Matthew 20:28

Matthew 20:28. Even at the Son of man. What He asked of them was what He did Himself.

Came. His appearing in the world was not to be ministered unto, not to be personally served by others, nor to exercise an external authority for His own external interest, but to minister, to serve others, as His whole ministry showed. Christ's example enforces the lesson of humility, but a deeper truth is now for the first time declared

And to give his life. The crowning act of His ministering to others.

A ransom for many. ‘Ransom' may mean only the payment for a life destroyed (Exodus 21:20), the price paid for the redemption of a slave (Leviticus 25:5). As however it also means ‘propitiation' (Proverbs 13:7), and the word translated ‘for' means ‘in the place of,' this passage affirms that our Lord's death was vicarious; by His death as a ransom-price the ‘many' are to be redeemed from the guilt and power of sin. As soon as the disciples could bear it, they were taught this central truth of the gospel, to which they gave such prominence, after the Holy Ghost came upon them. This tender rebuke of their ambition bases the cardinal grace of humility upon the cardinal doctrine of the Atonement.