Pictured to the left is a copy of a version of the Holy Bible, known as the New Living Translation ( NLT ). The following quotation is taken from this version of the Holy Bible:
"The goal of any Bible translation is to convey the meaning of the ancient Hebrew and Greek texts as accurately as possible to the modern reader. The New Living Translation is based on the most recent scholarship in the theory of translation. The challenge for the translators was to create a text that would make the same impact in the life of modern readers that the original text had for the original readers. In the New Living Translation, this is accomplished by translating entire thoughts ( rather than just words ) into natural, everyday English. The end result is a translation that is easy to read and understand and that accurately communicates the meaning of the original text." [ See HOLY BIBLE, NEW LIVING TRANSLATION, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois, Holy Bible, Gift and Award Edition copyright 1997 Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., p. xiii. ]
Mark 10:45 reads as follows: "For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many." The Greek word ( Greek [ 3083 ] ) for the word "ransom," in Mark 10:45 ( KJV ), is defined as follows:
"something to loosen with, i.e. a redemption price (fig. atonement)." [ See ABINGDON'S STRONG'S EXHAUSTIVE CONCORDANCE OF THE BIBLE, STRONG, JAMES, S.T.D., LL.D., ABINGDON PRESS, NASHVILLE, Copyright, 1890, by JAMES STRONG, MADISON, N.J., ( A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek/New Testament with their Renderings in the King James Version, p. 60. ). ]
The phrase, "to give his life a ransom for many" in Mark 10:45 ( KJV; with center-column references ), has a cross-reference to Titus 2:14. Titus 2:13, 14 ( KJV; with center-column references ) read as follows: "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."
Moreover, the phrase "Who gave himself for us" in Titus 2:14 ( KJV; with center-column references ), has a cross-reference to Galatians 1:4. Galatians 1:3, 4 ( KJV; with center-column references ) read as follows: "Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father." Romans 6:3, 4 read as follows: "Or have you forgotten that when we became Christians and were baptized to become one with Christ Jesus, we died with him? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives." Galatians 3:27 reads as follows: "And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have been made like him."
Thus, with all of the above-given information in mind, we are made like Christ when we are united with Him in baptism. We come in contact with the blood of Christ when we are buried with Him by baptism: a figurative sprinkling of His blood, upon us, occurs during this act of immersion in water ( see Hebrews 10:22 and 1 Peter 1:1, 2, for example ). We are freed from our sins by the blood that Jesus Christ shed for us ( see Revelation 1:5, for example ). Since the blood of Jesus Christ frees us from our sins, the blood that He shed at his death is the redemption price for our sins. Additionally, just as God raised Jesus of Nazareth to life and freed Him from the grip of death ( see Acts 2:22-24, for example ), God loosens us from that grip of death, with regard to our past sins ( see Romans 6:23; 8:11, for example ); the blood of Jesus Christ frees us from them once we are baptized.
Therefore, when we read the word "ransom" in Mark 10:45, for example, the image of the lifeless body of Jesus Christ, hanging on the cross of Calvary for our sins, must come to mind ( see Luke 23:26-49 ( especially verse 33, for example - see Luke 23:33 ( KJV; with center-column references ) to find the equivalent translation for the word "Calvary" ) and Romans 6:10, for example ).
If you have any questions about the Holy Bible, you can contact me by e-mail at:
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<Russell E. Willis>
