Christ was the ransom
“Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” ( Matthew 20:28 ) The thought that the death of Jesus and His shed blood were somehow the ransom price paid to redeem lost sinners from an eternal prison in hell has been a stumbling block to many of those very sinners. Yet that is the teaching of Scripture, whether it appeals to their reasonings or not. “Ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold. . . . But with the precious blood of Christ” ( 1 Peter 1:18-19 ). In the Old Testament economy, ransoms were paid for various reasons, such as freeing slaves. The last use of “ransom” in the Old Testament, however, seems to foreshadow the New Testament concept. “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death” ( Hosea 13:14 ). But to whom was the ransom of Christ to be paid? Not to the devil, of course, or to any human king. It can only have been paid to God H