Latest / Reformed Thinking / The Sovereign Slave and the Ransom for Many: True Greatness and Substitutionary Atonement (Matthew 20:24–28)

Transcript

The Sovereign Slave and the Ransom for Many: True Greatness and Substitutionary Atonement (Matthew 20:24–28) · Reformed Thinking

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Imagine walking into a corporate boardroom.
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OK, I am picturing it. The CEO sits down at the head of
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the table. He looks at his closest
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executives and well, he announces he has a fatal
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illness. Oh wow, that is heavy.
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It is incredibly heavy. He outlines in gruesome detail
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how his life is about to end in agony.
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Right. And before the gravity of that
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statement even settles in the room, his top 2 executives lean
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forward. They actually start arguing over
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who gets his corner office when he is gone.
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That is just horrific. It sounds unimaginably callous,
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right? Oh, absolutely.
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You would think no human being could be that blind to another
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person's suffering. Well, welcome to reformed
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thinking. Glad to be here with you today.
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Today we are taking a deep dive into the Gospel of Matthew.
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Specifically, we are looking at chapter 20, verses 24 through
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20. Eight, that is a very heavy
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section of Scripture. It really is.
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We are looking at a historical moment that exposes that precise
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kind of horrifying human ambition, and we are going to
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see how Christ counters it with a completely inferred ethic for
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his Kingdom. Yeah, the contrast is
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staggering. To guide us, we are pulling our
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insights from 2 rigorous theological expositions.
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These sources breakdown the historical context of 1st
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century Israel, the original Greek exegesis, and the dogmatic
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truths anchoring this text. And those sources give us a
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really solid framework for this deep dive.
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They do. Our mission for this deep dive
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is to dismantle the human idol of self exaltation.
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We want to unpack Christ's radical redefinition of
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greatness through his substitutionary ransom.
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That is a crucial mission for all of us to grasp.
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OK, let's unpack this because we need to transition from the
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clamor of our daily ambition driven lives into the solemn,
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authoritative realm of God's revelation.
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That is the right posture for us to adopt as we look at this text
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text. To really grasp the shock of
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this passage, we have to transport ourselves to a very
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specific geographical and emotional location.
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Right. Where exactly are we in the
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timeline here? Well, the years approximately AD
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33. The setting is the dusty uphill
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Rd. leading toward Jerusalem. And the audience.
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The immediate audience consists of the 12 disciples Jesus has
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just given, his third and by far his most graphic prediction of
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his impending suffering. So he is not just giving them
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vague hints at this point. No, not at all.
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He did not speak in vague metaphors.
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He detailed his betrayal to the religious leaders.
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He predicted his condemnation. Wow.
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Yeah, and he explicitly stated he would be handed over to the
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Gentiles to be mocked, scourged and crucified.
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He laid out the absolute visceral horror of what awaited
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him in the city they were walking toward.
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That is so dark. It is, and the very next event
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in the narrative immediately following this grim announcement
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is the mother of James and John approaching Jesus.
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This is the boardroom moment, right?
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Spot on. She requests the highest court
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positions for her sons in the coming Kingdom.
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Specifically, she asks that one sit at his right hand and one at
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his left. Unbelievable.
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And when the other 10 disciples hear about this political
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maneuvering, they are filled with indignation.
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Hold on, I want to make sure I'm tracking with the timeline here.
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Jesus literally just finished describing his own torture and
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execution and the immediate response is a mother trying to
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secure cabinet positions for her sons.
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Yes. That is the immediate response.
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That exposes A staggering degree of human depravity.
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It is breathtaking. It really is.
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They completely bypass the horror of the cross because
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their minds are consumed by their own lust for status.
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But what about the other 10 disciples?
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What do you mean? Well, when they get angry, my
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initial assumption is that they are defending Jesus.
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I would assume they're outraged because James and John are being
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so incredibly insensitive to the fact that the rabbi is about to
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die. That is a very natural
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assumption to make, but the source material points out a
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critical theological reality here.
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OK, what is it? The indignation of the 10
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disciples was not righteous grief.
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They were not defending the honor of the suffering Messiah.
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Oh, really? Yeah, it was simply pride
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colliding with pride. It was fleshly jealousy born
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from the realization that they have been outmaneuvered in the
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pursuit of prestige. Wow, so they were just mad they
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did not ask first? Precisely to understand their
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mindset, we have to look at the geopolitical expectations of the
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1st century. Right, because they were waiting
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for a king. Exactly.
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These men were anticipating an immediate geopolitical messianic
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Kingdom. They fully expected Jesus to
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March into Jerusalem and overthrow the Roman.
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Empire and Rome was under the iron grip of Tiberius Caesar at
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that time, right? Yes, Tiberius Caesar at the top
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and the local governorship of Pontius Pilate in Judea.
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They expected Jesus to smash that system and establish a new
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earthly bureaucracy. So they are thinking about
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politics, not atonement. Yes, in ancient Near Eastern and
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Greco Roman courts, the individual sitting at the right
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and left hand of the monarch possessed the highest
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administrative glory and judicial authority.
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The disciples wanted to be the top viziers in a new global
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empire, so the ten were not angry about the timing of the
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request. They were furious because James
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and John beat them to the punch. That makes the boardroom analogy
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even more fitting. They are all guilty of the same
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naked ambition. They absolutely are.
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It shows us that simply being in close proximity to Christ does
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not automatically mortify human pride.
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That is a terrifying thought, but it is true.
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I mean, these men had lived with Jesus for three years, They
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heard his teaching on the Mount, they witnessed him raising the
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dead, and yet their minds remain thoroughly infected by a Pagan
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model of authority. That is the reality of our
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fallen nature. Fallen Man naturally wants to
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secure a name for himself. We want to guard our status with
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vigilance and to ensure no one else climbs higher.
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Yes, we do. So how does Jesus respond to
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this? Does he just tell them to stop
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arguing or does he address the root cause of this infection?
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Jesus addresses the root cause directly by pointing to the
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surrounding culture. He looks their grotesque
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scramble for status and says, you know that the rulers of the
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Gentiles lorded over them, right?
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And they're great ones. Exercise authority over them.
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He is drawing their attention to the absolute rulers of the day,
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the Roman officials. And so he is using their own
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oppressors as the negative example.
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Yes, and he is not speaking in abstractions.
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In the Roman world, authority meant imperium.
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Imperium. That sounds intense it.
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Was Imperium was the absolute legal right to command, to
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punish, and to enforce the Pax Romana by the sword?
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Wow society quantified greatness strictly by the number of
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subordinates one could dominate. The social fabric of Rome was
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woven with intricate webs of patronage.
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And in that system, leverage was used entirely for self-interest,
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right? Precisely to be great meant you
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had the leverage to make others do your bidding.
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I want to pause on the Greek language here.
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OK, let's look at it. Because I know the original text
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often carries a weight that English translations struggle to
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capture. What specific words is Jesus
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using when he talks about these rulers lording it over people?
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The Greek text of verse 25 is highly revealing.
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Jesus uses 2 intensive compound verbs.
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Lay them on me. They are Katekuriosin and
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Kateksisusi Azusan. Those are a mouthful.
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What do they mean Well? The base of the first word
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relates to being a Lord or master, and the base of the
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second relates to exercising authority or.
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OK, that makes sense for Roman rulers, but the key is the
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prefix. Both verbs share the perfective
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prefix kata. Kata.
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What does that add to the meaning?
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It indicates A downward motion. It describes A downward crushing
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weight of dominion. Oh wow.
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Yes, Jesus is describing an authority that presses down on
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people. The ruler elevates himself by
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subjugating the people beneath him.
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A downward crushing weight that paints such a vivid, almost
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suffocating picture. It does, and the theological
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expositions we are consulting explicitly link this behavior to
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the Reformed doctrine of total depravity.
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Really. How do they make that
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connection? Well, total depravity teaches
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that every part of human nature is corrupted by the fall.
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When fallen man gains control or leverage without the
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regenerating grace of God, he inevitably uses that leverage to
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subjugate his neighbor for his own glory.
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That is a very grim assessment of human nature it.
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Is, but it is accurate. The fallen human heart naturally
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associates greatness with being above others.
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It uses position as an instrument for self exultation
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rather than a trust intended for the good of the community.
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So the disciples were demonstrating that their hearts
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were still operating on the default settings of fallen
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humanity. Spot on.
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They were acting just like the pagans they despised.
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So what does this all mean for us today?
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Because most of us listening are not living under Roman prefects
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wielding swords. True, the context looks
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different now. But it seems like our modern
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secular leadership models operate on the same logic of
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leverage and dominance. Oh, without a doubt.
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You see it on corporate ladders. Executives will absolutely crush
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their peers or take credit for someone else's work just to get
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the promotion. We see that all the time.
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And we see it in the modern obsession with social media
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followings. Greatness is quantified by how
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many digital subordinates you can leverage for brand deals or
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cultural influence. That's a really great.
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Point The mechanics are identical.
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The Roman imperium just changed its wardrobe and moved into the
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modern office space. That is an incredibly accurate
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application of the text. The world praises those who
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command the most attention and gather the most influence around
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themselves to elevate their own status.
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Right, So what is the alternative?
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Well, having diagnosed this terminal disease of worldly
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dominion, Christ introduces a totally inverted ethic for his
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covenant community. He.
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Flips the script completely. He really does.
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He issues a sharp, absolute declaration to his disciples.
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He says it shall not be so among you.
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That is very direct. Extremely direct, he forbids his
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followers from importing those worldly assumptions about
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success and prominence into the Kingdom of God.
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So he replaces the crushing verbs of dominion with something
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else. Yes, he introduces 2 humble
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nouns. The first is diaconose, which
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translates to an attendant or minister.
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OK, an attendant. And the second is far more
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shocking. It is the word doulos which
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means a bond slave. I am trying to put myself in the
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sandals of a 1st century Jewish man hearing this.
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It would have been jarring. In a culture completely obsessed
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with honor, shame and status, aiming to be a slave must have
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sounded like absolute madness. It was a massive social scandal.
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To grasp why, we need to understand the legal and
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historical reality of a doulos in the Greco Roman world.
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Break that down for us. What was a Doulos?
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A bond slave was not just someone working a low wage job.
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A bond slave was an individual entirely bereft of personal
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autonomy or legal rights. So they had no say in their own
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life. None.
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They did not belong to themselves.
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Their bodily autonomy, their time, and their labor belong to
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someone else. That is a terrifying level of
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vulnerability. It is a bond.
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Slave's life was not organized around his own comforts, his own
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preferences, or his own advancement.
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And Jesus is telling his disciples to aim for that.
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Yes, by declaring that the one who would be first must be a
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doulos. Christ requires the radical
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crucifixion to the ego. That was a very high bar.
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It requires total submission to the needs of the brethren.
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Firstness in the Kingdom is no longer defined by privilege, but
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by self renunciation. It requires an individual to
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cease making themselves the reference point of all
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relationships. Sorry Seis, this is where I want
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to push back a bit on modern church culture.
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OK, let's hear it. I feel like evangelical
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pragmatism often waters down this terrifying command house.
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We take this horrific, scandalous idea of being a
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bondsling and we sanitize it. We turn it into a glossy
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corporate sacrificial leadership strategy.
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I see what you mean. We treat it like a clever
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management hack that ACEO can use to get more productivity out
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of his employees or volunteers, and we completely ignore the
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brutal self death Christ actually demands.
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That is a very fair critique. We talk about being an attendant
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to others, but we really mean building a personal brand with a
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smile. That critique aligns perfectly
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with the theological expositions we are analyzing.
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Treating this text as a leadership seminar completely
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misses the dogmatic gravity of what Jesus is demanding.
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So how do the sources say we should view this command the?
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Authors of our sources frame this command through the lens of
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the Westminster Confession, specifically Chapter 19, which
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outlines the third use of the law.
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OK, the third use of the law. Remind us what that means.
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The third use of the law teaches that the moral commands of God
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act as a guide for the believers grateful obedience.
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It is a standard of holiness. So it shows us how we ought to
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live. Yes, when we look at the command
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to be a bond slave, it exposes our natural pride and shows us
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how far we fall short. It definitely does.
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That it is not a pragmatic tool for corporate success, and it's
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certainly not a means to earn our salvation.
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True obedience to this command involves a spiritual death to
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the flesh that only a spirit empowered believer can even
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attempt to embrace. It demands we stop asking how
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can I secure my place and start asking how can I spend myself
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for the good of my neighbor. Exactly.
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But if I am honest, looking at that standard is crushing.
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It should feel heavy. If the standard for greatness is
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total self renunciation, I fail every single day.
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We all do. If Jesus just points to the
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standard of a bond slave and says good luck, figure it out,
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we are all doomed. But he does not do that, does
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he? No, thanks be to God he does
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not. He grounds this totally inverted
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ethic in his own historical action.
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That brings us to the climax of the text, verse 28.
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That's right, Jesus says, even as the Son of Man came not to be
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ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life as a ransom
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for many. This is one of the most
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staggering dogmatic statements in all of Scripture, and it
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hinges on that title, Son of Man.
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I have always been a little confused by that title.
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How so? Well Son of Man sounds like
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Jesus is just identifying with humanity like he is saying I am
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a human being just like you. Why is that title so significant
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here? That is a common
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misunderstanding. While it does affirm His true
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humanity, the title Son of Man immediately connects to a very
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specific prophecy in Daniel Chapter 7.
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OK, what happens in Daniel 7? In Daniel's vision, the Son of
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Man is a cosmic figure of everlasting majesty and
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dominion. He comes with the clouds of
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heaven approaching the Ancient of Days.
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So it is a title of supreme glory.
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Yes, He is the one who receives universal authority, glory and a
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Kingdom that shall not be destroyed.
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Every nation and language must bow to him.
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OK, that changes the tone completely.
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So when Jesus uses this title, he is claiming supreme divine
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dignity, yet he takes this exalted title of universal
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authority and connects it to the role of a doulos.
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The sovereign of the universe voluntarily descends into the
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role of a bondslave. It is breathtaking.
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His Majesty is not diminished by this action.
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Rather, His divine greatness is displayed precisely in His holy,
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voluntary self giving love. He does not magnify himself by
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crushing others beneath him like a Roman ruler, no.
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He reveals his greatness by bending low to save.
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Here's where it gets really interesting, especially when we
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look at the second-half of that verse.
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The ransom portion. Yes, the phrase translated as a
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ransom for many. Because if I'm reading this
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right, this is the absolute bedrock of our salvation.
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It absolutely is. What is happening in the
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original language there? We must rigorously unpack the
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Greek phrase lutron antipononia. OK, let's start with Lutron.
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The word Lutron refers specifically to the price paid
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to manumet a slave or redeem a captive.
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So it is a financial or legal term, yes.
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In the ancient world, if someone was captured in war or sold into
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debt slavery, A benefactor could approach the slave market.
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They would pay a Lutron a ransom price to secure their legal
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freedom. It speaks of a literal cost and
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exchange and resulting liberation.
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Exactly, but the theology deepens when we look at the
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preposition anti. What does the anti mean?
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In Greek, anti means instead of or in the place of.
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The syntax demands a doctrine of strict substitutionary exchange.
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It means life for life. Yes, the righteous taking the
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place of the unrighteous. He takes the cup of staggering
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wrath that we deserved, and in exchange He gives His own
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perfect life as the definitive payment to satisfy the Father's
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justice. That is penal substitutionary
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atonement. Yes, it is.
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The idea that Christ took the penalty in our place.
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It reminds me of the suffering substitute prophecy in Isaiah 53
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where it says the Messiah will bear the iniquity of the many.
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That is a perfect parallel. We firmly anchor this reality in
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the Westminster Confession Chapter 11 on justification.
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What does Chapter 11 say about it?
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It affirms that Christ's death accomplishes something objective
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for sinners. The theological expositions we
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are drawing from spend considerable time systematically
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refuting false doctrines that attempt to distort or dilute
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this reality. Let us walk through some of
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those false doctrines. What are the main theological
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errors people make when looking at this idea of the ransom?
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The first error the sources reject is the liberal moral
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influence theory. The moral influence theory.
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What is that? This theory treats the cross as
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just a tragic but beautiful ethical example of love meant to
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inspire human moral reform. So it suggests Jesus died simply
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to show us how much God loves us, hoping it will motivate us
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to be kinder people. Yes, that is the gist of it.
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Our sources firmly reject that. Right, because that guts the
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whole meaning of Lutron. Precisely.
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The cross is not a mere demonstration, it is a legal
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transaction. The payment of a Lutron achieves
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an objective release from captivity.
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OK, what is the 2nd? Error.
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The second error of the sources address is found in Roman
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Catholic theology. This theology suggests that
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human works, or our own acts of attending to the needs of others
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can add merit to our justification.
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So it says, Christo's ransom was not quite enough on its own
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right. But the Reformed position
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insists the ransom is entirely sufficient on its own.
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You cannot add your own loose change to the infinite payment
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of the Son of God. That is a great way to put it.
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What is the final error the sources confront?
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Finally, the sources confront the Armenian notion of a
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provisional atonement. Provisional atonement, meaning
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the idea that Jesus died to create a general possibility of
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salvation, but did not actually secure the salvation of anyone
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in particular until they choose to believe.
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Correct. The sources argue against that
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view by focusing on the efficacious nature of the word
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Lutron. Because a ransom price does not
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make freedom a possibility, it legally secures it.
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Spot on. The expositions conclude that
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the ransom is a finished, particular and efficacious
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payment specifically for the elect.
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He laid down his life for his sheep, securing their redemption
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infallibly. That brings up a piercing law
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and gospel distinction that I think we need to highlight for
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the listener. Yes, let's look at that
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distinction. The law, the command of Christ,
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demands we be the perfect bond slave.
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It commands total, flawless submission to the needs of our
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brethren. And when we look at that law
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honestly, it exposes our pride, our rivalry and our total
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inability to achieve it. It leaves us condemned.
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It does. But the Gospel announces that
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the Son of Man has already been the perfect bond slave in our
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place. He paid the unpayable debt.
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That is the beautiful truth of the gospel.
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We do not minister to others to earn the ransom.
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We minister to others because the ransom has already been paid
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by the sovereign substitute. That dynamic is the core of our
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sanctification. Because the ransom is an
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accomplished historical fact, it dictates our ethics.
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How so? The theological authors argue
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that Matthew 20, verses 24 through 28 mandates specific
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actions in three spheres of life.
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OK, what are the three spheres? Like ecclesiastical, the
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domestic and the civil. Let us walk through those
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applications, starting with the ecclesiastical sphere.
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How does this cruciform ethic, this theology of the cross,
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judge the way modern churches operate today?
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According to the source material, this text acts as a
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severe rebuke to the modern seeker sensitive movement that
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models the pastor after a corporate CEO.
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So back to the boardroom analogy.
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Yes, when ecclesiastical leaders rely on worldly leverage,
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personality cults, or clever marketing to build an audience,
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they are imitating the rulers of the Gentiles.
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They are using catechuriusen that downward pressure of
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authority. Precisely.
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The sources argue that elders must rest their authority solely
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on Scripture. They exist as bond slaves to
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tend the flock. Ministry in the church is not a
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theater for the ego or a ladder for personal advancement.
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No, it is not. The authority given to church
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officers is a sacrificial stewardship, not a personal
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possession to be wielded for self glorification.
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That completely reorganizes how we view the pulpit, the elder
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board and church governance. It really flips the modern model
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upside down. The highest office in the church
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is the one who Stoops the lowest to wash feet exactly, but it
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does not stop at at the church doors.
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The authors take this right into the living room.
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Let us look at the domestic sphere.
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As believers adhering to complementarianism, how do the
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sources apply the role of the bond slave to the home?
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Well, complementarian theology affirms that God has established
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hierarchies of headship in the home, specifically the headship
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of the husband, right? However, our sources highlight
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that this passage governs the exact manner and spirit of that
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leadership. So it is not about demanding
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things. No, not at all.
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Yeah, husbands must exercise headship not as gentile tyrants
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demanding to be catered to, but by willingly laying down their
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lives and rights for their wives.
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The husband's headship must mirror the self emptying love of
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the Son of Man. Yes, it is a call to bear
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burdens patiently, to seek the good of the spouse above 1's own
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comfort, and to use authority exclusively for the spiritual
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and physical flourishing of the family.
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If a man is using his theological headship to demand
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privileges rather than to sacrifice himself, he is acting
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like a Roman emperor, not a Christian husband.
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That is a very stark way to phrase it, but it is true.
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And then we expand this out to the civil and social spheres.
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This is where it gets very relevant to our current cultural
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moment. Our culture right now is
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saturated with secular philosophies regarding authority
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and social dynamics. It absolutely is.
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The theological expositions we are consulting today make a
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direct application to modern social frameworks like critical
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race theory and liberal social justice.
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Yes, the source has been quite a bit of time on that.
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How do the authors say Christ's ransom addresses those specific
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ideologies? And just to clarify for the
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listener, we are simply reporting what our sources state
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here. Understood well, the authors of
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our source material argue that these secular frameworks must be
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firmly rejected by the Christian.
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OK. What is their reasoning for
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them? Their reasoning is that critical
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race theory and secular social justice view all human
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interaction strictly through the lens of intersectional leverage,
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dominance, and group hostility. So it is all about who has the
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leverage. Right.
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According to the sources, these ideologies assume society is
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nothing more than a perpetual struggle for control between
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oppressors and the oppressed. And what do these secular
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frameworks propose as the solution?
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The proposed solution is simply to invert the hierarchy of
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leverage. They want to take the Imperium
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from one group and give it to another.
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I see. And how do the authors respond
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to that? The authors argue that this
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completely contradicts the cruciform ethic of the Kingdom.
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Because Christ teaches something totally different about
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leverage. Yes, Christ teaches that true
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greatness is found at the depth of humility and self
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renunciation, not in seizing social leverage to punish your
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enemies. That makes a lot of sense based
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on our discussion of the Gentile rulers.
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According to the expositions, the Kingdom of God is not built
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on group hostility or the redistribution of worldly
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leverage. It is built on the
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substitutionary blood of the Savior who reconciled us to God
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and to one another. That is the core argument of the
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sources, yes. So hearing all of this, how can
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you audit your own life this week?
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It requires some deep self reflection.
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It really does. How can you look at your actions
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and determine if you are operating as a Gentile ruler or
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a ransomed slave at your workplace, in your local
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congregation, or in your living? Room.
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Those are the right questions to ask.
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Are you demanding your rights and carefully tracking your
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status? Are you keeping a mental tally
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of who owes you respect? We all fall into that trap so
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easily. Or are you actively looking for
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ways to lay down your preferences for the good of your
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neighbor? That personal audit is essential
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for every believer trying to apply this text.
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It is a daily audit, really. Yes, and as we consider our
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daily conduct and our constant need for grace, the source
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material draws us back to the physical realities of our faith.
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Where do they point us? We shift from the audible word
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preached and read to the visible word of the Lord's Supper.
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Ah. The sacrament.
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Yes, the sacrament is the fitting integration of our
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worship regarding this text, according to the Westminster
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Standards, this means of grace nourishes our faith and confirms
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our union with Christ. When we approach that Communion
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table, we are looking at the bread and the cup.
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We are looking at the visible tangible proof of the Lutron
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anti pulling. The ransom paid in our place,
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the body broken instead of our bodies.
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The blood shed instead of our blood.
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Precisely. And the expositions offer a
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stern pastoral warning here. What is the warning?
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Listeners are warned not to approach the table with a
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lingering stench of worldly ambition.
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That is a very convicting image. It is if you are harboring
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bitter rivalry, if you are seeking to dominate your spouse,
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or if you are maneuvering for prestige in the church.
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Like James and John, you must repent.
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You cannot receive the symbols of the ultimate sacrifice while
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clutching onto your own pride. You really cannot.
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We must approach the table with the humble gratitude of a ransom
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slave. We bring nothing to the table
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but our desperate need, trusting entirely in his finished work.
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As we wrap up this deep dive, I want to leave you with a final
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thought to ponder. It has been a very heavy, but a
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very good discussion. It has.
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We spend so much energy in our daily routines, trying to climb
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higher, trying to be noticed, trying to secure our own legacy.
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We want the corner office. We want the seat at the right
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hand. But considering everything we
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have discussed today about the Son of Man descending to act as
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a bond slave, what if the lowest, least visible task you
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are avoiding this week is actually the precise place where
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you are most aligned with the King of the Universe?