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The Apostles' Creed -- The Second Article
I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. What does this mean? I believe that Jesus Christ ... purchased and won me ... not with gold or silver but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death.

We have a story from the Gospel of Mark about Jesus that helps us understand those words, "purchased and won me ... not with gold or silver but with his holy, precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death." It seems the disciples figured that Jesus was about to set up some kind of kingdom. James and John wanted to be top advisors in that kingdom. They asked to sit at Jesus' left and right. Little did they know what that really meant! Jesus told them that those places were already reserved for others -- and it turned out that they were reserved for the two thieves who were crucified with Jesus.

Jesus then gave the main qualification for a high position in His kingdom: "Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." These words help us understand the value of Jesus.

By the way, in the Bible, the words "redemption" and "ransom" mean the same thing. The Greek word Jesus used was the word people used when they talked about paying a price to set someone free. But ransom means more to us than redemption. How many people talk about redeeming a person? But we understand what it means to ransom a person. Ransom is the price paid to set a person free from captivity. The price Jesus paid to set us free was His life. He did not spend cash to free us from sin, death, and the power of the devil. Gold or silver have value in themselves, apart from the person spending them. So, Jesus didn't spend the energy of humans or angels. He spent His life as the ransom to set us free.

In Bible times, redemption, or ransom, was the normal way to get a person out of hock. If a person owed money, he and his family could be sold into slavery to get back some of the money he owed. Family or friends, however, could pay the debt. Or a man could buy his freedom back by working it off. When Jesus said that He came not to be served, but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many, He is going one step further than merely paying off the debt. He became a slave whose chief job was to go on a miserable and messy suicide mission that would ransom humankind from the devil. A famous street missionary from the last century, D. L. Moody, once said, "The measure of a man is not how many servants he has, but how many men he serves." How much does that make Jesus Christ worth? No wonder He was given the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee in heaven, on earth, and beneath it would bow!

We can be great in the kingdom of heaven also. The story is told of two brothers who grew up on a farm. One went away to college, earned a law degree, and became a partner in a prominent law firm in the state capital. The other brother stayed on the family farm. One day the lawyer came and visited his brother, the farmer. He asked, "Why don't you go out and make a name for yourself and hold your head up high in the world like me?" The brother pointed and said, "See that field of wheat over there? Look closely. Only the empty heads stand up. Those that are well-filled always bow low." Said differently, "The branch that bears the most fruit is bent the lowest to the ground."

True greatness comes from putting others first. Jesus put you and me first, even though we weren't even born yet. That made Him great ... and also made us great. Think about it. If Jesus is God, and He put us first, doesn't that make us greater than God? And yet, by doing that, Jesus became the greatest. That sets up an interesting contest. To win first place, we must help everyone else win first place! We get ahead when we help others get ahead. Victory comes to him who loses the most. Jesus Christ came to serve and give His life as a ransom for many. We can't ransom anyone, because that job is already done. But there are plenty of openings in God's kingdom for slaves! We have freedom, now, to apply for those positions. Remember, only free people can have the freedom to become slaves if they want to.

Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, You who became a slave so we could be set free, give us souls that are willing to die as slaves in service to others. Help us be willing to give up our rights so that we will be ready to take the abuse slaves take. Help us live in the freedom You won for us that allows us freely to sacrifice our own interests so that others may know of Your love and mercy. Amen.