What does "ransom for many" mean in the context of Matthew 20:28? Matthew 20:28 “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.” Old Testament Foundations of Ransom 1. Exodus 6:6; 15:13 – Yahweh “redeems” Israel from Egyptian slavery with outstretched arm and blood of the Passover lamb. 2. Exodus 30:12-16 – each Israelite pays the half-shekel “ransom” (kōpher) for life, prefiguring a life-for-life exchange. 3. Leviticus 25:47-49 – the kinsman-redeemer (gōʾel) buys a relative out of slavery, foreshadowing Christ our elder Brother (Hebrews 2:11-15). 4. Psalm 49:7-9 – no human can give to God the ransom for his soul, establishing the need for a divine Redeemer. Prophetic Foregleam: Isaiah 52:13 — 53:12 Isaiah’s Servant “bore the sin of many” and “made intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12). Dead Sea Scroll 1QIsaa (ca. 125 BC) confirms the text centuries before Christ. The Hebrew phrase רַבִּים (rabbîm, “many”) parallels pollōn in Matthew, showing literary dependence. The Servant’s vicarious suffering provides the backdrop for Jesus’ self-description. New Testament Parallels and Development • Mark 10:45 – verbal parallel reinforcing authenticity via the criterion of multiple attestation. • 1 Timothy 2:5-6 – “the man Christ Jesus…gave Himself as a ransom for all,” aligning “many” with a universal offer. • Titus 2:14 – Christ “gave Himself for us to redeem (λυτρόω) us from all lawlessness.” • 1 Peter 1:18-19 – we were redeemed “not with perishable things, but with the precious blood of Christ.” • Hebrews 9:12, 15 – He obtained “eternal redemption” and is Mediator of the New Covenant, language saturated with lytron imagery. Theological Significance: Substitutionary Atonement 1. Substitution: anti denotes Christ standing in the sinner’s place, satisfying divine justice (Romans 3:24-26). 2. Costliness: lytron stresses a concrete, objective payment—His own blood (Acts 20:28). 3. Covenantal Fulfillment: mirrors the Exodus pattern; His death inaugurates the New Covenant (Luke 22:20). 4. Triune Accomplishment: Father plans, Son accomplishes, Spirit applies (Ephesians 1:3-14). The Scope of “Many” Semitic parallelism uses “many” where Western idiom would say “all.” Isaiah 53:11-12 and Romans 5:18-19 place “many” and “all” in the same context. Therefore: • Sufficiency: ransom sufficient for every human being (1 John 2:2). • Efficiency: applied to “all who believe” (Romans 3:22). • Particularity: secures infallible salvation for the elect, yet genuinely offered to all (John 6:37-40). Practical and Discipleship Implications Jesus sets the pattern: greatness equals servanthood, and servanthood culminates in costly sacrifice. Christian leadership must mirror this ethos (Philippians 2:5-8). Evangelistically, proclaim that no self-generated effort can pay the ransom; only Christ can (Acts 4:12). Evidential Corroboration • Manuscript Reliability – P45, P75, and Codex Vaticanus preserve the Mark/Matthew ransom saying within a century of composition. • Archaeology – Ossuary of Caiaphas (discovered 1990) confirms the historical milieu of the Passion narrative. • Miraculous Vindication – the empty tomb and post-resurrection appearances (1 Corinthians 15:3-8) provide historical certification that the ransom was accepted. Over 500 eyewitnesses, many martyred, attest to its truth. Summary “Ransom for many” in Matthew 20:28 compresses the entire redemptive mission of Jesus into one phrase: the Son of Man voluntarily offers His own life as the substitutionary price that liberates an otherwise helpless multitude from sin’s bondage, fulfills the prophetic pattern of the Suffering Servant, satisfies the justice of God, inaugurates the New Covenant, and sets the model for sacrificial service among His followers. |
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