ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
July 11, 2026
Yesterday’s Etching was long, though I felt it was needed if I was going to make my point. Building on the same idea, there are those who will quote Mark 10:45, “For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.” Jesus was using the title Son of Man as a way of communicating something about himself. There would be those who disagree with me, but I have always understood the title, Son of Man, as a way of saying the Ideal Human or Model Human. If we want to know how we are to live, then we look to Jesus who set the standard.
Yet the idea of “ransom,” from Mark 10, has been interpreted in some rather strange ways throughout Christian history. Some have argued that because of our human sinfulness, we belong to the devil. Some even say that God made an arrangement with the devil, and the devil could have everyone who was not perfect… which of course, is everyone. According to this theory, Jesus, who was perfect, paid a ransom with his life to the devil. The problem with that theory is that there is really no Biblical support for it, and as was mentioned in yesterday’s Etching, this theory raises a whole other set of troubling implications. But equally important, the word we translate as ransom from the original Greek is usually understood as a payment for someone who has been a prisoner of war or slave. When you think of the Biblical use of ransom, not as some literal concept, but as a metaphor within the context of Mark 10, it takes on a dramatically different reading. There are two major stories in this chapter that are, in my opinion, foundational for understanding what is meant by ransom.
First, there is the story of the rich man who was trying to figure out how to inherit eternal life, and after he and Jesus went back and forth on some of the commandments, Jesus told him about one more step. The man had to sell everything he had and give the money to the poor. The story goes on to say the man went away very sad because he had many possessions. A short time later, two of the disciples wanted to know if they could have places of prestige on the day of Jesus’ glory. They didn’t realize that for Jesus, the day of glory would be his crucifixion. They pictured a coronation, where they would be recognized and honored as they sat right next to Jesus.
In both stories, people were missing the point. They were stuck in the priorities of the world, including greed and power. When Jesus spoke of the Son of Man giving his life as a ransom, I believe he was speaking of how the Ideal Human was showing an alternative way, a pathway of humility that seeks life and joy apart from things of this world like greed and a hunger for power. The life and death of Jesus did not pay a literal ransom, but we’ve all known an experience where someone’s actions revealed something we had never previously imagined. Jesus countered the belief that people were subjugated by a world where wealth and power were the only ways to happiness. When you had previously been unable to imagine any other option of existing, it can feel as if someone has ransomed you (liberated you) from a way of living that felt limiting, even suffocating.
If anything, those who seek to uphold a very literal reading of ransom are, in my opinion, placing some unhealthy restrictions on God and what it means to be human. That ransom might sound liberating, but in the end, we need to be ransomed from the ransom; liberated from the so-called liberation. Why? Because a literal ransom is all about some mythical agreement between God and the devil, but does nothing to transform the ways of living that continue to oppress us, such as living in an attitude of greed, a hunger for power, hatred, arrogance, etc. Jesus’ faithfulness in life and in death serve to break the chains that hold us in a world whose priorities and ideals are contrary to the ways of Jesus.
We are in awe of the way you have and continue to liberate us, O Sacred Gift of Life and Love. Sometimes it feels as if a ransom needs to be offered if we’re ever going to break free, yet the so-called payment is the breathtaking and joy-fulfilling example of the Son of Man, the Ideal Human, by which we see a very different way of existing. Thank you, Jesus. Amen.
