In Mark 10:33-34, Jesus gave the third “passion prediction,” that is, the prediction of His suffering and death. The first two were in Mark 8:31 and 9:31. Jesus prophesied that He would be betrayed by the Jewish leaders, delivered to the Gentiles, mocked, spit on, flogged, and killed—but He would rise three days later. This prophecy of Christ was quite detailed, and specific fulfillment can be seen throughout Mark 14–16 (14:41, 53, 64-65; 15:1, 15, 19, 29-30, 37).
After Jesus’ prediction in Mark 10:33-34, the disciples James and John asked to sit at the left and right hand of Jesus in glory (Mark 10:37). Jesus told them they did not understand that such positions of honor were prepared by God, and such honor was for those who followed Jesus in suffering—“Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” (10:38, LSB).
Servants and Slaves
After this, Jesus told the disciples that they were not to be like Gentile rulers who abuse authority over their subjects. Rather, the disciple who desires to be great in God’s kingdom must be their “servant” and “slave of all” (Mark 10:43-44). The reason is that even the King of the kingdom “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (10:45, LSB). Here’s the entire text:
And calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:42-45, LSB)
Mark 10:43-44 speaks of both a “servant” (diakonos) and “slave” (doulos). This is a good example of why the Greek term doulos should normally be translated as “slave” (as practiced by the NASB 1995 and LSB) and not “servant” or even “bondservant” (as often used by the ESV). The use of the English term “servant” for doulos is a practice going at least back to the King James Version. But it is important to note that when the KJV does so in Mark 10:44, it also uses “minister” in 10:43 for diakonos, while modern translations translate this as “servant.” Thus, most modern versions translate doulos as “slave” in Mark 10:44 because they are forced to distinguish it from diakonos in 10:43. But in other passages, they often revert to translating doulos as “servant” or “bondservant.”
The Greek dictionary BDAG gives two meanings for doulos: (1) “male slave as an entity in a socioeconomic context, slave,” and (2) “one who is solely committed to another, slave, subject.” Yes, there have been different forms of slavery throughout history, but they were all still slavery. Whether a man sold himself into slavery or was captured in war, a doulos was a slave. And Jesus rescues slaves and calls them become a different kind of slave.
Mark 10 and the Suffering Servant
This passage in Mark 10 speaks of Jesus suffering, dying, and serving, and thus it echoes the suffering “servant” of Isaiah 53. Twice the passage speaks of “my servant” (Isaiah 52:13; 53:11). Jesus was surely familiar with this prophecy, and the similarities show He was claiming the prophecy for Himself and was building on it. The servant of Isaiah 53 was “despised” (v. 3), “afflicted” (v. 4, 7), and killed (v. 9). And He became a substitute for His people—He was “pierced” and “crushed for our iniquities” (v. 5), and Yahweh caused our iniquity to “fall on Him” (v. 6). God’s “Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities” (v. 11). He “bore the sin of many” (v. 12).
This language of the “many” in Isaiah 53:11-12 further parallels Jesus’ teaching that He would give His life “as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). However, the word “ransom” is not used in Isaiah 53, and Jesus’ use of the word connects with other Old Testament passages. The Greek word for “ransom” in Mark 10:45 is lutron (λύτρον), and it is only used here and the parallel in Matthew 20:28 in the New Testament. It is defined as the “price of release, ransom,” especially “the ransom money for the manumission of slaves” (BDAG). The noun lutron is related to the Greek verb lutroo (λυτρόω) translated “redeem” and the noun lutrosis (λύτρωσις) translated “redemption.” Thus, a “ransom” refers to a payment made by prisoners of war, slaves, or release from jail. If you were a slave and paid your “ransom,” it means you bought your freedom.
Ransom in the Old Testament
Some examples of ransom in the Old Testament help illuminate the concept. Exodus 21:28 is a case law where an ox gored a person to death and this was not its first time goring. So the owner should have known about the danger of the ox and would now be punished for the resulting death—“the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death” (Exodus 21:29, LSB). However, in place of death, the family of the victim could require a ransom, a monetary substitute—“If a ransom is demanded of him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is demanded of him” (Exodus 21:30, LSB). In the Greek Septuagint, the different words for “ransom” and “redemption” here are both translated as lutron (“ransom”). Thus, the owner of the ox, though he deserved to die, could pay the financial penalty and go free.
When it comes to the case law for sin, the Bible says the penalty is death—“For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23, LSB). God says we will all die for breaking His law. However, Jesus paid the ransom price required of us before God. We owe God a debt for our sin. Yet Jesus paid that penalty with His own life. He endured the judgment we deserve as sinners, and He gave His life as a ransom.
Another passage dealing with a ransom is Leviticus 25, which gives instructions for the Year of Jubilee and the freedom of slaves. Leviticus 25:47 gives a law dealing with a poor Israelite man who sold himself into slavery to a foreigner who lived in Israel. The Year of Jubilee was to be celebrated every 50th year, and on that year the enslaved man would be freed (Leviticus 25:54). Otherwise, he had the right of “redemption,” which could be paid by a family member or even the slave himself (25:48-49). The price would be calculated based on how many years remained until the Year of Jubilee—“In proportion to his years he is to refund the amount for his redemption” (25:52). Again, the Greek Septuagint translates “redemption” as lutron, the “ransom” price for freedom. If the ransom price was paid, the slave would go free.
Ransom for Sin
Bringing this back to the “ransom for many” in Mark 10:45, it should not be missed that Jesus had just called His disciples to be the “slave of all.” There is a connection between slavery and ransom. Jesus said He would give His life as a “ransom,” but the question is—a ransom for what? It is implied that Jesus paid the ransom for sin. And this ties with slavery in that we were all once slaves of sin. While not earthly slaves, all men are born spiritual slaves, “slaves to sin” (Romans 6:6, 17, 20).
The good news is that Jesus came to set slaves free. He paid the ransom price so we may go free. Jesus came to free us from slavery to sin, so that we may instead become slaves of God and slaves to others (Mark 10:44). Everyone is a slave to something, but the question is whether your master is God or sin. All who trust in Christ’s ransom have been “freed from sin” and are now “enslaved to God” (Romans 6:22). Jesus even speaks of the prophets as His slaves in a parable in Mark 12:2-5. Like the prophets and apostles, we Christians are now slaves of our Master, Jesus Christ (Romans 1:1; Titus 1:1; James 1:1; 2 Peter 1:1; Jude 1).