as indeed the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.
These words close a dispute about who would be greatest. They set two things side by side: the pattern His followers are to copy, and the price only He could pay.
Greatness Turned Upside Down
The ten were angry at James and John. Jesus showed the same love of greatness in every heart there, and His answer drops lower with each step.
He put His finger on that very love of greatness in themselves. They were loud in condemning it in James and John, but their feeling betrayed the same thing in their own hearts... There is a difference between the two words. The word translated "minister" means a servant. But in verse 27 it is a bondman or slave. Do you want to be really great according to the principles of My kingdom? Go down as low as you can. Do you want to be the greatest? Go down the lowest of all. Whoever has least of self is greatest in the Lord's eyes.
The One Who Had Every Right To Be Served
Someone with every right to be waited on chose the opposite.
The Lord sets Himself before us as the Son of Man who came not to be served but to serve, though to be served was His right. Daniel 7:9-14 shows this in a twofold way, for Jesus may be identified with the "Ancient of Days" as well as with the Son of Man. As Ancient of Days "a thousand thousands served Him" before He came down among us. As Son of Man "all peoples, nations, and languages" shall "serve Him." Yet in between came the time of His humiliation. He gave Himself to service, and that service went to the extreme point of giving His life a ransom for many. So for the fifth time since chapter 16 the Lord set His death before His disciples. This time He spoke of its redeeming power. Thank God that we are among "the many"!
What A Ransom Is
Everything in the verse hangs on one word.
The meaning of "ransom" is a price paid for redemption. And "redemption" means to buy back, or to buy someone out of captivity or slavery.
Some read "His life" as if His living were the payment. His spotless life had a different role.
"His life," someone may exclaim, "see, it says 'His life a ransom for many.'" True, but that is not all it says. He "came... to give His life." It was the giving of His life — the yielding of it up in death — that accomplished the ransom. His life was perfect and spotless. That made the offering up of it so acceptable to God, and it was one of His great qualifications for the sacrificial work. He was indeed the Lamb "without blemish."
Why "Many" And Not "All"
Elsewhere Scripture says He gave Himself a ransom for all. The two statements are not rivals; the small Greek words carry the difference.
There is indeed a true sense in which our Lord is a ransom for all, and the apostle speaks of it in 1 Timothy 2... But a fine difference distinguishes the two texts. When, as in Matthew, it is a ransom for many, we have it clearly defined. The "for" is "instead of" (ἀντὶ) many. It is strict substitution. When, as in 1 Timothy, all are in view, it is simply "on behalf of" (ὑπὲρ) all. "For" does not always have the same sense in Scripture.
The limit falls on who may claim it, not on how far His death reaches.
Whenever we look at the death of the Lord as substitution, it covers only His people... The letter to the Hebrews also says that Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many (chapter 9:28). It does not say the sins of all, because the truth of substitution is again in view. On the other hand, Scripture also says that Christ died for all (2 Corinthians 5:14), and that He gave Himself for all (1 Timothy 2:6). There the wording shuts out the thought of substitution, and shuts it out carefully. Both things are wonderfully true of the death of Christ. He died for all, and by the grace of God He tasted death for every man. But according to Scripture, only believers can say that He bore their sins in His death on the cross.
The Road He Walks Ahead Of Us
Serving is not a detour away from the kingdom. It is the way there.
This is the road to the kingdom... The greatest sacrifice that could be given, He has given. The great purpose of Jesus going before us in the way is to lead us in that way. The kingdom is there, the glory is about to dawn. Let us therefore seek grace to serve one another with that glory in view.
Summary
- Down — Greatness in His kingdom runs downward: servant, then bondman, then the cross. Whoever has least of self stands highest.
- Down by choice — Thousands already served Him as Ancient of Days, and all nations will serve Him as Son of Man. He chose the serving years in between.
- Down to death — The ransom was not His living but the giving up of His life. His spotless life qualified the offering; it did not replace it.
- Down in our place — "For many" is anti, instead of. Where Scripture says "for all," it uses a different word. That difference holds both truths together.
- Down, then the kingdom — He goes first on this road to lead us along it. Serving one another is the path, with the glory in view.