Over at The Gospel Coalition Canada, Pastor Paul Carter recently wrote a blog on the atonement. In it, he attempted to distinguish between what can be known about the atonement and what remains mystery. I remain grateful for many of the things he clarified in this post, but I want to comment on one statement that gave me pause. Carter asserted:
The Bible does not indicate to whom the ransom is paid. Some theorize that it is paid by God to God and that may be so. Others say it is merely a metaphor intending to communicate that a price had to be paid and it was.
I cannot and will not say for sure. If there is an answer to this question, it remains in the realm of mystery. It is part of the reality which cannot be known because it has not been told.
He wrote that within the context of commenting on Mark 10:45: “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” If Christ paid a ransom, which He surely did, to whom was the ransom paid? Carter maintains that we cannot know and that to assert that “it is paid by God to God” is only speculation “that may be” true. The answer to said question, as per Carter, “remains in the realm of mystery.”
Helpful to this discussion is to be aware of at least three actions involved in a ransom payment: (1) the action of paying the ransom payment, (2) the action of receiving the ransom payment, and (3) the action of benefiting from the ransom payment. That Christ is the one who paid the ransom payment is obvious from the text. That “the many” are the beneficiaries of the ransom payment is obvious also. But what is not so obvious from that immediate text is who precisely received the ransom payment. Carter argues that that recipient of the ransom remains anonymous and receives it incognito.
Had Carter said that the immediate text of Mark 10:45 does not say who received the ransom payment, I could concur. Indeed it does not say as much. That would be absolutely correct. But that is not what Carter said. He said, “The Bible does not indicate to whom the ransom is paid.” In other words, not one passage in the entire Bible explains who received the ransom payment. Not one Bible verse signals, expresses, illustrates, explains, or points to the recipient of Christ’s ransom payment. With that I take issue.
Christ is called a “ransom” a few times in the New Testament. Matthew 20:28 reads, “even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Similarly, Mark 10:45 reads, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” 1 Timothy 2:6 says Christ “gave himself as a ransom for all.”
Basic to understanding New Testament categories is learning their context within the entirety of Scripture. The New Testament did not emerge in a vacuum. It follows the Old Testament, and it fulfills the Old Testament. So New Testament categories are very often Old Testament categories fulfilled. The category of ransom is a fulfillment of an Old Testament category. To understand New Testament references to “ransom,” we really need to understand the concept within the context of the Old Testament.
What does “ransom” entail in the Old Testament? I’m glad you asked.
In the Old Testament, ransom includes paying the fine of an offender to the offended so that the offender can escape death at the hands of the offended. When it comes to ransom, there is an offender who receives clemency as a result of the ransom paid. He is the beneficiary of the ransom payment. There is an offended who has the right to punish the offender, and that punishment is often death. And there is a payment made to the offended on behalf of the offender, and that payment is called “ransom.” If the offended receives the ransom, he does so by cancelling the punishment of the offender. A ransom is accepted when the offender goes free by the will of the offended. The ransom payment effectually appeases or placates the offended with the result that he waives his right to punish his offender. I’ll list a few examples of this.
When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall not be liable. But if the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has been warned but has not kept it in, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death. If a ransom is imposed on him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is imposed on him (Exodus 21:28-30).
If a man has an ox known to gore people, and that ox gores someone the owner is liable. He is an offender and deserves to die. His negligence was criminal, and it lead to the death of an innocent person. Instead of a death sentence, when given the option, the negligent offender can pay a ransom payment, a payment presumably to the bereaved family. If the ransom is accepted, the offender is redeemed and no longer under a death sentence. Like I said earlier, ransom includes paying the fine of an offender to the offended so that the offender can escape death at the hands of the offended.
Here’s another passage:
When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give a ransom for his life to the LORD when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them (Exodus 30:12).
In this case the ransom is paid to the LORD. He holds life and death in His hands, and as such demands ransom from His people for their lives. And when his people paid the ransom, He spares them from the death that comes by plague. The people are to provide a ransom price to God in order to escape death at His hands.
I’ll offer one more passage:
He will not accept any ransom, nor will he be satisfied though you give many gifts (Proverbs 6:35, NASB).
Here, the context is a warning against adultery. A young man is being warned not to commit adultery because no ransom price can placate the anger of a jealous husband who will kill him. The young man, when caught, might attempt to pacify his mistress’s husband with a ransom price of many gifts, but all attempts will fail. Given the opportunity, the offended husband will reject the ransom and kill the offender. While the ransom price fails to save young man’s life, it still includes paying the fine of an offender to the offended so that the offender can escape death at the hands of the offended. In this case he won’t escape, but still the ransom would be paid so that he can escape.
I’ve offered three Old Testament examples of a ransom price being paid, or at least an attempt to pay it in the case of the final example. In each case, paying ransom includes paying the fine of an offender to the offended so that the offender can escape death at the hands of the offended.
With that, we return to the New Testament.
…even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28).
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).
… Christ “gave himself as a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:6).
When we read those statements, we are not to read them in isolation. Rather, they are to be read within the context of the whole of Scripture. The Old Testament provides categories that Christ fills. In this case, it provides us with the concept of ransom. Paying ransom includes paying the fine of an offender to the offended so that the offender can escape death at the hands of the offended.
The only question remaining, now, is “who is the offended party?” To whom was payment required? Who required the ransom? Students of the Bible should immediately recognize God as the offended party.
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge (Psalm 51:3).
This is not reading in the white spaces of Scripture. This is not ethereal speculation. This doesn’t amount to reading signs in the clouds and speculating on the formation of stars. It is reading Scripture within the context of all Scripture. It is learning about God and His Gospel from everything He teaches in the entire Bible. It is defining terms the way Scripture defines terms, and it is drawing conclusions the way Scripture draws conclusions.
R.C. Sproul explains,
But when the Bible speaks of ransom, the ransom is paid not to a criminal but to the One who is owed the price for redemption—the One who is the offended party, the injured party in the whole process of sin. And who is that? Again, it is God the Father. Jesus, as the Servant, offers Himself in payment to the Father for us. (Saved from What?, p. 67)
Similarly, C.H. Spurgeon states,
The question has been asked, “If we be redeemed by the blood of Christ, who receives the ransom?” Some have talked as if Christ paid the price to the devil. A more absurd imagination could never have crossed human mind…. What then? Surely the ransom price was paid to the Great Judge of all…. Thus the debt was paid to the Eternal Father. (MTP, vol. 62, p. 476, 1916).
Now back to Paul Carter’s blog. The recipient of the ransom in Mark 10:45 is not stated in that text. That is correct. But that text is not to be read in isolation. It is to be read in light of what the entire Bible says. The concept of ransom occurs multiple times in the Old Testament. I’ve selected three Old Testament passages. I could list some more. We could talk about the ransom of slaves, and the relationship between ransom and redemption. We could examine Psalm 49:7-8 to help colour in our definition. We could analyze the various Greek and Hebrew words used. But this all is enough, at least for now. Ransom, biblically, includes paying the fine of an offender to the offended so that the offender can escape death at the hands of the offended. Students of the Bible understand that God is offended by our sins, and our sins make us offenders who deserve death at the hands of the Almighty.
Therefore, I believe Paul Carter is wrong when he says,
The Bible does not indicate to whom the ransom is paid. Some theorize that it is paid by God to God and that may be so. Others say it is merely a metaphor intending to communicate that a price had to be paid and it was.
I cannot and will not say for sure. If there is an answer to this question, it remains in the realm of mystery. It is part of the reality which cannot be known because it has not been told.
We can know, and we do know. It’s not guesstimation or speculation. It’s no shot in the dark. The recipient of the ransom is not agent X who desires to remain unnamed. He is God Almighty, and He wants all men to know that Christ paid the ransom to God in full and that God received it to His satisfaction. The Offended has been appeased, and we offenders can now go free. Truly and surely, our ransom has been paid by God to God.
