Matthew 20:28

Matthew 20:28 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
• New International Version (NIV)just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
• New King James Version (NKJV)just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Context of Matthew 20:28

26But you should not be like that. The person who wants to be great among you must become your servant. 27The person who wants to be the most important person among you must work hard for everyone else. Even the Son of Man himself came to earth to be a servant to other people. He did not come here to have servants who must work for him. No, he came to die so that many people can be free.’ 29Later, Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho. A large crowd of people followed him. 30Two men were sitting at the side of the road. They were blind. But they heard that Jesus was walking past them. So they shouted, ‘Master! Son of David! Please be kind to us and help us.’

Matthew 20:28 word by word

ὥσπερ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἦλθεν διακονηθῆναι ἀλλὰ διακονῆσαι καὶ δοῦναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ λύτρον ἀντὶ πολλῶν.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Even asὥσπερhōsper · just asG5618
• the Sonὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the Sonυἱόςuihos · sonG5207
• of manἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
• cameἔρχομαιerchomai · to come/goG2064
• notοὐou · noG3756
• to be ministered untoδιακονέωdiakoneō · to serveG1247
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• to giveδίδωμιdidōmi · to giveG1325
• hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• lifeψυχήpsuchē · soul: lifeG5590
• a ransomλύτρονlutron · ransomG3083
• forἀντίanti · forG473
• manyπολύςpolus polos · muchG4183

Cross-references for Matthew 20:28

• Luke 22:27Tell me, which person is the more important one? Is it the person who sits at the table to eat? Or is it the servant that puts out the meal for him? Yes, it is the person who sits at the table. But I am here to be your servant.
• John 13:4So, during the meal, he stood up. He took off the coat that he wore over his other clothes. He tied a piece of cloth round himself.
• Philippians 2:4Do not think only about the things that you want to do for yourself. Each of you should think also about how you can help other people.
• Hebrews 5:8Jesus is God's Son. But he still had trouble and pain. In that way, he learned to obey God completely.
• Job 33:24Then God will be kind to that person. God will say, “Save that person, so that he does not go to his grave. I have found someone to pay the price for his life. So keep him alive.”
• Psalms 49:7Nobody can pay the price to save another person. Nobody can pay God the price for their life.
• Isaiah 53:5But it was our sins that caused his wounds. The bad things that we had done crushed him. The punishment that he received has brought peace to us. The wounds that he received have made us well.
• Daniel 9:24God has decided the time of punishment for your people and your holy city. It will continue for 70 weeks. That will finish the punishment for their sins. The people will no longer turn against God. They will have paid the price for their sins. God will cause them to live for ever in a way that is right. God will show that the visions and messages of the prophets are true. The Most Holy Place will belong to God again.
• John 10:15I know them in the same way that my Father knows me. And they know me in the same way that I know the Father. I will die so that I can save my sheep.
• John 11:50It is better that one man should die on behalf of our people. That is better than if all Israel's people should die.’
• Romans 3:24But because God is very kind, he accepts us as right with himself. That is God's gift to us. Jesus Christ has paid for our sins so that we have become free.
• Galatians 3:13So God's Law shows that it is right for God to punish us. But Christ took that punishment away from us, because God punished him instead of us. It says in the Bible: ‘When people hang someone on a tree to kill him, it shows that God has cursed that person.’
• Ephesians 1:7When Christ died as a sacrifice on the cross, he paid the price to make us free. Because of Christ's death on our behalf, God has forgiven our sins. God is so very kind that he has done all this for us!
• Ephesians 5:2Show that you love other people. Remember how much Christ loved us. He gave himself as a sacrifice on our behalf. He offered himself in a way that pleased God, like a sacrifice with a lovely smell.
• 1 Timothy 2:6He died as a sacrifice on behalf of all people, to pay the debt of their sins. He died at the proper time for God to show his purpose clearly.
• Hebrews 9:28Christ also died only once as a sacrifice. In this way, he took God's punishment for the sins of many people. Christ will return to earth a second time, but that will not be as a sacrifice for sins. That time, he will come to save those people who are waiting patiently for him.

Commentaries on Matthew 20:28

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 28A ransom for many - , or a ransom instead of many, - one ransom, or atonement, instead of the many prescribed in the Jewish law. Mr. Wakefield contends for the above translation, and with considerable show of reason and probability. The word is used by the Septuagint for the Hebrew פדיו , pidion, the ransom paid for a man's life: see Exodus 21:30; Numbers 3:49-51; and is used Numbers 35:31, where a satisfaction (Hebrew כפר copher, an atonement) for the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20-28Verses 20-28 See also Mark 10:35-45. Matthew 20:20 Then came to him give mother of Zebedee‘s children … - This was probably Salome, Mark 15:40; Mark 16:1. With her sons - The names of these sons were James and John, Mark 10:35 Mark says they came and made the request. That is, they made it, as appears from Matthew, through the medium of their mother; they requested her to ask it for them. It is not improbable that she was an ambitious woman, and was…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 20-28Verses 20-28 The sons of Zebedee abused what Christ said to comfort the disciples. Some cannot have comforts but they turn them to a wrong purpose. Pride is a sin that most easily besets us; it is sinful ambition to outdo others in pomp and grandeur. To put down the vanity and ambition of their request, Christ leads them to the thoughts of their sufferings. It is a bitter cup that is to be drunk of; a cup of trembling, but not the cup of the wicked. It is…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 28The phrase the Son of Man … come: This expression suggests that Jesus already existed before his birth on earth. It points back to Daniel’s vision of the Son of Man coming from heaven to receive authority and glory (see Daniel 7:13–14). as a ransom for many: Jesus said he would freely give his life as a payment to rescue many people. His death brought freedom from the power and penalty of sin (see Matthew 26:26–29; Isaiah 53:10–12; Romans 3:24). In this…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 20:28

• Atonement
• Commandments
• Example
• Fellowship
• Jesus, the Christ
• Life
• Man
• Minister, Christian
• Ransom
• Redemption

In the dictionaries

• Son of man
• Agree
• Choose
• Condemn
• Drink
• Idle
• Perseverance of the saints
• Prepare
• Ransom
• Redemption

Commentaries on Matthew 20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings