Jesus saw his death as a Ransom for many
Probably the most important passage for Jesus's own understanding of his death is Mark chapter 10 verse 45, and the parallel in Matthew chapter 20 verse 28. In Mark 10:45, Jesus says:
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
This includes the idea of a benefit to us resulting from his death, but it also includes the idea of a ransom.
The Greek word for 'ransom' is 'λύτρον' (lutron, or lytron). What does this word mean? It is rather uncommon in the New Testament, occurring only three times: in Mark 10:45 and the parallel in Matthew, and in a compound form 'antilutron,' found in 1 Timothy chapter 2 verse 6. In both Mark and Matthew, 'lutron' is followed by the preposition 'anti' followed by a genitive. This use of 'anti' carries the meaning of 'instead of,' 'in place of,' or 'as a substitute for.'
In 1 Timothy, 'anti' is combined with 'lutron' in the compound form 'antilutron.' This is followed by a different preposition, 'huper,' which also means 'on behalf of.' So the key New Testament meanings of the word are to do with something (or someone) given on behalf of someone else, and in the place of someone else. The core idea is substitution.
Outside the Bible
According to the IVP 'Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels,' outside the Bible, 'lutron' is used for 'a price paid for slaves' :
It specifically designates the means of deliverance, and always seems to include the notion of cost. (IVP Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, page 662)
This article goes on to say:
If the idea of cost attaches to lutron, the use of this word suggests that the death of Jesus had a substitutionary significance.
So the way the word was used outside the Bible strengthens the idea of substitution, and adds the idea of deliverance-at-a-cost.
The Old Testament
In the Septuagint - the Greek translation of the Old Testament, used by Greek-speaking Jews - 'lutron' was often used. Vine's Expository Dictionary of Bible words says (page 247):
LUTRON ( λύτρον ) ...occurs frequently in the Septuagint, where it is always used to signify equivalence. Thus it is used of the ransom for a life, e.g. Exodus chapter 21 verse 30, of the redemption price of a slave, e.g. Leviticus chapter 19 verse 20, of land, chapter 25 verse 24, of the price of a captive, Isaiah chapter 45 verse 13....
So we have the idea of buying something back, by paying a price, and by substitution. Jesus was a Jew (of course), and when he said
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
... he would have had the Old Testament in mind. The most likely Old Testament reference is Isaiah chapter 53 verses 5-6:
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
This has been disputed. However, the IVP Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels says (page 660):
There used to be a virtual consensus that the ransom saying was based on the description of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 52:13-53:12... but an essay by C K Barrett has convinced many scholars to look elsewhere for the background. His study shows that there is little verbal similarity between the saying and the Septuagintal version of Isaiah 53. Nevertheless, Barrett may be faulted for treating linguistic parallels separately from conceptual parallels, concentrating too narrowly on parallels to Isaiah 53:12, and underestimating the cumulative significance of the parallels. Though Barrett disputes this, it remains likely that the ransom saying was formed on the basis of Isaiah 53. Both combine the idea of servanthood and atoning death and speak of the servant voluntarily 'giving his life.' The Greek lytron ('ransom') in Matthew 20:28 and Mark 10:45 corresponds to the Hebrew asam ('guilt offering') in Isaiah 53:10, despite the fact that it is not used to translate it elsewhere. Most importantly, both use the phrase 'for many' to indicate who benefits from the servant's death.
If someone argues that Jesus did not see his mission in terms of the suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, it is worth looking at Luke chapter 22 verse 37, where he explicitly describes his mission in terms of a reference from Isaiah chapter 53 verse 12.
So we see from Luke chapter 22 verse 37 that Jesus did understand his own mission in terms of the suffering Servant of Isaiah. This is also the most straightforward way of understanding the ransom saying in Mark chapter 10 verse 45 and Matthew chapter 20 verse 28. This confirms the themes of payment of a price (for sin), sacrifice, and substitution. Isaiah 53 also, very clearly, includes the idea that such substitution is penal in nature - Jesus was bearing our punishment. Verse 5 says
The punishment that brought us peace was upon him.
... and verse 6 says:
The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Clearly in these verses, our sins were put on him; they were put on him by God, and he was punished for them. I do not know how penal substitutionary atonement could be more clearly spelled out.
Can we deduce anything about who the ransom was paid to? Not directly. To quote Vine's Dictionary again:
Some interpreters have regarded the ransom price as being paid to Satan; others to an impersonal power such as death, or evil, or 'that ultimate necessity which has made the whole course of things what it has been.' Such ideas are largely conjectural, the result of an attempt to press the details of certain Old Testament illustrations beyond the actual statements of New Testament doctrines.
Conclusion
The ransom saying in Mark chapter 10 verse 45 and Matthew chapter 20 verse 28 includes the idea of paying a price - of deliverance-at-a-cost. It also includes the idea of substitution. We cannot infer directly from the word or the saying itself that the price was paid to God - that is, we can infer the ideas of atonement and of substitution, but not (immediately) penal substitution. However, when we include the reference to Isaiah 53, it is clear that Jesus did indeed understand his death as a penal subtitutionary atonement.
More about the 'Lost Message'
- Introduction
- How did Jesus view human nature?
- What does the rest of the New Testament say about human nature?
- Unforgiven sin?
- Jesus' view of judgment
- Jesus saw his death as a ransom for many
- Jesus saw his death as a sacrifice for his people
- When was the message lost?
- Summing up
For more on this vital subject, visit Pierced for Our Transgressions. Better still, read the book...
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