Ransomed

“Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” — Matthew 20:28 (NIV)

The TV series Ransom, a crime drama that aired from 2017 to 2019 on CBS (U.S.), follows a team of crisis negotiators who resolve hostage situations without violence. Each episode centers on a life hanging in the balance—someone kidnapped, someone threatened—and the team must discern what the captors want, what the victims need, and what price will secure release.

Sometimes the ransom is money. Sometimes it’s information. Sometimes it’s a confession or a trade. But always, there’s a cost. And always, someone must decide: Is the life worth the price?

Now imagine this: the hostage isn’t a CEO or a diplomat. It’s you. It’s me. It’s all of us—held captive not by criminals, but by sin, shame, and death. And the one who steps in to negotiate isn’t a trained expert with a headset. It’s Jesus. And his price? Not silver. Not strategy. But his own life.

“Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  The language used by Jesus here was familiar to his listeners. It meant the price paid to free a slave, a prisoner, or someone condemned. It was transactional: one life redeemed by another’s wealth. But Jesus doesn’t offer a transaction; instead, He provides transformation.

He doesn’t negotiate with Rome or religious elites. He doesn’t barter with Satan. He gives himself—freely, fully, sacrificially. This ransom is not about appeasing an angry God. It’s about liberating a beloved people. It’s not about settling a cosmic debt ledger. It’s about restoring relationship.

In Wesleyan theology, this is grace in motion: prevenient grace reaching out before we even know we need it, justifying grace declaring us free and forgiven, sanctifying grace walking with us into new life. And somewhere along that journey, we awaken—not just to the fact that we’ve been ransomed, but to the wonder of it. We begin to see the cost not as guilt, but as gift. We realize that the chains we thought were part of us have already been broken. Grace doesn’t just rescue—it reveals. It opens our eyes to the love that paid the price and invites us to live as those who have been set free.

Jesus doesn’t just pay a ransom. He becomes the ransom. Not to satisfy wrath, but to invite us home.

And what does ransom look like today? In our world, it often evokes hostage negotiations or cybercrime (ransomware). But spiritually, we still live in captivity—to shame that whispers we’re not enough, to systems that devalue the vulnerable, to habits that hollow out our joy. And Jesus still steps in—not with coin, but with compassion. Not with force, but with freedom.

To be ransomed by Christ is to be reclaimed from despair, restored to dignity, released into purpose. It’s not just a theological idea. It’s a lived reality. It’s the addict who finds sobriety. The unhoused neighbor who finds shelter. The weary soul who finds rest. And it’s the church—called not just to receive ransom, but to embody it. To be ransom-bearers in a world that still holds people hostage to fear, injustice, and isolation.

Gracious Redeemer, you gave your life to set us free— not with coin, but with compassion. Teach us to live as those ransomed by love: grateful, grounded, and ready to serve. May we offer freedom where others find chains, and hope where the world demands payment. In your liberating name we pray, Amen.

Peace & Grace,

Pastor Tim