As a Ransom for Many
St Mark ends this week’s Gospel Mark 10: 35-45 with Jesus saying ‘to give his (Jesus) life as a ransom for many’. This is a challenging statement to interpret, so it is best to go to the giants of theology:
‘Christ gave Himself as a ransom, not to the devil, but to the justice of God, reconciling us to Him.’ St Augustine
St. Thomas Aquinas elaborates on the idea of Christ’s ransom as the act of atonement. He emphasizes that the ransom was paid to God’s justice, as human beings were incapable of redeeming themselves due to their sinful nature.
Jesus' sacrifice is God’s definitive act of reconciling the world to Himself. The idea of ransom is not a legalistic payment but a gracious self-giving that breaks the powers of sin and death. Karl Barth
I like Karl Barth’s explanation of ‘reconciling the world to Himself’. Have we ever fallen out of a relationship because of something we may have said or done? I could think of quite a few times, that I have been guilty of such, in my relationship with Sandee.
In those situations it takes some sort of act of atonement. That act of atonement is a ransom paid to reopen the closed relationship. Sadly, there may be times, when we may not have paid a sufficient ransom to reconcile a relationship with a once dear friend and it has remained closed.
As we close off this week’s Gospel, let us reflect on how we can embody Jesus' model of self-sacrifice to bring healing and reconciliation into the broken or strained relationships in our lives. Reconciliation often requires a similar willingness to sacrifice—whether it's pride, anger, or the desire to be right—in order to restore a relationship.
Just as Jesus' ransom opened the way for us to be reunited with God, our acts of humility and self-giving can create the space for healing and reconnection with others and with God.
Friend, earlier this week, I presided at the funeral of a teen who was killed by a gang member, in a challenging neighbourhood. It is so important to spread the Gospel message of reconciliation and in these difficult neighbourhoods often the only way to reach persons is through the media. We hope to grow this online ministry of the Word and your generous support is needed to make this possible. Please consider upgrading to a paid subscription.