Theories of Atonement — Ransom Theory

Did Jesus pay Satan a hefty ransom for humanity’s redemption? Is the devil a spiritual ransomware terrorist who hijacks humanity, forcing us into calamitous situations from which we have no control?

Was Jesus a scapegoat? A victim of a Jewish lynch mob?

Whenever we read the word atonement in a hymnal or discuss it around Easter, we have a shared understanding of the term. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines atonement in four ways:

1. Reparation for offense or injury.

2. The reconciliation of God and humankind through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ

3. Christian science: exemplifying of human ones with God

4. Obsolete: reconciliation

The beautiful nature of the atonement is in its ramification, namely, that we have the luxury of being reconciled to God. This pleasure affords us a bridge on which to connect with God. Almost as if there initially lay a chasm, a void of hopelessness between us and the Divine, and Christ’s efficacious work on the cross not only built this bridge of reconciliation but also carried us across it.

Atonement is a great thing. It’s a marvelous thing.

But which theory about Christ’s work on the cross is the right one?

Stephen D. Morrison lists seven of the most well-known theories surrounding the atonement and I will quote his explanations of each one.

He states the seven theories are: the moral influence theory, the ransom theory, Christus Victor theory, the satisfaction theory, the penal substitution theory, the governmental theory, and the scapegoat theory.

The Ransom Theory

Point 1

“The Ransom Theory of the Atonement is one of the first major theories for the Atonement. It is often held alongside the Moral Influence Theory, and usually deals more with the actual death of Jesus Christ, what it actually means and the effect it has upon humanity.”

Point 2

“This theory essentially teaches that Jesus Christ died as a ransom sacrifice, paid either to Satan (the most dominant view) or to God the Father. Jesus’ death then acts as a payment to satisfy the debt on the souls of the human race, the same debt we inherited from Adam’s original sin.”

Point 3

“Redemption in this theory means to buy back, and purchase the human race from the clutches of the Devil. The main controversy here with this theory is the act of paying off the Devil. Some have written that this is not a fair statement to say that all Ransom Theorists believe that the Devil is paid, but rather in this act of Ransom Christ frees humanity from the bondage of sin and death.”

Thoughts on the Ransom Theory

I’ve heard these words shouted from behind pulpit stands as ministers who were short of tripped over microphone wires rushed to and fro to remind the church that Jesus paid for their sins. Some, not all, even postulated that the debt was paid to the devil.

This seems extreme because we must wonder, to whom is this debt owed? We remember the temptation of Christ in the desert, where, after forty days of fasting and prayer the devil approaches Christ, whether physically or as an apparition we do not know, and he attempts to entice Christ thrice. After the first two attempts are thwarted by Jesus the devil takes a different approach, one where the devil wagers the world.

“Then the devil led Jesus to the top of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and all their splendor. The devil said, “If you will bow down and worship me, I will give you all these things.”

But one must wonder further. Does the devil own the world? The people in the world? Perhaps, but to an extent.

“You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil-the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.” Paul does not hold back on the influence the devil has over the unregenerate. He explains to the church in Ephesus that the devil has power and dominion over the spiritually dead, those who are under the grip of Lucifer.

We can understand the power. We can understand the dominance. We can understand why early Christian thinkers deducted from this passage, isolated from the broader aspect of scripture, that Christ’s death on the cross was some sort of ransom to the evil overload of the spiritual world who at the time held humanity hostage.

But I don’t believe that is the case. One, because the devil doesn’t own anything. He may influence people to do things or he may even indwell an individual (Judas Iscariot) to commit certain evil acts, but, nowhere in scripture are we told that the devil has ‘one-up’ on God as if there was a wager somewhere placed between the two of them for the souls of humanity and God lost the bet in Eden.

In truth, God foreknew the fall of mankind and in eternity past prepared a way for humanity’s redemption. So, if anything, if there were a ransom or a price to be paid for the redemption of mankind, it would be paid to Himself, not the devil.

This atonement theory is problematic if it is taken out of context (which I believe it has suffered this err thousands of times) and made to purport the idea that the devil is an equal of or greater power than God in the universe. I can see why it flourishes within Pentecostal churches that overemphasize the devil’s power over unbelievers and believers alike.

In truth, Jesus conquered the devil, not owing that damned unclean spirit a single dime — or spiritual dime. Plus, we must reason with ourselves, how could Satan benefit from Christ’s death?

Did the ancient serpent truly believe that the Son of God would not rise from the grave? Also, what sort of temporary sadistic satisfaction could the devil derive from simply placing the Son of God on the cross well knowing that the very crucifixion would lead to the his loss of power and influence over mankind?

What could that devil have merited from the atonement other than complete and catastrophic failure?

The Ransom Theory sounds worthy of a second thought if the recipient of the ransom is God the Father. From there we can perhaps divulge into how or what the Father merits from the Son’s death on the cross.

But to consider the devil a benefactor from this incident is antithetical to scripture. Jesus didn’t pay the devil anything.

Last note, I believe the devil was trying his hardest to get Jesus off the cross more than anything. He could have wanted to see the Son of God suffer pain at the hands of the Jewish religious council and also suffer the pummeling of Jesus’ flesh at the hands of Roman soldiers. But remember that once Christ reached the cross, the devil was influencing onlookers to ask that Jesus come down from the cross. Tempting Christ, yet again, to desist from His ultimate mission: redemption and resurrection.

The idea that the atonement was reparations for the devil is not a biblically credible one.

Featured Image Alicia Quan.

Originally published at http://olivettheory.com on November 4, 2021.