Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 20:28

"even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." — Matthew 20:28 (ASV)

Not to be ministered unto — These words found a symbolic illustration a few days later when our Lord washed the feet of the disciples, who were still contending about their claims to greatness (John 13:3–4). The way John connects this act with our Lord’s clear awareness of His supreme greatness suggests that the words we find here were present to his thoughts at the time. To the beloved disciple, the Son of Man never appeared more truly king-like and divine than when engaged in that menial act. But we must remember that this act was only an illustration. The words found their true meaning in His whole life: in His poverty and humiliation, in the obedience of His childhood, and in the service He rendered, naturally or supernaturally, to the bodies and souls of others.

To give his life a ransom for many — The word correctly translated "ransom" is primarily "a price paid for deliverance." In this sense, it is found in the Greek version of the Old Testament for the ransom accepted instead of a man's life (Exodus 21:30), for the price of redemption accepted as an equivalent for an unexpired term of service (Leviticus 25:50), and for riches as the ransom of a man's life (Proverbs 13:8). Accordingly, no shade of doubt rests on the word's meaning. Those who heard could attach no other meaning to it than that the One who spoke these words was about to offer up His life so that others might be delivered.

Perhaps seldom has a truth of such profound importance been spoken so incidentally. It is as if the words were drawn from Him by the contrast between the disciples' disputes and the work that had occupied His own thoughts as He walked in silent solitude ahead of them. We may note that this is the first distinct declaration of the plan and method of His work. He had spoken before of saving the lost (Matthew 18:11); now He declares that the work of salvation was also to be one of redemption. It could only be accomplished by the payment of a price, and that price was His own life. The language of the Epistles regarding the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, our being bought with a price (Romans 3:24; 1 Corinthians 6:20), and being redeemed by His precious blood (1 Peter 1:19)—along with the language of all Christendom speaking of Christ as our Redeemer—are the natural developments of that one pregnant word.

The extent of the redemptive work, for many, is here indefinite rather than universal. However, the ransom for all of 1 Timothy 2:6 shows how it was understood by those whom the Spirit of God was guiding into all truth. Even the preposition in for many has a more distinct meaning than the English version conveys. Strictly speaking, it was a ransom instead of—in the place of—many, using the Greek ἀντὶ, not ὑπὲρ. Without stating a full theory of the atonement, this word implied that our Lord’s death was, in some way, representative and vicarious. The same thought is expressed by Paul’s choice of the compound noun ἀντίλυτρον when, using a different preposition, he speaks of it as a ransom for (ὑπὲρ, that is, on behalf of) all people (1 Timothy 2:6).