Setting The Captive Free!

Luke 4:14-21

The date of January 1, 1863 will stick out for those who love American history as an important one, as it is the date of the Emancipation Proclamation, the date that Abraham Lincoln signed into law the freeing of the slaves.  There was a similar date a couple of years earlier, February 19, 1861, where Tsar Alexander II freed the serfs in Russia. Similar dates in the 18th and 19th centuries freed the serfs all across Europe. When the people in these various countries heard the proclamation read, there was certainly rejoicing. When one is set free from enforced servitude it is a glorious day. Today in our reading from the Gospel of Luke we read of Jesus giving a similar proclamation to all those who turn to and accept Him. Let’s take a look at our passage.

Just prior to when our passage begins, Jesus had been baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River near Judea, and then spent 40 days in the wilderness, where Satan tempted Him.  Now Jesus and His disciples have returned to Galilee. To openly begin His ministry, Jesus goes to His hometown synagogue on the Sabbath day (vs. 16). In New Testament days it was often the custom for the rabbi of a synagogue to extend a courtesy to a visitor and allow him to read from the Scriptures, and perhaps give a commentary.  We see this here in Nazareth with Jesus. It was also frequently the means by which Paul spread the Gospel throughout his missionary journeys.

When Jesus was invited by his hometown rabbi to read from the Scriptures He stood and selected the passage from Isaiah 61:1-2 to read to the gathered crowd (vs. 17-19).  This was a passage that most of His listeners would know referred to the coming Messiah. When Jesus finished His reading He sat down and stated to the audience that this passage of Scripture was now fulfilled that very day (vs. 21). Since everyone there would know that this passage referred to the coming Messiah, this statement that Jesus made was Him openly identifying Himself as the Messiah. There are some people who say that Jesus, Himself, never identified Himself as the Messiah, and that only His later followers did. That is not true, as right here, at the very start of His ministry, right in His hometown of Nazareth, Jesus openly stated that this passage of prophecy concerning the Messiah was fulfilled by Him that day.

This prophecy, given by Isaiah, spoke of the Messiah’s ministry.  He was anointed by God to bring the Gospel, or good news, of God’s love and salvation to all, especially to the poor, to bring healing to those who are brokenhearted, sight to the blind, and to set free those who are held captive and oppressed (vs. 18).  As we read through the different Gospel accounts in the Bible of Jesus, we see quite clearly that these are all things that He did, and continues to do for those who turn to Him. There are those whose physical eyesight has been healed by prayers to Jesus, but more importantly are those whose spiritual blindness has been cured by turning to Him.  Those who are grieving and brokenhearted for any number of reasons have found peace and comfort from Jesus.

All of mankind has been held in captivity by Satan, ever since the fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden.  We are held tightly in his grasp. What did Jesus state here in the Scripture He selected to read? He came to set the captive free!  Just like any slave in the Deep South of the U.S. prior to 1863, or any serf held in servitude to European nobility, we have all been held captive to sin and Satan. That need not be the case anymore. Jesus came to set the captive free! A slave set free does not need to serve his master anymore. He is free to go. Why stick around and take orders anymore?  What is it that you might be a slave to - drugs, alcohol, pornography, anger, a spiteful tongue? There are any number of things Satan holds us in captivity to. With Jesus, those bonds can and will be broken if you but turn to Him. Turn to Jesus, accept Him as your Savior today, and you will be set free from the slavery to sin and Satan.