Jesus Christ Our Ransom
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28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
What does it mean that Jesus Christ is our ransom?
Ransom- λύτρον- price of release, to free by paying a ransom, to liberate from an oppressive situation
Ransom- ἀγοράζω- 1). to acquire things or services in exchange for money, buy, purchase, 2). to secure the rights to someone by paying a price, buy, acquire as property
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
How did Jesus ransom us?
6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
To whom did Jesus pay our ransom?
Ransom theory- Jesus was offered as a ransom to Satan, who, under the self-delusion that he could hold the Son of God, agreed to release humankind.
When you think about Jesus being our ransom, do you picture Jesus paying the price of his blood to Satan?
Would the payment of Jesus as a ransom to Satan have in itself been sufficient to break the power of Satan over us?
Two considerations:
What is the root of Satan’s power over us?
What is the root of Satan’s power over us?
What is it that enabled Satan to hold humanity under his control and domination?
14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Heb 2:14 states that Satan had the power of death. And according to v. 15 Satan uses that power to keep people enslaved their entire lives to the fear of death. How is it that Satan has the power of death, and how is it that he can enslave people with the fear of death?
In what way is death the root of Satan’s power?
When I die will I stand before Satan in the judgement?
Before whom will I stand and give an account?
Then why is death described as the root of Satan’s power?
10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
What is Satan called in this verse?
He is the great accuser of the brethren.
And why is he called that?
Because he stands before our God day and night and accuses them. Who is the them? US- the brethren. What is he accusing us of? And in what way is death the root of Satan’s power?
56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
The root of Satan’s power is death. The sting or the power of death is because of our sin. And the strength or the power of sin is the LAW.
9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
10 And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
Satan’s power is not really his power at all- he only takes advantage of death, and he can only take advantage of death because of our sin, and the weapon that Satan uses to condemn us and to accuse us is the perfect standard of God’s own righteousness.
“When the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.”
“For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.”
Because of our failure to keep the commandments Satan can lay accusations against us and bring us under the condemnation and curse of the law. This is the essence of his power over us. BUT, when I stand trial one day for my failure to keep the commandments I will NOT stand before Satan. I will stand before God Himself. Because my sins have offended God, not Satan. And it is to God that I must give an account not Satan.
5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
6 He will render to each one according to his works:
7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;
8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.
9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek,
10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.
11 For God shows no partiality.
We will one day stand before God’s righteous judgment, and He will render to each one according to his works, and God shows no partiality.
If you can perfectly by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, and if you can perfectly do good all the days of your life, then you have nothing to fear when you stand before God— you will receive on the merit of your own righteousness- eternal life. BUT, you righteousness must be equal to the righteousness of a holy God.
If you slip up only one time and you every in your whole life do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, and if you do evil (an amount of evil, even the slightest amount of evil), then there will be wrath and fury.
And you will be held accountable. God will render to each one according to their works. And God shows no partiality. And you have the great accuser of the brethren who stands night and day before the Father condemning you to death because of your failure to keep the commandments, which means you are a sinner, which means you are under the sting of everlasting judgement- or spiritual death.
Would the payment of Jesus as a ransom to Satan have in itself been sufficient to break the power of Satan over us?
Two considerations:
What is the root of Satan’s power over us?
What exactly did Christ have to accomplish to liberate humans from Satan’s grasp?
What exactly did Christ have to accomplish to liberate humans from Satan’s grasp?
If we are to be liberated from Satan’s power, what must we be freed from?
Christ must break Satan’s power over us, but Satan has no power over us directly. His power is that he brings us under the condemnation and curse of the law. So if we are to be bought back, Christ must give Himself as a ransom, but Christ did NOT give himself as a ransom to Satan. Christ gave Himself as a ransom in order to satisfy the requirements of God’s justice.
This is the message of the cross- Christ has redeemed us from the cure of the law and thus freed us from the slavery in which Satan held us. In order to do that Christ had to take our place. Christ had to suffer the infinite penalty of our sin, he had to satisfy the demands of God’s justice for our sin. He had to provide Himself a perfect righteous sacrifice to satisfy the demands of the law for us, so that the curse of the law could no longer be brought as an accusation against us.
13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
You and I were at one point dead in our sins, and Satan accused us before God and brought us under the curse of the law and held us as life long slaves to the fear of death. BUT, now the Father has quickened us- that is He has made us alive together with Jesus our Savior. How did the Father do that? By forgiving you all your trespasses.
Remember, the sting of death is what? Sin. And the power of sin is what? The law. So what does God have to do in order to free us from live long slaver to the fear of death? Forgive us all our trespasses. If we no longer have any trespasses. If we no longer in God’s eyes have transgressed the law, then we are no longer in God’s eyes sinners. And if we have no sin, then death has no what? Sting!
How is this possible?
14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
How is God able to forgive you all your trespasses? By canceling the record of debt that stood against you with all of its legal demands. Every time you sin you offend an infinite God and every sin you commit creates against you a record of debt, and every record of debt brings with it a legal demand. And your sin debt demands that you spend an eternity paying off your debt because you have offended an infinite God.
And this is the power of Satan, he stands night and day before God and his unrolls the scroll with the record of your sin debt and he accuses you before God. Jon Anderson is unworthy, he is a sinner, he is a liar, and a thief, and he has a heart of anger, and he is an adulterer of the heart, and he is an idolater of the heart. Look at this lengthy record of debt he has amassed- he deserves to die an eternal death in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. God you must judge him according to his works! And Satan accuses me, and he accuses me, and in myself I stand doomed and damned and dead in my trespasses and sins.
BUT, by the wondrous loving grace and mercy of God, he has made me alive by forgiving all my trespasses! How did God do that? He took every single sin debt that I have every accrued and will ever accrue and he set it aside, by nailing it to the cross! Jesus my Savior took my place, and He shed his blood, and he offered Himself as a ransom for my sin. He paid all my sin debt so that I wouldn’t have to. He satisfied all of the requirements of God’s justice for me. And because Jesus is my ransom look what it accomplished.
15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
Satan has been disarmed! Satan has been rendered powerless through the death of Jesus Christ! So now when Satan stands night and day and accuses me to the Father, I have my Great High Priest who intercedes on my behalf.
25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.
34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
So now when Satan accuses me night and day, my Savior ever lives to make intercession for me. Jesus says to the Father- I have ransomed them with my blood, I have redeemed them from the curse, I have clothed them in my own righteousness, I will save them to the uttermost!
Because Jesus paid our ransom we can rejoice!
13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Because of Christ, there is no one (including Satan) who can condemn us!
So in summary Jesus Christ paid our ransom, but not to Satan, Jesus gave himself as a ransom to the requirement of God’s justice.
If Christ’s death had been nothing more than a payment of a ransom to Satan we would still be doomed because we would still be under the curse of the law. As long as we are under the curse of the law and sin, Satan still holds power over us. It was not the payment of a ransom to Satan that ensured his defeat and the triumph of God, but Christ’s taking our place to free us from the cure of the law. By bearing the penalty of our sin and thus satisfying once and for all the just requirements of the law, Christ nullified Satan’s control over us at its root. Satan no longer has the power to bring us under the curse and condemnation of the law.
So this afternoon as we partake of the Lord’s supper and remember the sacrifice of Jesus our ransom my hope is that we could read verses like Revelation 5:9 with new eyes.
9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,
Jesus is worthy! He deserves our worship! Because he has ransomed us from the power of Satan by satisfying the demands of God’s justice in shedding his blood for our sins.
Let’s worship our Savior together this afternoon.