Who gave himself a ransom for all
What the Mediator gave as a ransom for men is "himself", his body
and his soul, which were both made an offering for sin; and his
life, which is the result of union between soul and body; his
whole human nature as in union with his divine person, and so
might be truly said to be himself: this he gave into the hands of
men, of justice and of death; and that voluntarily, which shows
his great love to his people; and also as a "ransom", or a ransom
price for them, (antilutron) , in their room and stead; to ransom them
from the slavery of sin, and damnation by it, from the captivity
of Satan, and the bondage of the law, and from the grave, death,
hell, ruin, and destruction: and this ransom was given for "all";
not for every individual of mankind, for then all would be
delivered, freed, and saved, whereas they are not; or else the
ransom price is paid in vain, or God is unjust to receive a
sufficient ransom price from Christ, and yet not free the
captive, but punish the person for whom he has received
satisfaction; neither of which can be said. But the meaning is,
either that he gave himself a ransom for many, as in ( Matthew
20:28 ) for the Hebrew word (lk) , to which this answers, signifies sometimes many,
a multitude, and sometimes only a part of a multitude, as Kimchi
observes F25: or rather it intends that Christ
gave himself a ransom for all sorts of men, for men of every rank
and quality, of every state and condition, of every age and sex,
and for all sorts of sinners, and for some out of every kindred,
tongue, people, and nation, for both Jews and Gentiles; which
latter may more especially be designed by all, as they are
sometimes by the world, and the whole world; and so contains
another argument why all sorts of men are to be prayed for, since
the same ransom price is given for them; as that for the children
of Israel was the same, for the rich as for the poor. We
F26 read, that when the people of
Israel comforted the high priest upon the death of his wife, or
any relation, they used to say to him, (Ktrpk wna) , "we are thy atonement", expiation,
or ransom; that is, as the commentators F1 explain
it, by us thou shalt be atoned, for we will be in thy room and
stead, with respect to all things that shall come upon thee; but
here the High priest and Mediator is the atonement and ransom for
the people:
to be testified in due time;
or "a testimony in his own times"; that is, the sum and substance
of what is before said is the Gospel, which is a testimony
concerning the person, office, and grace of Christ, exhibited in
the times of the Messiah, or the Gospel dispensation. Some copies
read, "the mystery", which is another word often used for the
Gospel; for that that is intended, appears by what follows.