Setting
The Captives Free
In this passage we will read about Jesus coming into the synagogue in
Nazareth the town that he grew up in. This is just
following his temptation in the wilderness where he was offered all the
political and religious power of the world by the god of this world,
Satan. This is the record of the occasion
where Jesus announced his ministry to those who had known him since
childhood.
Read along with me:
Luk 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought
up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath
day, and stood up for to read.
Luk 4:17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the
prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place
where it was written,
Luk 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath
anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal
the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance (pardon) to the captives, and
recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty (pardon) them that
are bruised,
Luk 4:19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
Luk 4:20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the
minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the
synagogue were fastened on him.
Luk 4:21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this
scripture fulfilled in your ears.
Parole is a conditional release of a prisoner. Based upon
good behavior, the prisoner is released provided they obey a set of
rules. An infraction of the rules results in a return to
captivity. The paroled prisoner is actually still a
prisoner. They are still guilty as charged and continue
serving their sentence, just outside the walls of the prison.
They are under the close supervision of a parole officer. If
they break the rules and misbehave they return to
incarceration. Even after the end of the
sentence, captivity, parole and eventual complete release, the prisoner
is still guilty of the original crime.
Clemency is an associated term that means to reduce the penalty of the
crime without forgiving the crime itself. The act of clemency
is a reprieve granted when a prisoner has demonstrated that they are
worthy.
Performance based religion works in a similar
way. If you behave yourself and do the
right things they will tell you that you are “saved.” But
then you are required to follow a set of rules and behave in a certain
way or you will lose your saved status and fall back into
sin.
Jesus did not come to parole or to grant clemency. He came to
grant a full pardon. Pardon is an unconditional release of a
prisoner. A pardon takes away not only the
punishment but also the guilt of the crime. It is as though
the crime never happened. No amount of misbehaving can make
you guilty of that crime again.
In many organizational “churches” the “pastor” fills the role of parole
officer. The set of rules, both written and unwritten are
perpetuated and enforced by peer pressure using guilt, shame and
fear.
Jesus came to set us free from guilt, shame and fear.
Religion, by definition is to “restrain,” or literally to “tie
back.” According to Webster our word “religion” comes from
Middle English religioun which came from the Latin religio which means
to restrain.
According to Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia: “A religion
is a set of stories, symbols, beliefs and practices, often with a
supernatural quality, that give meaning to the practitioner's
experiences of life through reference to an ultimate power or reality.
It may be expressed through prayer, ritual, meditation, music and art,
among other things. It may focus on specific supernatural,
metaphysical, and moral claims about reality (the cosmos, and human
nature) which may yield a set of religious laws, ethics, and a
particular lifestyle. Religion also encompasses ancestral or cultural
traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as personal faith
and religious experience.”
Religion by definition can not set you free. At
best religion can only offer you a different set of chains and a
redecorated prison cell. Religion cannot even offer a
parole. When Jesus talked about “deliverance to the captives,
and, to set at liberty them that are bruised,” he was not talking about
a parole, or clemency. He was talking about a full
unconditional pardon.
In verse 18, both the word “deliverance” and “liberty” are translated
from the same Greek word aphesis. Aphesis (Strong’s #859)
means pardon or freedom. The ministry of Jesus is
to pardon us, that is, to set us free without guilt, shame or
fear. John 8:36 tells us that if the Son therefore shall make
you free, ye shall be free indeed.
The message of freedom is not a welcome message among the
religious. If you will look further down the page starting in
verse 28 you will see the response Jesus got from his religious friends
and neighbors of Nazareth:
Luk 4:28 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these
things, were filled with wrath,
Luk 4:29 And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led
him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they
might cast him down headlong.
Luk 4:30 But he passing through the midst of them went his
way,
The world is full of religion. How many religions are
there? We could recite the names of the religions for an hour
and not name them all but the father of all religion is the prince of
the power of the air, the god of this world, the great deceiver,
Satan. All religions have the same ultimate goal and similar
methods. It always comes down to fear, guilt and shame to
control your behavior, thoughts and beliefs. It is an
external control that you have to comply
with.
Jesus did not come to bring another religion, but to set us free from
religion. Colossians 1:27 says that our hope of glory is
Christ in us. Ephesians tells us that God has placed us in
Christ at His own right hand. We are set
free, free indeed! Not paroled, but pardoned. God
has made us righteous and holy, the guilt is gone, the fear is gone,
and there is no shame: Just the love of
God.
Our ministry, each and every one of us who have Christ in us, is to
allow Christ to live in and through us to carry out His
ministry. Our ministry is His
ministry. His ministry is our ministry. All who
have Christ in them can say with Jesus:
“I am anointed to preach the gospel to the poor; God has sent me to
heal the brokenhearted, to declare deliverance (pardon) to the
captives, and to set at liberty (pardon) them that are
bruised.”
Why can we say that? Because in 2 Corinthians 5:18
we find out that we have been given the ministry
reconciliation. We have the ministry of
reconciliation because we have Christ in us. The ministry is
His ministry. We are the earthen vessel, He is the treasure
in the vessel. We who are free have the mission and
ministry of setting others free. Truly free. Wherever we go,
Christ in us is there seeking to manifest his ministry through
us.
Religion is bondage. The book of Galatians was
written to expose and warn against the bondage of religion.
We are exhorted to “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith
Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke
of bondage.”
Be free …
Neil
