The Price of Freedom
What is freedom? Clearly it cannot be the right to do whatever I desire. It cannot mean that I can enter someone’s home and take whatever I fancy or poison any people I dislike. Freedom must be a state in which I willingly surrender certain actions in order to live safely and in peace. In essence, freedom is found where a covenant is made between the ruler and the ruled in which each freely agrees to behave in a certain way in return for certain rights. Charles Kingsley, the writer of ‘The Water Babies’, astutely said,
“There are two freedoms – the false, where a man is free to do whatever he likes; the true, where he is free to do what he ought.”
Those who are trapped by poverty long to be free of its clutches, those who are depressed similarly long for freedom and a state of contentment, those confined by such destructive habits as drugs, alcohol, gambling and pornography and those who are in prison ache for the day of release. But what is the price of their freedom, for
“True freedom is never free.”
It was into the context of a troubled world, where the people lived under Roman occupation and poverty and sickness were rife, that Jesus came. Approximately a year after commencing his public ministry he returned to his home town of Nazareth. As was his custom he attended the local synagogue on the Sabbath. This is the account that Luke gives us.
Jesus is rejected at Nazareth
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
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,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’
22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. ‘Isn’t this Joseph’s son?’ they asked.
23 Jesus said to them, ‘Surely you will quote this proverb to me: “Physician, heal yourself!” And you will tell me, “Do here in your home town what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.”’
24 ‘Truly I tell you,’ he continued, ‘no prophet is accepted in his home town. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed – only Naaman the Syrian.’
28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way. Luke 4:14-30
Why did Jesus use this remarkable prophecy from Isaiah chapter 61 as the passage to expound? As the visiting famous speaker it was presumably his choice. He had had a public teaching ministry for about a year. He was the ‘local boy made good’; verse 14 confirms that Jesus was already well known. Probably his popularity would have resulted in the synagogue being packed. The reading is all about the freedom that the people longed for.
The ‘Messiah’ that the Jews were waiting means literally ‘God’s anointed one’. The first two lines of the chosen passage clearly refer to the Messiah.
‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me . . .”
This passage is about God’s chosen king, his Messiah
As Jesus read this passage I wonder which words and phrases Jesus emphasised. I suspect it was the personal pronouns. That was certainly his emphasis in the subsequent talk.
‘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 favour.’
After finishing this short reading, Luke suggests that Jesus took his time to let the meaning of the passage sink into the minds ofhis listeners. Verse 20 certainly slows the tempo.
“Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down.”
It is as if he is saying that people must take time to understand God’s word. In contrast to western preachers and lecturers it was traditional for the rabbis, who taught in the synagogues, to sit down whilst teaching. Jesus certainly had his audience gripped.
“The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened to him.” v.20
The Greek philosopher Aristotle spoke of the three modes necessary for effective communication,
Ethos – the credibility and trustworthiness of the speaker, his character
Pathos – the attitude of the listeners, their sympathy
Logos – the substance of what is said and the way it is delivered
Undoubtedly Jesus had all three in his favour as he began to speak.
“Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” v. 21
Nothing could be clearer, Jesus was claiming to be the one and only Messiah of God. All the Jewish Scriptures looked forwards to his coming.
Jesus is Applauded
A hush must have gone around the room. Jesus announced that he, the Messiah, was going to give these freedoms to people. What did he mean? Here is Joseph’s son, a lad they have known for twenty nine years, and he is claiming to have the power to declare a universal freedom. Staggering! The people were thrilled. Yet he did not speak as an arrogant politician can – his compassionate self-confidence came from a deeper source.
“All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips.” v. 22
Doubtless they were fascinated. What did this mean? What was Jesus about to do for them? They were happy to sit back, as if in a theatre, and see the plot unroll. They had heard of the miracles Jesus had performed in Capernaum twenty two miles away and the popularity he had found there, and longed to see this show in Nazareth.
Jesus teaches
Jesus had no trouble in reading their thoughts. He was not an entertainer; he had a much more serious message to deliver to all people.
“Surely you will quote this proverb to me: Physician heal yourself! Do here in your home town what we have heard you did in Capernaum.” v. 23
He wants them to understand that it is a relationship with him as their eternal God that is the only way to be really free. It is Jesus and his word that matters more than anything else in the world.
“I tell you the truth. . .” v. 24
Jesus frequently used these words, literally ‘Amen, Amen’, when he was about to pronounce something very important. What he said changed the attitude of the people in that synagogue to him completely. They suddenly hated him because of what he said about them. He describes himself as a prophet, God’s prophet.
“ . . . no prophet is accepted in his home town.” v. 24
A prophet proclaims the word of God to people. Often, as here, the message is critical. Moses was a prophet and God had told him that subsequently another prophet, like himself, would come from the Jewish people.
“I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.” Deuteronomy 18:18-19
Muhammad claimed these verses spoke of him but he was not one of the Israelite brethren so it cannot refer to him. There were many Jewish prophets but none except Jesus communed with God in the way Moses had. The Jewish Scriptures had foretold that God’s Messiah would identify himself by performing miracles. Jesus knew these verses spoke of him. A prophet proclaims God’s message and Jesus did that but that is not all he was. He was the embodiment of God himself. This was a step too far for his listeners to grasp. His prophecy about them was about to be proved true.
The Jews of Nazareth clearly felt that it was their prerogative, as God’s people, to receive God’s blessing. Jesus wants to disabuse them of that way of thinking. To be born into the family of one of Abraham’s descendents did not make a person a child of God. He reminds them of two of their famous prophets, Elijah and Elisha, and that God had used them to bless Gentiles.
“I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon.” v. 25-26
In Elijah’s time God’s judgment was on the people of Israel. They had largely rejected their Lord and had turned to the worship of Baal. So instead, God blessed a Gentile woman who behaved in the way God’s people should have done. She was willing to care for God’s prophet and even gave him her last food, even though she was desperate.
It was the same in Elisha’s day.
“ And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed – only Naaman the Syrian.” v. 27
There was then, as now, a deep antagonism between the Jews and the Syrians, so this reminder would have hurt. Naaman had leprosy and was in a hopeless state with this fatal disease until a young Israelite slave told him of God’s prophet in Israel who could help. He first went to the king of Israel who tore his clothes and prophetically said,
“Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life.” 2 Kings 5:7
Could this be why Jesus reminded them of this story that his listeners would undoubtedly know well.
Naaman was in desperate need. He found no help from the Jewish King, but he did from the Lord’s representative. When Naaman eventually did what God required and bathed in the dirty Jordan river that he was healed.
Jesus wanted to remind his hearers that the reason the widow of Zarephath and Naaman, the Syrian General, were blessed by God because they both had a desperate need and both did what God, through his prophets, required. They had to have a desperate need and they had to recognise God’s prophet. The people of Nazareth fulfilled neither requirement to be blessed by God. Jesus was criticising them.
Jesus is rejected
The people in Nazareth synagogue clearly understood what Jesus was saying and reacted viciously.
“All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff.” v. 28-29
How common it is for people today to speak well of Jesus as an attractive, popular figure but when they understand his unique messages about himself and their sin, they turn against him. His claims are too much for self-centred people. He claims to be both the king who demands allegiance and the Saviour for those who recognise their desperate need.
Jesus’ message for all time
Jesus’ prime role was to proclaim God’s message. Luke emphasises he was famous because,
“He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.” v. 15
Did you notice in Isaiah’s prophecy that the Messiah would be a preacher?
‘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 favour.’
Jesus had a vital message that we all need to hear. It starts with forgiveness but goes on to empowerment.
Release from sin
The primary message of the Bible is that all people are in a desperate situation because we are trapped by sin that has imprisoned us.
Who does God think are the poor? Jesus uses the same word for the poor at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3
The Septuagint (Greek) translation of the Old Testament was widely used in Israel in Jesus’ time. Here in Nazareth, Jesus says he has come ‘to proclaim good news’ to the poor. The actual Greek word is our ‘evangelise’. Jesus is saying that the way the spiritually poor can be blessed is by entering God’s kingdom, the kingdom that has God’s son as its King.
The way captives would be released would also be through the proclamation of this message about God’s kingdom.
It is also helpful to know that the same Greek word is used for ‘freedom’ as for ‘release’.
“To proclaim freedom for the prisoners . . . to release the oppressed” v.18
Elsewhere in Luke’s gospel the very same word is translated ‘forgiveness’. Thus, when Jesus appeared to the disciples in the upper room after his resurrection,
“He told them, ‘This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations.’” Luke 24:46-47
This has always been the Christian message. Our foremost problem is our sin, our rebellion against God. If we refuse to accept this we will inevitably reject Jesus Christ, just as the people of Nazareth did. They thought Jesus was just the son of Joseph (v. 22) whereas he was in reality ‘the son of God’. Luke emphasises this. At Jesus baptism his heavenly father had said,
“You are my Son, whom I love and with whom I am well pleased.” Luke 3:22
When his genealogy is recorded it finishes with,
“the Son of God.” Luke 3:37
When the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness straight after his baptism, he used this very point,
“If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” Luke 4:3
Soon after this he went back to Capernaum primarily to teach but also to heal. Luke then records,
“Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, ‘You are the Son of God!’, but he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ.” Luke 4:41
Luke wrote in this way purposefully, to emphasise who Jesus is. Jesus never denied that this was his true identity. As only God can forgive our sin, his identity as God in the flesh is vital.
Unless we see ourselves as spiritually poor, captured by sin, spiritually blind and oppressed by our consciences, we will never recognise the Saviour and approach him in our need. Jesus offers us forgiveness from the penalty and power of sin. There is no alternative.
2. Release from the effects of sin.
In the next chapter Jesus meets a paralysed man when he was let down through the roof of a house from which Jesus was teaching the crowds.
“When he saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven.” Luke 5:20
The Pharisees and teachers of the law recognised the significance of this, saying,
“Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Luke 5:21
Jesus recognised what they were thinking and faced their question head on,
“But that you may know that the Son of Man has power to forgive sins . . .”
He then told the paralysed man to get up, take his mat and go home. Jesus clearly has the power to save people from both their sin and its consequences. Later Jesus met a woman who was crippled with severe kyphoscoliosis. Her spine had been bent over for eighteen years. She couldn’t straighten at all. He healed her instantly. The authorities were incensed as this occurred on the Sabbath! Jesus answered them,
“Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” Luke 13:16
All disease has a spiritual root – Satan had bound her. There will be no disease and suffering in heaven. Many consequences of our sin improve when we turn to Christ. There are some natural reasons for this. Guilt and anxiety can markedly worsen peoples’ symptoms and pain. Those who are chronically paralysed or have disseminated carcinomas should not be misinformed that their paralysis will be completely healed now because that is what Jesus did then. Jesus healed the sick and raised the dead to demonstrate who he was. But all God’s people will be healed and given new bodies in the real presence of Christ in heaven.
However the comfort, love and encouragement found in God’s church can have very therapeutic effects today, as many can testify.
It is the great shame of many churches that these two ministries, proclamation and helping people cope with the effects of sin are separated. Christ’s church exists in order to proclaim God’s message of forgiveness of sin to all people. We must also all be involved in showing God’s love by caring for people and doing all we can to ameliorate the consequences of sin. It must be emphasised that to think God’s work is being done just by social action alone is a travesty. Love in action can help people understand the love God has for them and lead them to the Saviour. There is a phrase that has been wrongly attributed to St Francis of Assisi,
“Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.”i
This suggests that to demonstrate the Gospel by example is better than to explain it verbally. Such an idea is contrary to Scripture – proclamation is vital.
A notable omission
When Jesus read the passage from Isaiah 61 he stopped mid sentence. It actually reads,
“ . . . to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God.”
Just as full healing in eternity is the promise and expectation for all Christians, so there is the warning that the same Messiah will come as the judge of all the world.
There is a great urgency. This is why we must all follow the example of the Lord Jesus and proclaim the message of forgiveness. The price of our freedom was the coming and death of the Lord Jesus to pay for our sin coupled with Christians daring to proclaim this message today.
BVP
i http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2012/07/11/factchecker-misquoting-francis-of-assisi/
