Sermon Seeds: Ransom for Many

Sunday, October 20, 2024
Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost | Year B
(Liturgical Color: Green)

Lectionary Citations
Job 38:1-7, (34-41) and Psalm 104:1-9, 24, 35c OR Isaiah 53:4-12 and Psalm 91:9-16 • Hebrews 5:1-10 • Mark 10:35-45
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/?z=p&d=80&y=382

Focus Scripture: Mark 10:35-45
Focus Theme: Ransom for Many
Series: Here I Am…Testing and Tested (Click here for the series overview.)

Reflection
By Cheryl A. Lindsay

We have seen the movie scenes. Someone has been kidnapped with a high value demanded in return. The person kidnapped may be rich in resources themselves or they may be closely associated with someone who enjoys an abundance. Sometimes, the hostage taker looks for an exchange of persons, one life for another. The kidnappers are always the so-called “bad guys.” Our sympathy lies with the one caught in the middle, because sometimes, those who have the means to pay the hostage takers are no better than the bad guys. That’s the Hollywood version of a compelling drama.

In the gospel narratives, Jesus explains to his disciples why he entered the world, the point of his ministry, and the purpose behind his impending death and resurrection. They struggled to understand, and the various theological frameworks used to explain his life, death, and resurrection indicate that the struggle continues. Many today reject the theory that Jesus was sent as a substitute, charged to suffer for our individual and collective sin because a holy and righteous God demanded a sacrifice in a manner similar to false gods from countless ancient cultures demanding human sacrifice to appease their anger, greed, and vengeful nature. That vision does not align with our understanding of a God who is love and extends grace and mercy from generation to generation. The curious statement in this passage, then, comes from Jesus who declares himself a “ransom for many.”

Despite Jesus’ teaching on wealth and a third passion prediction, James and John still clamor for status by asking for positions of honor (10:37). Jesus presents his final discipleship lesson and again emphasizes the need to be a servant (10:43). He concludes by pointing out how he has modeled the behavior he is teaching them. He has not come to be served. Instead, he gives his life in service as he ministers to the least. He will give his life in death because the opposition to this ministry will be fatal. However, his service will ransom “many” (10:45), thereby releasing them from the “strong man’s” clutches.
Racquel S. Lettsome

A ransom is not necessarily a substitution of one prisoner for another who assumes their punishment; however, a ransom is an exchange that leads to a release. It’s significant to note that this passage comes after the conversation in which Peter asserts, on behalf of all the disciples, that they have given up everything to follow Jesus. In the same way, Jesus could surely claim to have given up everything to be followed. That only makes the request of James and John more disturbing. The path that Jesus charts requires sacrifice, as any victory necessitates. The Jesus way, however, does not involve horses and chariots, armies and weapons, generals and medals.

The disciples needed to exchange their understanding and expectations of a messiah from that of a conquering king to a lowly servant who suffers. Clearly, James and John illustrate that was not an uncomplicated process as they also had to reverse their perception of their own place in the redemptive puzzle.

The response of James and John to this third and final Passion prediction follows the pattern of the previous two. However, after such an explicit prophecy of the imminent suffering of the son of man, their request is shocking: “Grant us that we may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left hand, in your glory” (10:37b); it recalls and illumines the disciples’ earlier argument over which of them was the greatest (9:34). The sons of Zebedee envision Jesus as the anointed king (Messiah) of a restored kingdom of Israel, in which Jesus will sit enthroned in glory), with his first- and second-ranked courtiers at his right and left hands. Jesus’s answer is a rebuke: “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I will drink or be baptized by the baptism by which I will be baptized?” (10:38). In the Hebrew scriptures, the “cup” (potērion) is a metaphor for suffering. Here the term usually translated as “baptism” (baptisma) refers to submersion in water, a biblical metaphor for death and destruction. In this light, Jesus’s prophetic reply to the disciples’ assurance that they are able to drink his cup and endure his “baptism” is bitterly ironic: “The cup that I shall drink you will drink, and the baptism by which I am baptized you will be baptized by, but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to give, but for those for whom it has been prepared” (10:39–40). Early Christian tradition attests that James and John suffered persecution and martyrdom (Acts 4:1–22; 12:12). However, in Mark’s Passion Narrative, the ones who are elevated to Jesus’s right and left hands are the two criminals crucified beside him (15:27): the seats of honor coveted by the brothers are places on the cross. The divine passive (“for whom it has been prepared”) emphasizes that it is God, not Jesus, who is the main actor in the drama of salvation.
Mary Ann Beavis

A trinitarian framework recognizes the will of the First Person of the Godhead as distinct yet inseparable from the Second and Third Persons. Jesus is still a primary character in the salvation story. In fact, it may be more accurate to describe the First Person as the Author, the Third Person as the Director, and the Second Person, in Jesus, as the protagonist, who takes the lead, serves as the visible manifestation, and is positioned out front. The disciples are both supporting characters in the plot and understudies preparing for their moment to take the lead role.

The overarching plot of the drama is a rescue mission. But this is not the trope of an invincible hero sweeping in to rescue a helpless damsel in distress. This is the story of a humble servant who sets the fullness of their power aside in order to enter into the imprisoned condition to show the way out. The ransom is not solely situated at the cross; it begins at the incarnation as Jesus assumes human identity and form.

Some chafe at the notion of Jesus as a Savior because they don’t want to confront that they need saving. Others may be so wedded to the notion of rugged individualism that they only want to save themselves. Still others may recognize how salvation theology has been distorted to further marginalize and oppress vulnerable communities.

Yet, the issue is not individual sin; there has always been a means of grace in the kindom of God. Even the Law described the remedies available for repair when transgressions occurred. The Prophets urged repentance, turning back to the Holy One, as the primary mechanism for reconciliation and restoration. Repentance and repair remain appropriate responses to individual and collective sinfulness.

Yet, the Holy One’s human creatures remain held hostage to the systems of oppression in this world, to the tyranny of manifested evil, to the distortion of the gospel for relational, economic, and political gain, and to the lure of the idolatry of empire and its false promises. Jesus comes to break those chains and offers himself to go before us to show us the way to secure our release.

This passage begins with two disciples who want to be exalted. Jesus assures them that the way he travels leads to humiliation. To be at the right and left of Jesus is to sit in humility. It’s not God’s punishment, pettiness, or revenge. It’s a choice to serve, to sacrifice, and to submit oneself in solidarity with another in order to become instruments for salvation for the world. That’s the cross Jesus carried on a journey that began with his birth, and that’s the cross waiting for us. The test for us asks: are we willing to carry it?

Reflection from Voices of People of African Descent
The 33rd General Synod adopted a Resolution to Recognize the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024). As part of its implementation, Sermon and Weekly Seeds offers Reflection from Voices of People of African Descent related to the season or overall theme for additional consideration in sermon preparation and for individual and congregational study.
“The cross can heal and hurt; it can be empowering and liberating but also enslaving and oppressive…. I believe that the cross placed alongside the lynching tree can help us to see Jesus in America in a new light, and thereby empower people who claim to follow him to take a stand against white supremacy and every kind of injustice.”
—James H. Cone

For Further Reflection
“I believe in peace. I believe in mercy.” – Malala Yousafzai
“I think the key indicator for wealth is not good grades, work ethic, or IQ. I believe it’s relationships. Ask yourself two questions: How many people do I know, and how much ransom money could I get for each one?” — Jarod Kintz
“I have just realized that the stakes are myself
I have no other
ransom money, nothing to break or barter but my life” — Diane di Prima

Suggested Congregational Response to the Reflection
This sermon series invites us to explore the call to Christian discipleship and to examine our response. Consider the ways that your faith community may be called to be redemption agents in your sphere of influence and impact.

Worship Ways Liturgical Resources
https://www.ucc.org/worship-way/after-pentecost-22b-october-20/

The Rev. Dr. Cheryl A. Lindsay, Minister for Worship and Theology (lindsayc@ucc.org), also serves a local church pastor, public theologian, and worship scholar-practitioner with a particular interest in the proclamation of the word in gathered communities. You’re invited to share your reflections on this text in the comments on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SermonSeeds.

A Bible study version of this reflection is at Weekly Seeds.