SETTING
THE PRISONERS FREE!
(A
Good Friday Meditation) Luke 4:18-19, 23:1-25
Introduction: For the next few
moments together, I want us to reflect on the Cross and What Christ has done
for us. A few months back, my daughter and I watched a powerful movie called "Just
Mercy. "Here is a touching line by Michael B Jordan, in that movie, "The
closer we get to mass incarceration and extreme levels of punishment, the more
I believe it's necessary to recognize that we all need mercy, we all need
justice, and perhaps we all need some measure of unmerited grace. I don't know
about you, but more than ever before, I am reminded of my great need for God's
love, mercy, and grace. Do you feel that way too?
Let
me lead you to the Cross, where you will meet Jesus, who was falsely accused of
the things that he did not do. He was unjustly convicted and crucified as a
criminal without a proper trial. Even amid severe opposition and searing pain
of crucifixion, Jesus never lost sight of His mission of "Setting
the Prisoners Free." Let's explore his mission
I JESUS' EARTHLY
MISSION (Luke 4:14-22)
Before
we end up at the Cross, we want to start where and how Jesus' mission of
setting the prisoners began. It all started in the wilderness. After coming out
of forty days of fasting and temptation, Jesus began His ministry by calling
people to turn away from sin and turn to God because the Kingdom of heaven was
near. The reports of him spread quickly throughout the region. He regularly
taught in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
Yet
he did not let the praises of people get to his head; he remained focused and
steady on his mission for which he was sent from heaven. On one of those trips,
he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home. He went as usual to the Synagogue
on the Sabbath and stood up to read. This indicates that Jesus kept up his Sabbath.
On that Sabbath Day, Jesus clarified his mission by referring to Isaiah's
prophecy.
Isaiah
61:1, "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has
anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the
brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will
be freed."
This
prophecy had a twofold implication. Freedom for the captives and the release of
prisoners in the ancient Near East often meant, "the freeing of prisoners
(from debtors' prison) as an act of justice often occurred in the first or
second year of a new king's reign and then periodically after that. There was a
record of such cancellation of financial debt by the Babylonian king Ammisaduqa
in the seventh century.
The
first implication of the prophecy for Isaiah's listeners was the imminent and
literal freedom of the Israelites from their Babylonian captivity and the
forgiveness of the debt they owed their captors." The second implication
has to do with freedom from spiritual and moral bondage to sin and death and
the ultimate deliverance.
Jesus
reiterates his mission, Luke 4:18. "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."
After
saying that, he rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat
down. All people looked at him intently.
Then he began to speak to them. "The scripture you've just heard has been
fulfilled this very day! Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the
gracious words that came from his lips."
Don't
be fooled by their compliments and praises. The same crowd who were fascinated by
his words, a few Sabbaths later turned on him with utter disgust and hatred and
wanted him to be crucified. How did Jesus go about fulfilling his mission of
setting the prisoners free? We are not talking here about pardoning and
releasing the convicted criminals who are serving in jail.
There
is greater imprisonment of sin, which leads to eternal death. Jesus came to set
us free from sin and all of its implications in our lives. He has come to set
us free from our fears, anxieties, and the influence of the evil one. Let's see
how he went about setting people free.
II. FREEDOM &
RESTORATION
We read in Luke chapter four, leaving the
village of Nazareth he went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee there he kept his
teaching in the Synagogue every Sabbath day. People were amazed by the authority
and power by which he healed many sick people and set free many who were possessed
by demons. Here is Jesus' encounter with a demoniac man in Luke 8th
Chapter.
A
demoniac approached Jesus in the region of Gerasene. It was said of him that he
was possessed by demons, and for a long time, he had been homeless, naked, and
living in a cemetery outside the town. He was controlled by evil spirits. The
power of the evil spirits was such that even when he was placed under guard and
put in chains and shackles, he simply broke them and rushed out into the
wilderness, completely under the demon's power.
Here
Jesus engaged this man who was under such powerful evil influence. Jesus
demanded, "What is your name?" "Legion," he replied, for he
was filled with many demons. Jesus gives a command to the demons to leave the
man and enter a herd of pigs nearby. The demons leave the man and join an
estimated amount of 2000 pigs drowning them in the lake.
Jesus
not only freed the man from the clutches of demons but also restored his
dignity by giving him a new life. But the villagers were upset probably because
of their financial loss. The freed-up man wanted to follow Jesus, but Jesus told
him to go back to his family and tell them what God has done for him. So, he
went all through the town, proclaiming what Jesus had done for him Those who
are truly set free by Jesus; want to go around and tell others of what God has
done for them. Here are the two other
incidents of people who were set free by Jesus.
III. JESUS'TRIAL
BEFORE PILATE (Luke 23)
The setting has changed. It is no
longer a Synagogue, but it was the council before Pilate, the Roman governor.
They stated their case: "This man has been leading our people astray by
telling them not to pay their taxes to the Roman government and by claiming he
is the Messiah, a King." So, Pilate asked him, "Are you the king of
the Jews?" Jesus replied, you had said it."
After
sending Jesus back and forth between him and Herod, Pilate concluded to flog
Jesus and release him." The crowds once enamored by Jesus' every word, and
the groups that shouted Hosanna, Hosanna! Now changed their tune and began to
cry, "Kill him and release Barabbas to us." Really! Did they have any
clue of what they were asking?
Barabbas
was a notorious murderer and serving a death sentence in prison. The crowds
wanted a criminal to be released and an innocent to be killed. Pilate tried to
release Jesus, but he couldn't succeed in the end, he gave in to the crowd's
wish and delivered Jesus to be crucified.
It
was not the wish of people that delivered Jesus to the crucifixion and released
to Barabbas to freedom, but it was God's grace. So even in his unfair trial,
Jesus became a cause of freedom for a convicted murderer. Now Jesus was in his
final moments of completing his mission and was hanging on the Cross. Two other
convicted criminals were on either side of him. One was a hardened criminal,
while the other was broken and repentant.
The
second thief cried out for God's mercy, and Jesus set him free from his sin and
granted him a place in heaven. His mission was what led him to the Cross, where
he died. But he did not stay there, he rose from the dead on the third day. By
doing so, he broke the power of sin, which is death. Oh, dear friend, can you
see what Christ has done for you on the Cross? I invite you to come to the
Cross on this Good Friday, where you will receive forgiveness from your sins,
and freedom from your bondage to fear. Come Lord Jesus and set your people
free. Amen!
