Ransom
a.To obtain the release of by paying a certain price.b.To release after receiving such a payment.
In the Bible Jesus says, referring to himself,
’He came to serve, not to be served--and then to give away his life in exchange for many who are held hostage’. (Matthew 20:28)
Who is being held hostage? The Bible teaches that if we have not accepted Jesus into our lives, then we are being held hostage by our wrongdoings and refusal to trust God. We become slaves to feelings such as bitterness, worry, hatred and pride. It is these actions and feelings that separate us from God and ultimately lead to death. We can never attain to Gods standard of perfection, no matter how hard we try, because our basic human nature leads us to do wrong and displease God (See ‘Sin’). However, because of Gods deep love and desire to have relationship with us he decided to pay the ransom for our release and forgiveness, a ransom that we could never pay through are own efforts. God chose to send his only son, Jesus, as the ransom, to take the punishment of death that we deserve by dieing on the cross (see ‘Crucifixion’). Jesus died for the every person’s sin, or the wrongdoings that separate us from Him (see ‘Sin’), the sin of the past, the sin of today and the sin of tomorrow. He did this for each and every one of us so that we may stand before God regardless of our weaknesses and failures and enter into eternal relationship with him.
