Matt 20:17–34 — A Ransom For Many

The Final Passion Prediction

So we come now in our study of the Gospel of Matthew to Jesus’s third and final passion prediction. So their passion predictions, as they’re predicting the passion that is about to happen in Jerusalem when he goes to the cross, is crucified, is buried, and is raised from the dead. The first passion prediction was back in Matthew 16, verse 21. This happened in Caesarea Philippi, right after Peter confessed that Jesus was the Messiah, the son of the living God. Immediately after he made that confession, Jesus gives the first passion prediction in which he speaks of his coming sufferings. He says, from that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” The second passion prediction is in the next chapter in Matthew chapter 17 and verses 22 to 23.

This time they are not yet going to Jerusalem, but they are preparing to go. It says in verse 22 of Matthew 17 that they were gathering in Galilee. That is, the disciples, as well as this crowd of people from Galilee, they are gathering together in Galilee to prepare for the final trip down to Jerusalem. So Matthew 17 verse 22, as they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, the son of man is about to be delivered into the hands of men and they will kill him and he will be raised on the third day.

And they were greatly distressed. The second passion prediction is not saying that much different from the first one. It mentions the fact that he is going to be delivered into the hands of men and that he is going to be killed. But notice that there is this progression. It starts off in Caesarea Philippi after Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Messiah. And now we’re understanding more clearly what the nature of his messiahship is.

He’s a messiah, he’s going to die. Of course, Peter doesn’t quite get it. He responds to the Lord immediately after that and says, oh, no, Lord, far be it from you. You shall never go to the cross. This will never happen to you. Peter doesn’t understand. The Lord has to rebuke him and say, get behind me, Satan, because you are a hindrance to me. You’re not setting your mind on the things of God. The first passion prediction is then followed by the second passion prediction.

The only difference with the second one is that now they’re gathering in Galilee, preparing for this final journey. But the third passion prediction, which is the one in our text today, has increasing drama to it because now in chapter 20, verse 17, they are going up to Jerusalem. It says that twice in the text. Verse 17, as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He took the 12 disciples aside and on the way he said to them, see, we are going up to Jerusalem. So twice you have that phrase, going up to Jerusalem. Now, technically it’s down in terms of going from north to south, but it’s up because they’re going up the hill to the mountain. They’re going up to Jerusalem, which is on a hill, which is on a mountain, Mount Zion. So notice the increasing drama here.

Each time Jesus has predicted that he is going to die, but now it’s getting even more intense because now he’s on the way and he is marching ahead. It’s almost like he’s out in front, right? In fact, I think the Gospel of Luke puts it that way, that he’s out in front, the rest of the disciples and even the crowd of people from Galilee who are going up to the Passover, they’re sort of lagging behind and he’s just steadfastly putting his face towards Jerusalem because he knows he has his date with destiny there. He knows that that is God’s will for him to go to Jerusalem in order to lay down his life as a sacrifice for sin.

This third passion prediction, though, has an interesting detail that is new. And that new detail is that Jesus mentions here that the Jewish leaders will deliver him over to the Gentiles, that is to the Romans, to be mocked and flogged and crucified. And you might be saying, why is that important? Why bring out this detail that the Jewish leaders are going to hand him over to the Romans?

Well, the reason is because this reveals the particular form that his death will take. He’s not going to be stoned to death by the Jews. He’s not going to be stabbed by an assassin coming up to him. He is going to be put to death by means of the Roman method of execution, and that is crucifixion. That’s exactly what it says there in verse 19. He will be delivered over to the Gentiles to be mocked, and flogged, which is also part of the whole crucifixion process, and crucified. And he will be raised on the third day.

This is significant because it points to the reality of Christ’s death as the most ultimately degrading form of death. The death that is worthy only for slaves. A death that is as a criminal who is being put to death and being viewed as the worst of the worst. to be publicly crucified and hung upon a tree. As Paul teaches in Galatians chapter 3, that form of death is the worst possible form of death because it signifies being accursed of God. Cursed is the one who is hanged upon a tree.

His crucifixion points to the nature of his death. It is not just simply that he is assassinated or he’s simply murdered by people. He is handed over to be crucified in order to be accursed for our sins. Now amazingly, right after this incredible drama, he’s already said this twice before, that he’s gonna go to Jerusalem to die, but now you have the drama of they’re on the way, they’re heading towards Jerusalem, Jesus is out in front, going ahead of them, and he is saying, look, this is what’s happening now. It is now happening.

And it’s going to be not just simply death, but also death by Roman crucifixion. You would think that the disciples would respond in some better way than they do in our text. But how do they respond according to our passage here beginning in verse 20? They respond as if Jesus never said anything about this. They just simply don’t get it.

Positions of Honor

Verse 20, then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons. And we know from earlier in the gospel that their names are James and John, the sons of Zebedee. The mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons. So they’re right there with him. with her, kneeling before him, and she asked him for something. And he said to her, what do you want? And she said to him, say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.”

Perhaps they remembered the statement of Jesus back in Matthew 19, verse 28, when he said that when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel.” And not understanding the nature of Jesus’ speech here, that this is prophetic language, this is typological language, that is speaking about something to come in the future that is glorious and wonderful, but described in the language of the Old Testament theocracy of Israel.

They don’t quite get that. They’re still thinking on the literal earthly level. They have completely ignored what Jesus is saying about the cross. And they’ve maybe only heard that last part about how he’ll be raised on the third day. And they’re remembering the echo from back in chapter 19, verse 28 about these glorious thrones that they’re going to sit on, supposedly. And so they ask for special positions of honor in the kingdom of Christ. They’re just completely ignorant and completely blind to what is really going on here. Jesus is going to the cross in order to suffer for their sins, but all they can think about is the glory.

What terrible timing to ask this question right after Jesus’s third and most dramatic passion prediction. Jesus asks, are you able to drink the cup that I am going to drink? This is his language for the cross, that his sufferings are this cup of agony and suffering that he has to drink. Are you able to do that?

Jesus says, the only way you can achieve glory is through suffering. There is no glory apart from the cross. Incredibly, the disciples, full of confidence and boasting, say, yes, we’re able. Yes, there’s no problem, we can do this. how little they know of themselves.

In a few days, as you keep reading in the story of the Gospel of Matthew, they are going to abandon Jesus. So far are they from thinking that they can drink the cup that Christ will drink. They’re like the rich young moralist, who when Jesus said, if you want to enter eternal life, you must keep the commandments, honor your father and mother, love your neighbor as yourself. And this young moralist said, all these I’ve kept, what am I still missing? completely blind to his sin, completely blind to his inability to keep the law. So also the disciples here, very confident in their abilities, even though as the story progresses, we will see that they are complete failures.

And even like Peter himself, who denied the Lord, are completely unable to do what Christ is going to Jerusalem to do. Remember back in Matthew 16 verse 22, after the first passion prediction, Peter says to the Lord, no, this will not happen to you. So also here, the disciples, by making this request of Jesus to be given positions of honor in the kingdom of Christ, show that they are totally blind to the necessity of the cross. The gospel of Luke has an interesting cross reference, a parallel verse that says in Luke 18, verse 34, after he made this third passion prediction, that they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them and they did not grasp what he said. Matthew doesn’t include that statement, but he gives this story of the request of the two sons of Zebedee to illustrate this very fact.

They just skip right over the cross as if it’s as if it just went right over their heads. They couldn’t even hear it. They can only hear about the future glory. That’s the only thing that they’re concerned about. They don’t want to hear about a cross and about suffering and about how he is going to be mocked and flogged and going to be rejected. That’s not what they want to hear. They want to hear about the glory, not about the suffering.

But Jesus, even though he is clearly frustrated with them, he is nevertheless patient with them as well. It’s interesting that in verse 24, when the other 10 disciples heard about what the two disciples requested, they were just as blind to the cross as well. They were indignant at the two brothers. They were indignant because they wanted to receive the honor that they were asking for.

But Jesus patiently calls the disciples to him. He calls the 12 disciples to him in verse 25, and he says to them, This is not how it is in the kingdom of God. He’s so patiently instructing his disciples. He doesn’t rebuke them. He doesn’t shame them. He just simply goes back over the basics of the gospel again and again. Jesus is so patiently loving in the way he treats his disciples. He says, you know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant. And whoever would be first among you must be your slave.

A Ransom for Many

Even as the son of man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. how often we are in the same boat as the disciples of just completely missing the gospel, completely blind to the truths of the gospel, and instead thinking about all these other things like our glory, our honor, what we want, instead of thinking about what Christ is doing.

I mean, they should have, when they heard that third passion prediction and this added note that not only is he gonna die, but he’s gonna die by Roman crucifixion, they should have been thinking about what Christ is going through, about this impending suffering that’s put upon him, this cup that he has to drink. They should have been in awe and sorrow and wonder at what Christ is doing. And instead, all they can think about is themselves. But Jesus takes the time to patiently instruct them and to teach them and to bring it back to the gospel, right? He brings it back to the gospel in verse 28, even as the son of man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Sometimes in your Christian life, you will find that you need to be told again, reminded again of the basic simple truths of the gospel. Over and over again, we keep forgetting. And over and over again, we need to be reminded of those basic truths. Jesus died for our sins. You are a sinner. And the only way you can be redeemed from your sin is through the blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus just keeps patiently saying, okay, let’s go over it one more time. I know you guys keep forgetting, keep missing it. Let’s just go over it again. The basics of the gospels, the ABCs of sin and salvation, of guilt, grace, and gratitude. of the work of Christ. It’s not about you, it’s about me and about what I am doing for you to save you from your sins.

This ransom saying here, it’s called the ransom saying in the scholarly literature, this ransom saying of Jesus here in verse 28 is so crucial. It is a very important statement in the gospels. It’s also found in Mark, Mark chapter 10, verse 45. This ransom saying is like the culmination of a series of breadcrumbs that Matthew has been placing along the narrative of his gospel, going all the way back to Matthew chapter one. Remember at the very beginning, when the angel announced that the virgin would conceive, and it says, you shall call his name Jesus.

Why? Because he will save his people from their sins. Now at that point in the narrative, you’re not quite sure how he’s gonna save them or what he’s gonna do to save them, but the breadcrumb is there, that first breadcrumb. This is what this gospel is all about, is that he is Jesus, which means that God saves, he’s the savior. because he’s going to save his people from their sins.

How he’s going to do it still needs to be explained. We come then a few chapters later to the baptism of Jesus, which signifies how Jesus is identifying with Israel in its state of sin and exile. And he is coming to identify with Israel in her state of sin, not that Jesus himself is a sinner, not that he needs to repent, but he is identifying with Israel’s state of sin and judgment and exile in order to fulfill all righteousness.

The baptism of Jesus is pointing to the end of the story, to the cross of Christ. In the parallel passages in the Gospel of Mark, this very text that we just read about, are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink? Mark adds in, are you able to be baptized with the baptism that I’m going to be baptized? Referring to his death as a baptism.

And so that means then that even at the very beginning of the gospel, after Jesus is revealed to be the Savior, who’s going to save his people from their sins, and the baptism of Jesus itself is a foreshadow pointing ahead to the end of the story. And we have other foreshadows as well throughout the story.

One of the most important ones was in Matthew 14, another breadcrumb in the story, which was the story of the martyrdom of John the Baptist, how Herod asked for his head upon a platter. Well, it was Herod’s wife who asked for his head upon a platter.

And of course, we see some similarities there, don’t we, between what happened to John the Baptist and what’s gonna happen to Jesus. that it’s a martyrdom because there is this hatred of this prophet of God because he is preaching righteousness and preaching the truth. There’s also the bringing in of the Gentiles to participate in this activity of murdering Christ, although it is truly the rejection of the people of Israel. There’s also this idea of the burial of Jesus. It even says that after the disciples of John heard about his martyrdom, they went and they told it to Jesus. So there’s this foreshadowing of the death of Christ throughout the story, these breadcrumbs that the narrative is leading to.

But this one here, Matthew 20, verse 28, is really the most important. Because here for the first time, Jesus explicitly says it himself. Up until this point, it’s been the narrative, the narrator, Matthew, he’s telling the story, giving us these hints. But now Jesus himself explains that his death is for this purpose, in order to be a redemptive sacrifice for others.

He is going to give his life, that is his soul, as a ransom for many. He is going to the cross. Of course, the three passion predictions are close because it’s on the lips of Jesus himself saying he’s going to die. But even in those two passion predictions before, he doesn’t say why. He just says he’s going to go. and he’s going to die. But here in Matthew 20, 28, he says that his death is going to be redemptive. He is going to die to give his life, to give his soul as a ransom for many.

The Two Blind Men

And then, very interestingly, we have this miracle story of the healing of the two blind men. Notice that this story of the healing of the two blind men is set in contrast with the story immediately preceding about the two disciples, James and John, who came to Jesus. You have these two disciples who came to Jesus, and you have these two blind men who come to Jesus.

But it’s very different, right? They both are asking Jesus to do something, In fact, Jesus asks both of them, what do you want? He asks the two disciples, what do you want in verse 21? And he asks the two blind men in verse 32, what do you want me to do for you? But notice that what they ask is completely different from what the two disciples had asked.

They asked for healing. They asked to have their sight regained. And out of pity, the Lord had compassion upon them. Verse 34, He touched their eyes and immediately they recovered their sight. and followed him.” Notice that their faith is addressed towards Jesus, not simply as a miracle worker, not simply as a teacher or a prophet, but as the Son of David, as the Messiah. They addressed Jesus as the Son of David. They clearly had heard about his preaching and teaching ministry and his healings, and they knew something about him. They knew that he was the Messiah.

Notice also that their cry of calling out to Jesus, Lord have mercy upon us, is a cry that comes out of their desperate need. They cried out in their need, recognizing their sinfulness, recognizing their blindness, recognizing their need of the salvation that Christ offers. And notice the persistence of their faith. They didn’t give up when the crowds rebuked them, but they cried out all the more, it says, even more loudly. The crowd says, stop, stop, quiet. The master is busy. He’s got something else going on. But they cried out even more. What do you want me to do for you? Jesus said.

They would not take no for an answer. Their faith was directed towards Jesus as the Messiah. Their faith was born out of need and their faith was persistent. Completely different from the two disciples who weren’t asking for grace. They weren’t asking out of need. They weren’t desperately seeking the favor and the grace of Christ. They were asking for something that they thought they deserved, some great honor in the kingdom of God. They completely missed what was going on. They completely missed that Jesus is on this mission to go to the cross in order to save his people from their sins.

So what is the doctrine of the text? What is the doctrine we can derive from this passage? Well, this passage is just so gloriously focused upon and highlighting verse 28, this amazing verse, this ransom saying. in which Jesus says that he came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. There are three things we see from this text.

First, the mission of Christ.

Second, the satisfaction of Christ. And third, the people purchased by Christ.

First, the mission of Christ. Notice he uses this phrase, I have come, not to be served, but to serve. I have come. There are many other verses in the Gospels where Jesus uses this language, that I have come.

For example, in Matthew 5.17, do not think that I have come. to abolish the law and the prophets, for I’ve not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.” Or later on, he’ll say, do not think that I’ve come to bring peace upon the earth. For I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Of course, he’s not talking about literal warfare, he’s talking about the spiritual conflict. He’s coming to divide families between those that believe in him and accept that he is the Messiah, and those who do not. But there are all these, I have come sayings in the Gospels, and they are telling us something very profound. These I have come sayings are pointing us to the reality of the pre-existence and incarnation of Christ.

That before the foundation of the world, he existed with the father as the eternal son of God, but that in the fullness of time, he came on a mission under the terms of the covenant of redemption, that is the covenant of works between the father and the son, in order to obtain salvation for his people.

This is why Jesus continually refers to himself as the servant of the Lord. Remember back in Isaiah 53, that whole passage in Isaiah 53 is in the context of the servant of the Lord. Even before that in Isaiah 42, behold my servant whom I have chosen, which Matthew himself quotes later in Matthew chapter 12. This idea that Jesus is the servant of the Lord, that is the servant of God the Father, means that he’s coming on a mission in order to do the will of God. He sees himself and his mission in terms of the servant that is mentioned in the prophecies of Isaiah.

That is the first doctrine of our text, is the mission of Christ, according to the terms of the eternal covenant of redemption, specifically focused in upon all the servant passages in Isaiah. That’s why Jesus often says, for example, later on in Matthew 26, in the Passion narrative, Matthew 26, verse 56, all this has taken place that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. That’s why the emphasis upon Jesus as the fulfillment of prophecy, because he is thinking about all of these passages that describe the mission of Christ, according to that eternal covenant of redemption. And how he is coming now in time, in history, becoming incarnate in order to accomplish that mission.

The second point that we see from our text is the satisfaction of Christ. Oftentimes you’ll hear in modern lingo and modern theology references to the atonement. We speak of the atonement of Christ. Even in our hymns sometimes it refers to his atoning death or his atonement. That word atonement is not a very good word for understanding the work of Christ. One of the problems with it is that it focuses too much on the result of the work of Christ, rather than on the actual reality of what Christ did. Because the word atonement comes from, believe it or not, it comes from the word at-one-ment, to be at one. It’s just another term for reconciliation.

We were enemies of God, and then now because of the death of Christ, we are at one with God. We are reconciled to God. Our sins are forgiven, God’s wrath has been satisfied, and now we are at one with God. And that is totally true. The doctrine of being at one with God, being reconciled to God, is completely and totally true. But it doesn’t get at what is the basis of that? What is the logical ground for our being made at one with God and being forgiven and reconciled to God? The ground of it is the satisfaction of Christ.

And so that is a much better term to use. That is the classic, if you go back to the 17th century reformed theologians, they talked about not the atonement of Christ, but the satisfaction of Christ. And satisfaction gets at this idea that Christ, by his offering, has satisfied the demands of God’s justice. It brings out this idea of the payment of the price that satisfies the demands of God’s holiness and God’s justice.

We even see that in Isaiah 53. In Isaiah 53, 10 through 12, which Jesus himself is explicitly alluding to, he doesn’t quote it per se, he doesn’t say as it says in Isaiah 53, but he is explicitly alluding to that passage by using this language of he’s giving his life as a ransom for many. In Greek and in Hebrew, the word life and the word soul are the same, and it’s sometimes hard to know how to translate it in any given passage. But for example, in Isaiah 53, where it says, out of the anguish of his soul, you can’t translate it life there, where it says, out of the anguish of his soul, He will then justify his people. It has to be his soul in that verse, but it’s the same word throughout that whole context in Isaiah 53.

When his soul makes an offering for guilt, he poured out his soul unto death. He bore the sin of many. He gave his life slash soul as a ransom for many. The word ransom in our text alludes back to Isaiah 53, where it says that he is making his soul an offering for guilt, referring to the guilt offering in Leviticus chapter six.

That is the one offering of all the offerings that is most focused on this financial metaphor of sin being a debt. And then the debt has to be repaid. There has to be restitution. The guilt offering is the restitution offering that pays the debt. It is the ransom that is paid to make restitution.

What is the meaning of this term ransom? Well, it’s this whole metaphor that we think of when we think of the payment that is paid in order to get back prisoners or to release captives. We were captives of sin and Satan, but Christ has paid the ransom price that sets us free so that we are now free from our captivity and now we belong to him. In the context of the Gospel of Matthew, this saying here, the ransom saying in Matthew 20, 28, is the crucial saying that ties everything together in the Gospel of Matthew.

I would almost say it’s even more important than Peter’s confession of Jesus in Matthew 16. Matthew 16 is like the high point of the gospel. After seeing all the miracles and the healings of Jesus, Peter confesses that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.

But we’re still not getting to the heart of the gospel. We’re still not getting to the heart of what it means that he is the Messiah. He sort of sees it, he sees that he is the Messiah, but he doesn’t get that he’s a Messiah who’s gonna go to the cross.

He’s a Messiah who’s on this mission in order to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. So here, the ransom saying of Jesus in Matthew 20, 28, fulfills Peter’s confession in Matthew 16, and is the culmination of the gospel of Matthew that ties everything together. Notice that it is a comprehensive ransom. It doesn’t just simply refer to his death. That’s another reason why speaking of the atonement of Christ is a little bit misleading because when we think of the atonement, we just think of his death.

The satisfaction of Christ is the obedience of Christ in his entire life as the servant of the Lord who came on this mission from the very moment when he set foot upon this planet, when he became incarnate and was born of a virgin, he was coming in obedience to the Father as the servant of the Lord. He came to serve, as our text says. It doesn’t just say he came to die, it says he came to serve. and to give his life as a ransom for many. He came to be a servant, his entire life and ministry, everything that Jesus does from the moment of his conception in the womb of the Virgin, all throughout his life, his teaching ministry, his healing ministry, all the work that he does is part of his functioning as the servant of the Lord, his entire life and ministry. which of course culminates in that ultimate point when he voluntarily offers himself upon the cross.

It’s interesting that in this particular gospel, the gospel of Matthew, sin is described in terms of debt. Remember in the Lord’s Prayer, we are to pray, forgive us our debts. So sin is viewed as a debt that we owe to God. And in the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18, we have the same idea of sin being a massive debt, billions of dollars that we owe to God, but it has been forgiven.

We’ve been released from that debt. And since we cannot pay the debt, we’ve been thrown into debtor’s prison to be tormented until we pay the last penny. We’re condemned to die, but we cannot. We’re unable to pay the debt. We’re completely, we’re totally bankrupt. We have no capacity to pay the debt of our sin.

But Jesus says that he is the one who pays the debt. He is the one who pays the ransom price that releases us from that guilt. and sets us free so that we might live and serve Him. There’s another key statement here in our text in Matthew 20, 28, that the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. And that word for is very important. It’s a key preposition. In Greek, it is the preposition anti. And the preposition ante is very unique and very distinct.

It’s not just simply the general idea of doing something for someone’s advantage. He’s not just saying, I’m giving myself as a ransom for the benefit of many. It has this idea of substitution. It has this idea of in the place of. He is paying the price in place of the many, as a substitute for the many. He is substituting himself in our place to pay the debt we could never pay.

By his whole life, from the moment of his incarnation culminating in the cross, He is paying the ransom price in place of the many, that is, in the place of his people. And again, that many, that word many, is another allusion back to Isaiah 53, which uses that same word several times in that passage that he gave himself as a ransom for many.

And that brings us into the third point. The first one was the mission of Christ. The second is the satisfaction of Christ. The third is the people that have been purchased by Christ, that is the many. And that’s why this story immediately segues to the healing of the two blind men, because the two blind men are representative of those many for whom the ransom has been paid.

Christ is about to go to the cross to pay the ransom price, to purchase his own people with his blood. And of course, note how the story ends. The very last word, very last phrase, Jesus touched their eyes. and immediately they recovered their sight. And what did they do? Did they just walk off and say, oh, that’s great, we got our healing, now we don’t care about Jesus? No, they followed him. They followed him.

It ends on this note of discipleship, which has been a theme throughout the Gospel of Matthew. From the very beginning when Jesus called his disciples by the Sea of Galilee and said, come, follow me, they followed him. It ends on a note of discipleship because we have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. We have been rescued and released from our captivity, not so that we might be free to do our own will, but so that we now belong to him, to follow him and to serve him out of gratitude.