Jesus Died to Pay A Ransom

The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45)

There is no thought in the Bible that Satan had to be paid off to let sinners be saved...When Jesus says, that he came "to give his life as a ransom," the focus is not on who gets the payment. The focus is on his own life as the payment, and on his freedom in serving rather than being served, and on the "many" who will benefit from the payment he makes.

If we ask who received the ransom, the biblical answer would surely be God. The Bible says that Christ "gave himself up for us, [an]...offering...to God" (Ephesians 5:2). Christ "offered himself without blemish to God" (Hebrews 9:4). The whole need for a substitute to die on our behalf is because we have sinned against God and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). And because of our sin, "the whole world [is] held accountable to God" (Romans 3:19). So when Christ gives himself as a ransom for us, the Bible says that we are freed from the condemnation of God. "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). The ultimate captivity from which we need release is the final "judgment of God" (Romans 2:2; Revelation 14:7).

John Piper, Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die