A RANSOM FOR SINNERS

Pastor Art Watkins of Coden Bible Church (Coden, Alabama)

November 24, 2015

In Matthew 20:28 Jesus said: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. Paul quotes this verse almost verbatim in 1 Timothy 2:5 which says: Christ gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time.

The word ransom literally means a price paid for the redemption of captives. In war, when prisoners are taken captive by the enemy the money demanded for their release is called a ransom. It’s the price paid to set them free. Anything that releases anyone from a state of punishment, suffering or sin is called a ransom.

We all need a ransom because we are all by nature captives to sin. We are sold under sin, under the condemnation of sin, and under the curse of sin. And unless we find a ransom to deliver us we will perish in hell. But, we have found a ransom. And where do we find this ransom? In the Four Gospels. Matthew declares that Christ gave himself a ransom for sinners; that is, he died in the place of sinners and God was willing to accept the pains of his death on the cross in the place of the everlasting suffering that all sinners deserve in hell.

The one and only ransom for sinners is found in Matthew 20:28.