The Conqueror.
“You ascended on high, you led captivity captive; You received gifts for mankind, truly for the disobedient, so they may dwell there. The Lord God be blessed;” Psalm 68:18. The Septuagint. Apostle Paul applied this verse to Jesus Christ. Paul states, “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.” Ephesians 4:7, 8. The Masoretes, from around the third to the ninth century CE, were responsible for deciphering the Hebrew text and creating a consistent Old Testament text that upholds Jewish tradition. Accordingly, they altered some words and rearranged parts of the Bible that were in use before the ninth century CE. Nonetheless, the Septuagint and Paul’s translation preserve the original text.
In biblical times, victorious kings and generals would return with captives as proof of their triumph. They would usually give gifts to men and receive gifts from men. The early Christians attributed this verse to Jesus Christ, God’s gift to humankind. God, in Jesus Christ, gave the gift of eternal life and His righteousness to rebellious humankind. God gave us the perfect, eternal new human life of Jesus Christ and made self-surrendered believers righteous in Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:8; Romans 6:23; 1 John 3:1. Jesus defeated God’s enemy, Satan, and rescued humankind—the captives in the kingdom of sin and darkness. Jesus began his mission here on earth by saying, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:18, 19.
Jesus defeated the prince of this world while nailed to the cross at Golgotha. Then he ascended to heaven on the morning of his resurrection. He ascended to the Father to have his victory accepted and to receive all authority. When Jesus revealed himself to Mary on the morning of his resurrection, she wanted to worship him. But Jesus told her, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” John 20:16, 17. What captives did he lead in his train? Read the next blog.
He led the captives. Read the next blog.