To Whom Was Christ’s “Ransom” Paid?
Q: In your sermon on 1 Timothy 2:5, you said there were different opinions regarding who Jesus gave Himself a ransom to – and hinted that you had your own answer. Who was it?
1 Timothy 2:5-6
For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time
Matthew 20:28
Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.
We think of a ransom as something that is paid to a kidnapper, in exchange for the person who has been kidnapped.
If that idea is carried into this passage, then perhaps the idea is that Satan has “kidnapped” fallen humanity, and with His death, Jesus Christ laid down His life as a ransom price, “paying” the devil to let his captives free.
1 Timothy 2:5-6
For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time
[6] Who gave Himself a ransom: Jesus gave Himself as a hostage, as a payment for our sins. He put Himself in our place and received the punishment and wrath from God the Father that we deserved. This is the basic message of the gospel.
- A ransom for all: There is enough in the work of Jesus on the cross for everyone. No one will be turned away because Jesus ran out of love or forgiveness at the cross for them.
Matthew 20:28
Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.
[28] Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve: Real ministry is done for the benefit of those ministered to, not for the benefit of the minister. Many people are in the ministry for what they can receive (either materially or emotionally) from their people instead of for what they can give.
[28] And to give His life a ransom for many: The death of Jesus – the giving of His life – purchased the freedom of His people. The idea is that His people were in bondage as slaves, and He paid their price.
- According to D.A. Carson, ransom “was most commonly used as the purchase price for freeing slaves.” R.T. France added: “Lytron (‘ransom’) and the preposition anti (‘for’, literally ‘instead of’) point clearly to the idea of his ‘taking our place’.”
- These words of Jesus gave rise to an old and complicated theological question: to whom did Jesus pay the ransom? According to William Barclay:
- Origen said it was the devil.
- Gregory of Nyssa objected that this put the devil on the same level as God, and this allowed the devil to dictate terms to God.
- Gregory the Great said that Jesus was like a baited hook meant to catch Satan.
- Peter the Lombard said the cross was like a mousetrap to catch the devil, baited with the blood of Christ.
All of this takes the simple picture Jesus gave too far. “A ransom is something paid or given to liberate a man from a situation from which it is impossible to free himself.” (Barclay)
iii. “Had all the sinners that ever lived in the world been consigned to hell, they could not have discharged the claims of justice. They must still continue to endure the scourge of crime they could never expiate. But the Son of God, blending the infinite majesty of his Deity with the perfect capacity to suffer as a man, offered an atonement of such inestimable value that he has absolutely paid the entire debt for his people.” (Spurgeon)
When Jesus said, a ransom for many He may have had several passages from Isaiah in mind.
- By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities (Isaiah 53:11)
- He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many (Isaiah 53:12)
We shouldn’t over-analyze the term ransom and instead should mainly think of it as a redemption price. This position is supported by Hosea 13:14:
Hosea 13:14
“I will ransom them from the power of the grave;
I will redeem them from death.
O Death, I will be your plagues!
O Grave, I will be your destruction!
Pity is hidden from My eyes.”