Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Mark 10:45

"For the Son of man also came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." — Mark 10:45 (ASV)

The climax to this section (vv.35–45) comes in this verse. Even the Son of Man is not exempt from the rule of humble service in the kingdom. He is in fact par excellence the example of it, especially in his redemptive mission. He did not come as a potentate whose every personal whim was to be catered to by groveling servants, but he came as a servant, giving “his life as a ransom for many.” The word translated “ransom” (GK 3389) relates to “redemption” or “release” as a theological concept based on the experience of Israel’s release from the slavery of Egypt. It may also contain an allusion to the Suffering Servant (see esp. Isaiah 53:6b).

The prepositional phrase “for many” is a clear indication of substitution. In his death, Jesus takes the place of the many. What should have happened to them happened to him instead. The expression “the many” (GK 4498) is not to be understood in the sense of “some but not all” but in the general sense of “many” as contrasted with the single life that is given for their ransom (cf. Isaiah 53:11–12).