GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 10:45
Ransom
A farmer, making his rounds one morning, noticed that one of his cows had wandered into a pond to cool off and perhaps get a drink. The cow’s legs had sunk into the muddy bottom, trapping her. After calling for help and gathering supplies, the farmer rigged a hoist to free the animal and save her life. It was no small task to extricate the 1,600-pound cow, but he succeeded.
In May 2010, a 38-year-old woman exploring Raccoon Mountain Caverns near Chattanooga, Tennessee, injured her ankle. It took rescuers three and a half hours to remove her from deep within the cavern.
After two of Jesus’ disciples sought places of honor beside him in his glory, and the others grew indignant at what they perceived as a power grab, Jesus instructed them about leadership: the true leader is a servant. Then Jesus described his own work: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Jesus certainly received ministry from his friends, but his primary mission was to proclaim hope, feed the multitudes, and heal the sick. Ultimately, Jesus made what many consider one of the most important statements in the New Testament: “to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Much of the historical exegetical work on this concept has focused on who received the price—the ransom. This leaves room to offer another perspective. The word Mark used here is the Greek term “λύτρον” (lutron), meaning “something to loosen with”—that is, a redemption price or, figuratively, atonement. It is derived from “λύω” (luo), meaning to “loosen,” break, destroy, dissolve, or divorce. This is the same term used in Matthew’s parallel account (20:28). It is possible, then, that “ransom” here emphasizes the act of loosening or freeing. In this view, the farmer loosened the cow from the pond; in a sense, he ransomed her. Similarly, the caver was loosened from the cave—rescued; she too was, in this sense, ransomed. In these examples, the focus is on the act of loosening, not on the price paid for the equipment to extricate the cow or the cost of the rescue operation.
In this view of “ransom,” Jesus freed humanity from the grip of sin by offering his life as the means by which sinful people might be united with the Father—he ransomed sinners.
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