Matthew chapter 20 and I want
to read verse 28. Matthew chapter 20 and verse
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. His life a ransom. I love the title of that, don't
you? His life a ransom. But he begins here by calling
himself this title. He takes this title to himself.
And he often does this. I think I counted 32 times in
the book of Matthew that he addressed himself by this title, the Son
of Man. The Son of Man. Now when he says
that, he doesn't mean that he's the son of Joseph. He wasn't
the son of Joseph. He was the son of Mary. He was
the only begotten of the Father. He had no natural father. But
what he means is that he was Mary's firstborn. Mary brought
forth her firstborn son. It was her son. The Lord Jesus
meant that he had joined himself to our humanity in a real sense. He didn't take to himself a body.
He just didn't come down here and inhabit a body. He was conceived
in the womb of a virgin. He was formed in her womb. He developed in her womb, just
as sure as Danny's baby has developed in her womb. In the fullness of time, God
sent forth His Son, made of a woman. That's what He meant when He
says the Son of Man. He was made of a woman. For as
much as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, Christ Himself
took part of the same. He took on Him the form of a
servant and was made in the likeness of flesh, man. And yet when he did that, he
never ceased to be what he was before. That's one of the most
amazing things. Somebody said he laid aside.
I know what we mean when we say that. But you know, he concealed
it. He concealed it. Really and honestly,
he never so much laid his glory aside in heaven and come down
here. He brought his glory with him. And sometimes you can see
it busting through this flesh. It was in there. John said this
about it. The Word was made flesh, and
we beheld His glory. He still had it. The glory as
of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. The Lord asked His disciples
one time, He said, Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?
They said, Lord, people have got all kinds of opinions of
who you are. You're Jeremiah. You're one of
the prophets." And he said, Peter, who do you say I am? I'm the
Son of Man. It's evident I'm the Son of Man.
You see me. You see I'm aging. You see the
struggles. You see the temptations. It's
evident. I'm born of a woman. Sin accepted. But who do you
say that I, the Son of Man, am? He said, well, you're the Christ,
the Son of the living God. Never ceased to be what He was.
That's what we call the Incarnation Act. And it's such a mysterious,
mysterious thing. Christ was the Son of Man, and
yet He was the Son of God. He was God in this one glorious
person. He could be tempted because He
was the Son of Man, but He could deliver those who are tempted
because He's the Son of God. He could grow weary and sleepy
because He was the Son of Man. But He could arise and rebuke
the raging of the sea and the mighty wind because He was the
Son of God. As the Son of Man, He became
poor with no place to lay His head. But as God, He could forgive
sins and iniquities. Ain't that amazing? Ain't that
such a mystery? He said to that man one time
that had the policy, your sins are forgiven you. They said,
who can forgive sins but God? And that's true, isn't it? It's
God whom we've sinned against. Who can forgive sins but God? But here the Son of Man was,
forgiving sins. The Son of Man is the Son of
God. He's the God-Man. I am the Son of Man. And yet,
when He came to this world, He never ceased to be God. He brought
His glory with Him. He could forgive sins. Neither
do I condemn thee, Go and sin no more. This is why the Jews
hated him. They looked at him, he was just a plain fellow from
up in Galilee, the city of Nazareth. He didn't have a rainbow around
his head or a halo. His countenance didn't shine.
He really looked older than what he was. But they looked at him and said,
you being a man, you make yourself God. And he was God, the Son
of Man, the Son of God. And he said, that's so. I'm my
Father. We're one. We're one. The angels,
those holy angels, those are my angels. This world, it's mine. I made it. The words that I speak,
they're the words of God. The works that I do, that's the
works of God. He was God. That's what made
him so mad. And having joined Himself to our humanity, He'll
never be separated from it again. Never again. Never again will
He be separated from that. He came and was born of a woman. She took Him out of that womb
and hanged Him on her breast. And from that time to now, exalted
in heaven, He's still the Son of Man. He still owns that title
today. He's not ashamed of it. He's
not ashamed of us. in our humanity. He suffered
in it. He was buried in it. He rose
in it. He's exalted and enthroned in
heaven in our humanity. And to deny our humanity, he'd
have to deny himself. He's glorified humanity, but
he's still humanity. Listen to what he said. The hour
has come that the Son of Man shall be glorified. Hereafter
you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of
God. They shall see the Son of Man
coming in the clouds of glory, the clouds of heaven with power
and great glory. The Son of Man shall come in
His glory, all His holy angels with Him, and He shall sit upon
the throne of His glory, and before Him shall be gathered
all nations." See what he is saying? He's there in heaven
today upon the throne of glory. He's never going to vacate that
throne, but as He sits there, He still addresses Himself this
very same way. I'm the Son of Man. I'm the Son
of Man. He'll never cease to be the Son
of Man. He didn't cease to be God when He came. He'll never
cease to be man now that He has God. And when they were stoning
Stephen, he looked up and the heavens was open. Do you remember
what he said? I see the Son of Man. There He is in heaven, standing
on the right hand of the Majesty on High, the Son of Man. So God
joined Himself to our humanity 2,000 years ago, and He's in
our humanity today. And He cannot and He will not
deny our humanity. I'm ashamed of my humanity, aren't
you? How far I've fallen, how far you've fallen. But you know
something? He's honored our humanity. When
Adam failed, he shamed his self, he shamed God, shamed us, and
we just picked right up where he left off. Look how humanity
has shamed itself. But where do you see humanity
honored? Where do you see what man should be as a human being? Look at Jesus Christ. Look at
the Son of God in our humanity. I'm not ashamed of it in Him,
are you? He's honored it. He's glorified it. The Son of
Man. What a title for the incarnate
God. And He says here, the Son of
Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister. You know,
you would think, we would think, naturally and carnally speaking,
that when the Lord came to this world and took to Himself our
humanity, that He had been born in a palace, all kinds of servants,
people waiting on Him hand and foot, but that's not the way
it was at all. He came meek and lowly, not to be ministered unto,
not for others to serve Him, but He came to serve. Behold
My servant whom I uphold. The only time He was ever ministered
unto, we're told, is when Mary ministered unto Him as an infant,
and the ladies cooked a meal for Him. or maybe sewed his clothes. But he was a minister. He went
about doing good, healing all that was oppressed. He that was
rich became poor. He had his meals interrupted.
They woke him up from his sleep. He said, who is greatest, he
that sits and eats or he that serves? Well, he that sits and
eats. He's the greatest, ain't he?
But he said, I've been among you as the one that serves. And
one day he got him a towel and girded himself with it. And he
got a pan of water and he stooped down and he washed the feet of
his disciples. I'm a servant, he said. I'm a
minister. I come to serve. The incarnate
God becoming a servant. Being found in fashion as a man,
he humbled himself and became a servant. They came to serve. And you consider this year in
the light of the context, in verse 20, James and John and
their mother came and had a request to ask the Lord. They said, let
us set one on your right hand and one on your left in your
kingdom. They wanted to be exalted. They wanted the people to look
upon them and serve them while they sat there and commanded
And the Lord said, that's the way the Gentile does. They got
these kings and they bark out orders. People serves them. But
he said, it ain't going to be that way with you. If you're
going to be the greatest in my kingdom, you're going to serve.
And that's what he said about this text here. That's why I've
come, he said. I've not come for you to serve
me. I've served you. I've watched over you. I've kept
you. You've done nothing. You've done nothing. When you
was hungry, I fed you. When you're thirsty, I'm the
one that found what you wanted to drink. Let this mind be in you that
was in Christ. That's what He tells you. Be
a servant. Be a servant. The Son of Man came not to be
ministered unto, but He came to minister and to give His life
a ransom. I found some different definitions
that people have given about a ransom, and most of them go
hand-in-hand with each other, but I thought this was good.
I had several of them, but let me just read a few definitions
of what a ransom, definitions to a ransom. The money or price
paid for the redemption of a prisoner or slave are for goods captured
by the enemy. That which procures the release
of a prisoner or captive, or of captive property, and restores
the one to liberty and the other to its original owner. Money,
a price paid, a ransom. Another one is this, the son
paid for the pardon of some great offense, and the discharge of
the offender or a fine paid to release one from corporal punishment. And this one, the price paid
for procuring the pardon of sins and the redemption of the sinner
from punishment. I like that, don't you? The price
paid for procuring the pardon of sins and the redemption of
the sinner from punishment. And here's another one. Ransom
is this, a price paid to redeem from the bondage of sin and the
punishment to which sinners are subjected by divine law. A ransom. There were different
instances under the Jewish law. If you had caused the death of
someone, you had to die yourself. And the only thing that would
spare you if the family of the victim got together and laid
out a ransom for you to pay. They agreed on a ransom. If you
paid that ransom, then your life was spared. Your life for a ransom
price. That's what ransom means. We're
in bondage to what? We're under the awful judgment
of God, the divine law of God. It's judged us. It's condemned
us. It calls for our execution. The
soul that sinneth, it shall die. The wages of sin is death. Whatsoever the law says, it says
to them who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped
and all the world become guilty before God. We have sinned against
the divine law. It's charged us. We're guilty
and waiting for the execution. We're in prison. This world is
in prison and it's waiting for the execution. But a ransom price
has been agreed upon. Who agreed upon it? Well, the agreement wasn't between
us and God, was it? It was between God the Father
and God the Son. The covenant was made. The price
was agreed upon. The price was paid. What was
it? What was the price? Well, here
it is. My life, a ransom. That was the price agreed upon. You and I were under the curse
of the law. Christ was made a curse for us to redeem us from the
curse of the law. That's the ransom price. And
when the ransom price was paid, it was accepted. God accepted
it. Christ offered Himself to God
a sacrifice. And God accepted that sacrifice.
God said, I'm pleased in that sacrifice. And now, having accepted
that sacrifice, he immediately begins to declare the release
of the captives. I love these passages of Scripture.
Listen to this. And this can only be said in
the light of the ransom being paid. When the ransom was paid,
the blood of Christ, the life of Christ, Here's what the Father
said, Job 33-24, deliver him from going down to the pit. That's
where he deserves to go. That's what he's earned and that's
where he will go. But deliver him from going down
to the pit. Why? For I have found a ransom. There it is, I've found a ransom.
In Zechariah chapter 9 verse 11 and 12, here's what the Father
said to the Son. As for thee also, By the blood
of thy covenant I have sent forth the prisoner out of the pit wherein
is no water." And then he turns to us and says this, turn you
to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope. Turn. A ransom has been
paid. I've accepted the ransom. Turn
to Christ. Look to Christ. Trust in Christ. I've declared unto him, I'm sending
forth your prisoners. out of the pit by the blood of
your covenant. Jeremiah 31, verses 10 and 11.
Hear the word of the Lord, ye nations, and declare it in the
islands aforeall. And say this, He that scattered
Israel will gather him and keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock. For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob,
and he hath ransomed him from the hand of him. that was stronger
than he. Say that. Say it to the nation. Say it in the islands. The Lord
has ransomed his people from the one that was stronger than
he. Listen to Isaiah chapter 35 verse 10. The ransomed of
the Lord shall return to Zion. They shall return with songs
and everlasting joy upon their heads. They shall obtain joy
and gladness. and sorrow and sighs shall flee
away." Who's going to return? The ransomed. The ransomed. How were they ransomed? By life. By life of ransom. And one last
scripture, and I love this passage because it tells us that the
Lord Jesus did more than just ransom our souls. He ransomed
the whole man. Body and soul. And here's what
he said. And I love this because it's
him speaking. Hosea chapter 13 and verse 14. I will ransom them from the power
of the grave. I will redeem them from death. And then he turns to death and
he says this, O death, I will be your plague. O grave, I will
be your destruction. And I'll never change my mind,
he said. Repentance is not hid. Repentance is hid from my eye.
I'll never change my mind. How can Jesus Christ pay such
a ransom? To so deliver captive sinners
from the divine law that they've sinned against, from the wrath
of God, from the judging of God, from the guilt of their sin?
How can he pay such a ransom? And why would God accept such
a ransom? You and I could never offer such
a ransom. We couldn't redeem ourselves,
could we? But He can. Why can't He? Because He's the
Son of Man. And He's the Son of God. He's
this one glorious person full of merit and full of worth. He
can offer a ransom price to God. He's precious. He's precious. No mere man can redeem his brother. Or offer to God a ransom for
him, for that ransom is precious and it ceases forever. Never be offered again. Once
accepted, that's enough. And don't tell us about a ransom
that is offered after being agreed upon. and then is accepted, and
then justice goes ahead and slay those for whom that ransom was
paid? No. If you want to talk about perverted
justice, you can talk about man's system, or the devil's system.
But don't talk about the justice of God, and talk with one side
of your mouth about justice being satisfied, then out of the other
side of our mouth, justice being perverted. It'll never happen,
will it? my life a ransom." Wouldn't you
be ashamed of yourself if you thought of that precious verse
of Scripture, my life a ransom, and then in the same thought
to think that that could ever be in vain. My life a ransom? It's effectual, brothers and
sisters. It's effectual. You look yonder in heaven this
morning, this afternoon, while we're here on this Lord's Day,
worshiping publicly. Look yonder in glory, look in
heaven, in the Father's house, and what do you see there? Well,
you see the Son of Man. Can you picture Him there in
your imagination, sitting on the right hand of God? Who else
do you see there? We see mighty angels, elect angels. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord
of hosts. Wait in His command. Wait in
to do His will. Who else do you see? Well, you see a host of just
men made perfect. They're spirits. They're in the
presence of the Lord. To be absent from the body is
to be present with the Lord. There they are. You see them
there? They're not in purgatory. They're with the Lord. They're
in heaven in the Father's house. Can you count them? You won't have any trouble counting
us a few this year, this morning, this evening, that's for sure.
But try counting the saints in heaven. You may count them upon
earth at any given time, but try counting them in heaven.
Get them all to sit still. Get your calculator out and try
to count them. How many are there? There's so
many you can't count. How did they get there? My wife
are ransomed. For who? For many. For many. This is my blood of the new covenant
which is shed for many. My righteous servant shall justify
many. He bore the sins of many. He's
the firstborn among many brethren. He's bringing many sons unto
glory. Many. Many. A fellow told Brother
Mahan one time, he said, you fellows are just saying the Lord's
got a handful. Brother Mahan said, it depends
on whose hand you're talking about. He got a big hand, Annie. I give
unto them eternal life, and no man can pluck them out of my
hands. My Father which gave them is greater than all, and nobody's
going to pluck them out of His hands. That's a bunch, Annie.
He got a big hand. Many, many. Charles Spurgeon
used to say, and I love to think of this being true. I don't know.
I don't know if it is or not. But he said, you know, when you
count up all the infants, and you count all the children that
have died in their infancy and childhood, all the adults that
the Lord has saved and washed, he said he hoped that the number
of the saved would outnumber the lost. I don't know if that's
so, but wouldn't that be something good to hope for? I hope it's
that way, don't you? Many, many. How can you and I, brothers and
sisters, think of serving ourselves and promoting ourselves when
we think the Son of God became the Son of Man to serve us? Let this mind be in us that was
in Christ Jesus. Not to seek our own glory, but
seek the glory of Him that called us and gave Himself for us. Serve
God, serve Christ the Lord, serve one another. Amen. Let's pray.