending what Jesus is saying. They constantly expect Jesus to shortly assume temporal political power in Palestine.

Probably James and John’s misunderstanding is colored by what they witnessed on the Mount of Transfiguration when they briefly saw Jesus revealed in his divine glory. And now they were expecting that Jesus will soon reveal his messianic rule.

In a good sense, this shows that James and John never doubted Jesus’ ultimate triumph. They recognized that royal rule and glorification of some kind awaits Jesus. And they conspired with their mother to capitalize on that.

In our text, we find them trying to muscle their way into the two key positions of authority under Jesus when he would assume his place as king over his kingdom. Their request reflects their understanding of the common practice of the ancient rulers to elevate their family members and close associates to places of honor on either side of them. And in their selfish way of thinking, this is the two of them, and not their old fishing buddy Peter or the other disciples.  They want to know if Jesus will appoint them to sit at his right and at his left.

This explains why they come to Jesus outside the presence of the other disciples. From the parallel text in Matthew 20, we learn that they take their mother Salome to go with them. It is not clear who the prime mover is in this power play, but Salome becomes the lead spokesman with the full approval of her sons.

Why did they have their mother do the dirty work? The evidence points in the direction that she is the sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus. In other words, she is Jesus’ aunt, and some aunts carry a lot of weight with their nephews.

In Matthew 20:20–21, we learn that the three of them come bowing down to Jesus in order to make this request of him. Like Mr. Collins in Pride and Prejudice, their behavior, though proper in an official sense, seems a bit fawning and obsequious toward Jesus, under the circumstance.

Jesus knows full well what they are up to. He cuts to the chase and wisely asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” This is the same question that Jesus will ask blind Bartimaeus later in Mark 10:51. Bartimaeus will respond by asking Jesus to restore his sight, which Jesus will do. Bartimaeus will then follow Jesus as Jesus’ disciple on the way.

But Bartimaeus’ restored vision contrasts dramatically with the selfish eyes of the disciples who were following Jesus. So in Mark 10:35, the second part, we read that the two men answered Jesus, “We want you to do for us whatever we ask you to do.”

Now, children in particular are known for this ploy, especially when they know their request is probably improper and likely to be denied. “Mom, Dad, will you promise to do whatever I ask?” The wise parent determines to find out what is being asked before saying anything.

Needless to say, we know from the Bible that it is unwise to make blind promises. Earlier in Mark’s gospel, Herod Antipas gave carte blanche to his salacious and sensual stepdaughter. He promised even up to half of his kingdom. And to Herod’s chagrin, it resulted in the young woman requesting John the Baptist’s head be delivered to her on a platter.

Clearly wisdom dictates not making blind promises. And humility and good spirituality means not asking for one. James and John’s request is birthed out of raw self-pride and selfish ambition.

But we should not be too quick to be down on them. If we are honest, we know this same selfish spirit, this same pride, this same striving for self-promotion dwells within ourselves. We each secretly hope that Jesus will do for us whatever we desire.

But why should our Lord Jesus act according to our selfish wishes? Should the disciples dictate to the Master? Should the child be lord in the family?

The two brothers prove themselves to be not only ambitious, but also hungry for position, power, and glory. Verse 37 in the NIV 1984 version reads, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left.” But the Greek text reveals the even more remarkably audacious and selfish spirit of their request, for it was no mere request. They actually tell Jesus, “Grant that we may sit, one on your right and one on your left, in your glory.”

Selfish pride causes people to demand and seek self-importance. The Greek word for “grant” is an aorist imperative, a verb of command. They are not simply requesting; they are, in a sense, demanding that Jesus give them the key seats of authority next to him. They are seeking positions to which neither of them has been appointed to by God the Father, at least insofar as they know, or we know.

Yes, we know that they left everything to follow Jesus. And they now think that Jesus owes them something. This is an important issue. For we must honestly ask ourselves whether we think Jesus somehow owes us because, for example, we have sacrificed a better paying job in a nicer city and state to follow Jesus as Lord in here in Davis.

So, we should not be so quick to get upset with James and John, for, the truth be told, most of us demand something of God when we pray. We like to tell Jesus what we think he should do for us. Our slogan is, “Ask not what you can do for your God, but ask what your God can do for you.”

How sad the contrast is! Our Lord Jesus’ thoughts are all taken up with his pending death for others, and his disciples’ thoughts are occupied with little petty jealousies as to who is the greatest.

But Christ is our model, and he is all unselfishness in his submission to God the Father. Jesus temporarily masked his divine glory and clothed himself in humility. Though eternal God, he humbled himself to become a human being under seemingly scandalous circumstances and in being born into a poor family. In Leviticus 12:2 we learn that his earthly parents bought a pair of doves for the mandatory temple sacrifice because they could not even afford the usual lamb.

During his public ministry as an adult, even though he is the Son of Man, Jesus is homeless, with no place to call home, no place to lay his head. And, finally, he would die an ignominious death on the cross in place of his people. Only after which God the Father would exalt him “to the highest place and give him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Phil. 2:9–10).

But it is clear that James and John, and the other disciples as well, have not grasped this point, that to go up means to go down, to humble yourself. These brothers desired that one of them be seated at Jesus’ right hand in the position of most prominence, and the other seated second in rank at Jesus’ left hand. James and John want the number one and number two spots in Jesus’ kingdom. They want to be secretary of state and secretary of defense. In their pride, they undoubtedly think that they are better qualified and more deserving than the others.

2. Following Jesus for “What’s in It for Me”

This request by James and John reveals an obvious selfish and personal ambition that does not belong in the church. In fact, Jesus had already told the twelve disciples that they would sit on twelve thrones in his coming kingdom, judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt. 19:28). Jesus did this for his own good reasons, and not as part of their reward for following him.

So James and John seem to be saying, “It’s nice to make the top twelve, Jesus, but we deserve more than those other ten.” To James and John, life is like the reality show, “The Survivor.” And they just voted the other ten off the island.

This situation is not unique to them. Understandably, though, the other disciples get angry at them. They are indignant at this power play because James and John beat them to it. They want those same seats of position and power for themselves. Perhaps they were just too civil to put themselves forward. Perhaps they were just slow on the draw. The truth is that each them also has a hankering after the key positions, and they were upset at being upstaged.

They too have made sacrifices to follow Jesus. They too have done many of the same things done by James and John. In fact, Peter arguably has just as much or greater claim to the righthand seat than either of them.

Earlier, as we see from Luke 18:28 and Matthew 19:27, Peter had impulsively exclaimed to Jesus, “Behold, we have left everything to follow you. What then will there be for us?” This reminds us of our modern phrase, “What’s in it for me?” Peter seems a bit brazen, using the interjection, “Behold,” as if the Lord might have difficulty understanding his point. Peter’s comment may have been prompted by the rich young ruler who was unwilling to leave everything and follow Jesus. The impression is given that they—each of the disciples—had, in a sense, abandoned all else to follow Jesus. We see that expressly in Mark 1:18–20 and elsewhere in the gospels. Peter, James, and John had left a lucrative fishing business, Matthew had left a very rich source of income from this tax-collector’s office, and the others had left whatever careers they had to become disciples of this poor, itinerant preacher.

The term “followed you” is a synonym for discipleship. Here it is in the perfect tense, indicating that they began to follow at a point in time in the past and are still following in the state of discipleship. The idea is that these disciples had made an irrevocable decision to leave all they had, and forever, to follow the Lord permanently. And that is what each of us must do as well, but not in order to gain a reward.

In effect, Peter’s question in Luke 18:28 is, “What reward will we get for becoming your poor disciples?” By this Peter shows that they were still thinking in terms of material rather than spiritual blessings. But we are to follow Jesus for who he is and not for what he will do for us. Jesus tells Peter, “Don’t worry. You may give up much and even suffer persecution, but you will be richly rewarded both now and in the age to come.”  And in Matthew 19:28 he says, “I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Then Jesus added, “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.”

In Luke 18:29–30, Jesus adds “eternal life” to this reward. So stop worrying about what position you may or may not get in the church, or what you have given up for Christ. At the right time, he will recognize your sacrifice both now and in the life to come. Meanwhile, stand down and rest in who he is.

3. Worldly Rulership

In Mark 10:42, Jesus tells his twelve disciples, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.”

Those rulers lock you down and make you wear a mask. But in private, they themselves eat out maskless in packed rooms at the nicest restaurants, paid for by lobbyists. They want you to double and even triple mask, but they themselves can lower their masks at a baseball game while seated next to a person who is not a family member. They move their close family members to the front of the line to get tested for COVID-19 and also to get vaccinated.

Such rulers pass rules for how you should behave on the job, but ignore those same rules themselves. They consider you presumptively guilty if you are charged with sexual harassment or ethnic discrimination and will want you fired out of hand or kicked out of college without any real due process. However, they themselves can inappropriately touch and feel, and even sniff women’s hair, and never get fired or held to account. They can sexually harass a young intern and later shamelessly serve on a national panel regarding women’s issues.

Jesus is saying that such things should not happen in his church, but, alas, they do. Witness the periodic news reports of sexual misconduct by some church leaders and of ministers using church accounts to fund extraordinarily lavish lifestyles. Recently it was announced that an international church ministry was shutting down one of its local operations amid a series of scandals that have rocked the megachurch. One of its major city pastors and his wife recently resigned after revelations that they had used church donations to fund their luxurious lifestyle.

But it is not just the highly visible people who evilly maneuver for fame and fortune within the church. It can happen among the little people in a little church. We witnessed this in a local church where the associate minister teamed up with several leaders to wrongfully oust the senior pastor. Sometimes Christian teachers and parents in a Christian school can run a subtle campaign to get rid of the principal. People will strive to head up the nursery and create their own little kingdom. Musicians sometimes can be prickly and contentious if the pastor picks, in their opinion, the wrong songs—songs that they don’t particularly like. People become embittered because they are not paid for their volunteer work in the church, or because someone else is recognized for their service and they are not. Such ungodly behavior ought not to take place in Christ’s kingdom.

Jesus, however, calls us to a different ethic, telling us that God honors humble service rather than prideful service. He challenges us to begin living by kingdom rule in the here and now. It is a tough sell, and a lesson that the church and we as individual Christians must continually learn. One minister noted that “The drive for preferment might be called a number one enemy of the Christian church.”

Personal ambition did not start with James and John, nor did it end with them. It is all too easy to have an “I’m just too good to be true” attitude, or to say, “Kiss my ring.” Every denomination, congregation, pastor, elder, Sunday School teacher, or youth group leader is tempted to look out for number one instead of quietly and humbly serving kingdom needs, for Christ calls leaders to serve, not to be served.

Ministers are tempted by grand titles, vestments, and bigger churches offering bigger salaries, so long as they preach another gospel that sells, instead of the word that is faithful to the Bible. Church leaders can crave the accolades of the congregants, and people can wrongly find their identity in teaching Sunday School and gain a sense of entitlement in their position.

Our text today tells us that such selfishness is destructive to the church’s unity. In verse 41, we read that the other apostles were indignant with James and John. This is the very opposite of making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. It is a failure to gracefully accept the position assigned to us to do within the church. It is Christ who gives gifts to men. It is he who calls and assigns people their work in his church: some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be pastors and teachers, some to be Sunday School teachers, some to be security, and some to be nursery workers.

We are to honor one another above ourselves and not think more highly of ourselves than we ought. The elder and the Sunday School administrator must not say to the aide or nursery worker, “I don’t need you.” Nor should the person who cleans the bathroom say, “Because I am not an elder, I do not belong to the church body.” People in the so-called less honorable positions should in some sense be treated with greater honor, so that there will be no division in the church body. And its parts should have equal concern for each other.

This is not to say that we shouldn’t honor men in leadership, for God commands us to do so. (GJB) But none of us should have an inferiority complex, and none of us should have a superiority complex. But rather, we should love each other as vital members of Christ’s church.

In verses 43 through 45 it says, “Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant (your diakonos, your deacon), and whoever wants to be first must be a bondslave of all (a doulos).  For even Jesus the Son of Man, did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

4. Humble Service

Jesus, however, is saying much more than just do what is right in your position in the church and let God be your reward, although he is definitely saying that. Jesus is declaring war against pride and selfishness. He is declaring that men and women must deny themselves if they would follow him. He is teaching us to love our enemies, and more still, to love our neighbors and brothers and sisters in the church.  He tells us that if a person would be really great, he must be a servant, a slave, a waiter.

Earlier in Mark 9:35, when the disciples we rearguing as to who among them was the greatest, Jesus told them, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” Church leaders especially are to be servants. But the disciples had not embraced that teaching yet. They thought it applied to the other person, not to themselves.

Servanthood starts with a right attitude about yourself. Paul, the great apostle, says this of himself in Ephesians 3:8: “Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given to me: to preach,” and so on. The term “less than the very least of all God’s people” is literally “most least, which is a comparative of a superlative (cf. 1 Cor. 15;9; 1 Tim. 1:15). Less than the least, lower the lowest, smaller than the smallest.

Paul was humbled by his previous life of religious self-righteousness and aggressive persecution of God’s people. So he was amazed by God’s love for such a wretch as him. I don’t think this was false humility. I think this is the attitude of a truly born-again man or woman who is truly spending time with God.

Paul didn’t compete with others to become an apostle. Christ raised him up. But Paul always kept reminding himself that he was the very least of all God’s people, and so are you and so am I. It is in getting a glimpse of the most holy God that we serve that gives us a true perspective of who we are. So consider yourself the least of the least and the smallest of the smallest.

So I ask: “Do you think this way about yourself? Do you see yourself as a bondservant for Jesus?”

In Mark 10:43–44, Jesus again tells his disciples, “Whoever want to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be bondslave of all.” Jesus is explaining that biblical ambition needs to be transformed into a humility directed toward serving others rather than a proud serving of yourself. The issue in Christian service is about being faithful in the role into which God has placed us, not in striving for what he has not called us to do.

Not everyone in that group of twelve disciples would be called on to preach on the Day of Pentecost, but neither would Peter be called on to write a gospel account, as were Matthew and John. Too many times we get focused on what others are doing, wanting what they have been assigned. But Christian service is marked by faithfulness to what God has asked us as individuals to do and to be, not by how we rank the importance of a position or action. Instead of getting sad or mad at God or at the pastor or at others, we ought to be busy doing with excellence that which God has clearly called us to do. We are not to climb up the ladder of church positions on the backs of others. Jesus wants his disciples to understand that to climb down the ladder is the way to greatness in God’s eyes.

Whom, then, are we to serve? In the sixth chapter of Galatians, Paul settled forever the scope of our Christian responsibility. He said, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Gal. 6:10). And as we are told in Colossians 3:11–12 that in the church “there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and is in all.” Ephesians 4:4 says, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”

In 1 Corinthians 1:26–31, we are exhorted, “Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly and the despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, so that no one should boast in his presence. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.’”

Because we have no basis for discrimination, we should “do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves” (Phil. 2:3). So what is the role God has called us to do? Both that of deacon (servant) and that of doulos (slave).

The English translation of the Greek word doulos as “servant” is at best a poor approximation. The Greek word does not bear the connotation of a free individual deciding to serve another depending on how he feels, or because he is being paid. The staff that worked upstairs and downstairs in “Downton Abbey” were, in a sense, deacons, house servants, kitchen servants, and so on. And we are called to fill those roles too. But they were not douloi. The word means “slaves” or “bondslaves”—those who voluntarily enter into lifelong servitude to Christ Jesus.

A bondslave does not seek self-promotion. He knows that his job is simply to obey and serve. His is a call to serve under authority. Jesus always acted under his heavenly Father’s authority.

A bondslave is one who humbly serves, who waits on his master hand and foot with the anticipation of the master’s needs. Nothing is too unimportant or too lowly for him to do.

Many of us know something of the story of Eric Liddell, the famous British runner at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. He refused to run in the trials for his favored 100-meter race because they were held on a Sunday, because doing so would violate his understanding of God’s command in the Fourth Commandment to honor the Lord’s Day and to keep it holy. Known as “The Flying Scotsman,” he instead ran in the 400-meter race, which was held on a weekday, and won—breaking both the Olympic and world records at the time and earning worldwide fame.

Some of you may even recall that Liddell forsook fame and fortune in order to serve as a missionary teacher in China from 1925 until his death in 1943 in a Japanese internment camp in China during World War II. What you may not know is that this Olympic champion would volunteer to do the most unpleasant tasks in the camp, jobs that others would shun, such as the disgusting task of cleaning out the disease-ridden latrines. Liddell did so for Christ his Lord, who had set an example of servanthood for us all.

Jesus is our pattern, and we need to look to no other. Soon after the event in today’s text, Jesus would wash the disciples’ feet at the Last Supper on the Thursday evening before his crucifixion. Jesus’ acts of servanthood that day in washing the disciples’ feet and being crucified on Friday signified in a powerful way the love we are called to have for one another.

After he washed the disciples’ feet, Jesus taught them, saying, “Do you know what I have done for you? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’; and you are right, for so I am. If I, then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you” (John 13:12–15).

It is a call to humble usefulness. Such service is to be done in humble submission to Jesus as your Lord, for, ultimately, it is him that you are serving. In Ephesians 6:7–8 we read, “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.”

We often think of such humble service as optional, as something we choose to do. To serve is to volunteer, or so we imagine. But here we are told that serving is part of God’s calling on our lives. It is a command to demonstrate our love for each other in humble acts of service to all of Christ’s covenant people. No service is to be too humble.

The humble bondslave does not serve to be seen. Jesus said, “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matt. 6:3–4).

There is a tendency to seek the limelight when serving others so that recognition and commendation will be yours. But blessed is the servant who serves the other in need in secrecy and unobtrusively. Our prayer should be, “Lord, may I be a bondservant in your name helping others in secret.”

5. Christ’s Service in Suffering

Jesus did not directly rebuke James and John Instead, he asks a question designed to let them know that their question is wrongheaded. He says, “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”

While Jesus does not go into specifics, his question conveys a hint that James and John have invited themselves into a place quite different than the one that they were contemplating.  Jesus tells them that a request for glory is a request for suffering. He is asking these brothers if they can suffer the same type of suffering that he is preparing to enter into.

In the Old Testament, the word “cup” often refers to blessings, but also to judgement or death. It will soon come to represent Jesus’ “blood of the new covenant which is poured out for many” (Mark 14:24). In other words, Jesus is asking James and John if they can handle the persecution and martyrdom that comes with serving him. Jesus will be crucified, yet James and John are not asking to be crucified on his right and on his left. Instead, they want recognition, not crucifixion.

What was their response? “We are able” (v. 39). No more naïve words have ever been spoken as those spoken here.  “We are able.” They said it with such confidence and ease. Yet neither of them had a clue as to the consequences of what they were affirming. Shortly afterwards, when Jesus was arrested, they would not be so brave. Mark tells us, “All of [Jesus’ disciples] deserted him and fled” (Mark 14:50).

In the next sentence, Jesus confirms that the disciples will indeed suffer for his name. So we read, “You shall indeed drink the cup that I drink, and you shall be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with (v. 39b).  James would be martyred by Herod Agrippa, “killed . . . with the sword,” rather than crucified (Acts 12:2). Acts 4 tells of John’s arrest and beating in Jerusalem. Later, he will spend his old age exiled in the prison colony on the isle of Patmos. Whether he was actually martyred or not, his was not to be an easy life. And Jesus bids us to come and die for him in his service.

But, at the same time, know that every true believer will be honored by God and will sit at the Lord’s right hand in glory! In Ephesians 2:6–7 Paul writes, “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages, he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”

Conclusion

No one should serve for a reward, but there is a reward. Leaders should serve. Men and women in the pews should serve. We are called down to service.

But we should not judge these two disciples too harshly, for we often fail ourselves. Yet as Jesus’ disciples, we need to concentrate on our present humble service rather than our future honor. In Philippians 2:5–8, Paul writes, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!”

This reversal of all human ideas of greatness and rank was achieved when Jesus, the eternal Son of God, came not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.

In humility, Jesus veiled his glory for a season. It is a good lesson every leader should learn. He did so to become a human being, born poor and later to be homeless. He voluntarily came to die the cruel death of the cross, but more significantly suffered the wrath of God, suffering in the place of all his people, bearing the punishment of their sins on their behalf, and always serving.

Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He does this willingly. He said, “No one takes my life from me; I lay it down by my own accord.” He also said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

In verse 45, the word “ransom” speaks of our deliverance by purchase. It speaks of our slavery to sin and Satan, from which we cannot free ourselves. It speaks of Jesus, the obedient servant of the heavenly Father, who vicariously and voluntarily suffered and gave his life for the sins of his people.

The word “ransom” speaks of Jesus making his life an offering for sin and becoming our guilt offering (Isa. 53:10). In his death, Jesus pays the price that set us free from our indebtedness to God, a debt that only Jesus could pay. The release effected by his offering overcomes our alienation from God, our subjection to death, and our slavery to sin.

Christ died for the many—for the elect, not everyone. But, praise God, it is for the many, not the few. And his sacrifice for the many is without distinction as to race, nationality, class, age, gender, social status, or any other manmade incumbrance.

The glad tiding of salvation through this ransom paid by Christ is for all who believe in him. God derives no pleasure from the death of the unbelieving wicked but rejoices when the wicked turn from their sinful ways, truly trust in Christ, and truly live a new life in Christ. So believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.