There is a fascinating history in the early Church of Christians paying ransoms to free other Christians from their captors. This was especially true during the Crusades. There was even a religious Order of Knights, known as the Mercedarians, who were founded to organize the collecting of funds, paying of ransoms, and the safe recovery of captive Christians. In some cases, these individuals would even offer themselves as ransom for another soul.
This is one of those interesting instances where what has happened to Christians in our natural, material world can actually be mirrored in the spiritual world.
“I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death.” (Hosea 13:14)
This is an encouraging Scripture verse because what many Christians are experiencing today is not merely a physical captivity, but rather a spiritual captivity; it is an enslavement to sin. There is no reason to elaborate the list of evils that enslave people’s souls today - we need look no further than the horrific terrorist events across the globe to see the face of evil in our world.
We must remember that every single soul is a soul that has been saved by Jesus Christ. But what keeps so many from experiencing that freedom in their own lives is their attachment to sin. And, honestly, many of them will never get out of their predicament on their own. They will need someone to pay the ransom. Paul tells us that Christ has paid the ransom for our salvation:
“For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance--now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.” (Hebrews 9:15)
And from Peter we read:
“For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.” (1 Peter 1:19)
And of course Jesus Himself said:
“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.” (Mark 10:45)
But what is also required is that every soul must first accept the gift Christ offers and turn away from sin.
“Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.” (1 Peter 2:1)
Many of us know individuals who are enslaved by the evils of our society, and in some cases this may even be our own loved ones. This is always a painful experience for families. For these poor souls, their enslavement to sin can have far more dire consequences than merely being physically held against their will; it can make their lives truly miserable. But there is something we can all do about this.
We can offer a ransom, we can help pay the price to free these individuals from their captivity. The currency in the Kingdom of God is grace, and grace is secured in two primary ways. First, through our prayers. For we know that our prayers have great power to change the circumstances of the lives of those for whom we pray.
“The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16b)
The second, and an equally powerful means to secure grace, is the acceptance and offering of our own sufferings - and we all have our fair share of those in this life. These sufferings should never be wasted, as they are very powerful in securing God’s grace for those we love.
This is done in much the same way as the ancient practice of offering oneself as ransom for another soul. We can accept our sufferings and combine them with those of Jesus on the Cross. This is what is known as redemptive suffering. Our very trials and sufferings allow us to participate in the redemptive work of Christ, and they also serve as a very powerful means of assisting those we love, those who may not have the strength or the will to free themselves. Scripture indeed urges us to do exactly this.
“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” (Romans 12:1)
This is not just referring to the physical pain that many of us deal with, but also our emotional pain, our anxiety, our sleepless nights, and any of the trials we experience in our lives. And again, we all have many. The good news is that we can offer these pains, trials and challenges as a ‘holy sacrifice’ for those in our lives who may be enslaved. Our prayers and our trials help secure the currency of the Kingdom (Grace), and through this we can literally ransom our loved ones from the slavery of sin.
Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross provided for the total redemption of every single soul, but Scripture tell us that some will not be able to embrace that gift of salvation without our help. Therefore, we must be willing to offer the holy sacrifice of our own sufferings.
“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the Church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.” (Colossians 1:24)
Please take some time this week to pray that we might all have the courage to offer ourselves in the service of ‘spiritual worship.’
Copyright © 2025, Deacon Mark Danis
Image credit: “The Return of the Crusader,” Karl Lessing, Public domain, via WikiArt