"If one of you wants to be great, he must be the
servant of the rest...for even the Son of Man did not come to be served; he came to serve
and to give his life to redeem many people." In today’s reading we learn that
Jesus came to serve all people, even giving his life as a "ransom for many." A
ransom indicates an unjust sacrifice in order to save another. Surely no ransom could be
more unfair than that Jesus, both divine and a man with no sin, should suffer and die so
that you and I might be saved from sin and death.
I had never noticed the last part of the verse, that Jesus is a ransom for many.
Compare the words of institution at the Last Supper: "This is my blood of the
covenant, which is poured out for many" (Mark 14:24). We know that in Isaiah the
suffering Servant "bore the sin of many and made intercession for the
transgressors." And in first Timothy the Savior is said to be a ransom for ALL, the
only mediator between God and humankind. What a comfort to know that Jesus came to save
us, the Gentiles, as well as God’s chosen people Israel!
James and John wanted to be with this Jesus always, one on either side of him in
heaven. And who wouldn’t wish for this? But Jesus teaches all the disciples that
greatness does not come from being exalted, but from serving others ("you must be a
slave of all"). While the world rewards those who seek power and recognition, Jesus
turns such conventional wisdom upside down. In the parable of the wedding feast, those who
sit at the head table exalting themselves, will be humbled, but those who choose a lesser
place will be "promoted."
How do we do this? By using our spiritual gifts for the building up of the kingdom of
God and of his people — all people. Not because we must serve in order to be
"ransomed," but out of gratitude to God for his love shown through his
Son’s sacrifice.
