Matthew 20: 25 – 28; “But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
In the world’s thinking, great men are the ones with authority, prominence, and power. Though Jesus had all that, He gave it up to become a servant. Jesus gave Himself completely to fulfill the Father’s plan of redemption, even though the beneficiaries – namely, each of us – were underserving. God is holy and righteous, and He cannot be in the presence of sin. Therefore, He must separate Himself from those who are stained by wrongdoing. That includes allhumanity.
Everybody is born captive to the desires of the flesh. When someone claims to be living on his “own terms,” he is actually serving whatever his human nature craves. The penalty for that false sense of liberty is death.
Jesus’ ultimate act of service was to give His life as a ransom for many. The word describes the price paid to set a slave free – Christ voluntarily purchased our liberation. There was only one way our holy God could remove our guilt yet remain true to His own law: Someone sinless had to pay our sin debt for us. Jesus’ sacrifice spared us the penalty we deserve. Instead, we receive the gift of grace and have been declared no longer guilty. Moreover, we are elevated from slaves to sons and daughters of the Almighty.