Ransomed (1 Peter 1:18-21)

The meaning of ransom is deliverance from an old situation into a new situation by a price. For example, a prisoner of war would be delivered from that situation into whatever situation the purchaser desired. Here we are told (1) what the readers were ransomed from, (2) the price that was paid, (3) what happened to Jesus and (4) the outcome of the ransom being paid.

What were they ransomed from? They were ransomed ‘from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers’. The readers were Gentiles and so we have here a summary of their pagan lifestyle before they were converted. When the ways are described as futile, Peter does not mean that they were unnecessary because those ways would have included everyday activities such as work. Rather, he is highlighting what the purpose was of their actions. They took them nowhere important ultimately. Instead, they were kept in spiritual darkness. And that is the way people are today unless they know that they have been ransomed. This is a startling view of human culture without God.

 

What was the ransom price? Usually, a prisoner would be ransomed with ‘perishable things such as silver and gold’. What happened to such a person? He would return to living in the futile ways he had inherited from their ancestors. In other words, the price was not big enough to deliver him to something better. It may have seemed a large price, but it did not provide real deliverance. In contrast, a Christian is delivered by the blood of Christ. Peter says several truths about Jesus in order for his readers to realise the value of the price that was paid for their ransom. 

 

First, it was the blood of the Messiah, the promised Old Testament deliverer. From one point of view, the message of the Old Testament is about the Messiah. It contains prophecies about him, pictures of him (the types), and details of what life will be like when he comes (peace and joy). Statements are said about his dignity as a person, about the awfulness of his sufferings, and the endlessness of his reward.

 

Second, it was the blood of a sinless person. Jesus’ blood was ‘like that of a lamb without blemish or spot’ (v. 20). This description, as we know, comes from the Old Testament sacrificial ritual in which a lamb was examined for any flaws before it was offered as a sacrifice. In the lamb’s case, it was only an external examination – it could have had an internal defect, but there was no way of knowing. In contrast, Jesus was examined internally, obviously by God the Father. Even so, it is interesting that Pilate and the condemned criminal stated that there was no fault in Jesus. We could say that those at the top and bottom of society confessed the Saviour’s lack of blemish. But at a far higher level, the Father who sees everything about everything knew the perfection of Jesus. When he offered himself, Jesus offered a perfect sacrifice for sin.

 

Third, Jesus ‘was foreknown before the foundation of the world’. What does Peter mean here? Obviously, he is referring to the pre-existence of Christ. When Peter says that Jesus was foreknown, he means that he was foreknown by the Father. His description could be taken in a general way or in a specific way. If it is general, it would mean that the Father always knew his Son, and always had delight and pleasure in him. If it is specific, it would mean that the Father foreknew his Son as the One who would suffer on the cross. Given the context, the specific understanding looks more likely, that the Father planned that his Son would become the Saviour. 

 

Fourth, Jesus ‘was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you’. Peter says three things that we should ponder. The first is that the Son became observable and this happened when he became a man. Second, Peter mentions when this took place; the phrase ‘in the last times’ really means ‘at the end of the times’, which is a way of saying that the new period commenced when Jesus was born, lived, died and rose again. His first coming brought in the days of the Messiah, which means that we are already in the new age promised in the Old Testament. Third, it was all done for the benefit is his people.

 

The last detail mentioned is the outcome of the ransom, which is seen in two ways. One way is the effect on believers and the other way is the effect on Jesus. With regard to his people, they are said by Peter to be believers in God through Jesus, which is a reminder that it is not possible to believe in God in any other way. There is no other God apart from the God revealed in the Bible as sending his Son to be the Saviour.

 

Peter then mentions what the Father did for Jesus after he had paid the ransom price, which involved his death. The Father did two things – he raised Jesus from the dead and gave him glory. Those actions are the indications that the Father approved of the work of Jesus and gave him his great reward. The resurrection of Jesus revealed that he is the last Adam, the head of the new race, and he has entered into glory as the forerunner of those who through him will be glorified.

 

Because that has happened to Jesus, our ‘faith and hope are in God’. Faith and hope here express confidence and certainty that the Father will keep the promises concerning his people entering full salvation after the second coming.

 

We should remember the value of the blood of Christ. Peter describes it as precious, not only in the sense that it is dear to us, but also that it was costly, incapable of being valued in earthly terms.