He Gave His Life A Ransom For Many (Part 2)

 

Mark 10:42-45
And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Mark 10:45 is a very simple verse but look for the two backward statements Jesus makes. “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
If you read that and it feels right, then you either have an inflated view of yourself, or a deflated view of Jesus. Jesus says the king came to serve the poor and something of extremely high value was paid to ransom something of much lower value.

Picture this, the President of the United States walks into the oval office and the janitor is sitting on the couch and he calls out, “Hey, I’m hungry, could you run out and get me a sub sandwich, and a pickle? Oh, and I like my pickles quartered.” That picture makes me laugh. Why? Because it’s ridiculous! This man is running the most powerful nation on earth, you don’t ask him to get you a pickle and cut it into quarters! Picturing him in the kitchen cutting a pickle is a joke. 

What about walking into a local pawn shop and asking how much some earrings in a jewelry case would cost? “I’ll take the British crown jewels, trade you straight up,” comes the reply. “Ha ha ha, very funny.” You don’t redeem middle class earrings with the crown jewels. Kidnappers don’t break into houses, take American Girl dolls, and leave ransom notes.

Our verse says that God came to serve the people he originally created to worship him, he didn’t come to be served by them. More than that, they refused to worship him but rebelled, pretending to be like gods themselves. So, he came to ransom them from sin and death and eternal judgment, to buy them back from their evil ways.

And the price for the trade was…his only perfect son, Jesus. And this notion is ridiculous…or it’s the greatest wonder of all time. If it’s true and if it’s for you, then it changes every day you live.
If the President actually took time out if his day to go buy you and sandwich, and a pickle, and to cut it into quarters for you, then regardless of who you are or what you’ve done, that would make you special. Post that video on your social media profile and you’ll see! If the Queen traded her jewels to buy your jewelry back for you, they would also be filled with value, and you couldn’t even wear them anymore! It would be incredible. You’d have to get a new insurance policy.

More incredible is that God came to serve you - not to make you a sandwich - but to make you his son or daughter, to buy you back for himself, because he wanted to love you and have you worship him for all eternity.

It’s wonderfully backward but wonderfully true. In real space and time, Jesus gave his life a ransom for many real people, for me and for you. 

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