Mark 10:45

“For truly the Son of Man came, not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

The perfect example was before them. The Son of Man, He Who would one day enter into God’s presence to receive the dominion and the power and the glory, and would return to earth in power and great glory, had come to earth to serve. He Who should have been served by all, had made Himself the servant of all. He had deliberately humbled Himself (Philippians 2:5-8). He was God’s Servant. He was here to do the Father’s will and would do anything for those whom the Father had given Him. And even when He is exalted, when He receives the dominion, He will serve (Luke 12:37). His aim and purpose will always be the good of all. He does not want the dominion for Himself but so that He can use it for the good of all. There will never be any thought for Himself. It was for this that He became man.

One of the most remarkable things about Jesus was that He could speak like this in true humility. He said it because it was true. Never once do we get the idea of self-conceit. Always He wanted only to please His Father and do and be what was right. What always comes over is the totally balanced man Who wants only to give of Himself to make the world right, and make it right with God.

That Jesus was to be seen as the Servant of God of Isaiah is seen in that He was declared to be the Servant at His baptism - ‘my beloved, in whom I am well pleased’ (Mark 1:11 compare Isaiah 42:1), and that the idea was applied to Him in Matthew 12:17-21; Luke 2:32; Luke 9:35 RV; and by Jesus Himself in Luke 22:37. The Servant was also possibly to be identified with the prophet in Isaiah 61:1-3 which Jesus applied to Himself in Luke 4:16-21 (it at least demonstrated that He saw Himself as fulfilling Isaianic prophecy). When John the Baptiser declared Him to be ‘the Lamb of God’ (John 1:29; John 1:36), this identification was also made by him (Isaiah 53:7).

‘Came.’ He came of His own free purpose and choice, coming from the Father, with one aim, to serve those who were His and to redeem them to Himself.

‘And to give His life a ransom for many.” In the nature of Him that was the central aspect of His service, that He would give of Himself utterly so as to redeem others. He would take their place, bearing the consequences of the wrath of God upon Himself. It was necessary and so He would do it, and do it with love and compassion and mercy. He had no other thought. He was the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53:0 personified. That chapter is the best commentary possible on this verse, as it describes One who was totally self-giving for the sake of others.

‘To give His life.’ That was why He had to die. He was voluntarily giving His life in order to be a ransom (see John 10:17-18). He was going firmly and uncompromisingly towards the cross.

‘A ransom.’ Lutron. Used only here and the parallel passage (Matthew 20:28), in the New Testament (Paul uses ’antilutron - 1 Timothy 2:6). In secular Greek it was used for the ransom of a prisoner of war or of a slave. In LXX it was used of the price a man paid to redeem his life which was forfeit because his ox had gored someone to death (Exodus 21:30), the price paid for the redemption of the firstborn (Numbers 18:15), the price paid by which the next of kin obtained the release of an enslaved relative (Leviticus 25:51-53) or the price paid for the redemption of a mortgaged property (Leviticus 25:26). It was a payment made to obtain release and freedom, paid in substitution for what was obtained. Compare 1 Peter 1:18; Hebrews 9:12.

‘Instead of (anti) many.’ ’Anti - which indicates ‘instead of, in the place of’ - is a clear substitutionary word. For the ‘many’ compare Isaiah 53:11-12. It reminds us of the purpose of the Servant, to be wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities (Isaiah 53:5), to make Himself an offering for sin (Isaiah 53:10) so that ‘many’ may be declared righteous (Isaiah 53:11) and so that He may bear the sin of ‘many’ (Isaiah 53:12).

So Jesus spoke of Himself here as offering Himself as a substitute for those for whom He died, as paying Himself as a price for their release and freedom. But it is part of a total picture, not the whole. He was also a sacrifice for sin, and our representative in Whom we also died that we might live. The work of atonement was far greater and far deeper than one picture, albeit an important one, can ever portray, indeed than all pictures can ever portray. In the end it is beyond understanding.