Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser
The post office and courier services sometimes don’t deliver the parcels. Not our Lord Jesus Christ. He came to set the prisoners free, and to bring light to those who sit in darkness out of the prison house, those who have been held in the prison house of fear, doubt and all forms of bondages. He came to set the captives free. Jesus has come to deliver you totally from your chains and to bring you right out of your prison house, not just from your little cell where you were held captive, but to bring you out of the entire prison house, out of the premises. That’s special delivery, my friend. “I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles, 7 To open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house” (Isa. 42:6-7).
Jesus was empowered by the Holy Spirit of God. He recognised His own calling and purpose as recorded by the prophet Isaiah. He came to communicate in word and deed the heart of the Father and His great plan of salvation. “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 broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised” (Luke 4:18).
Jesus is declaring that He is an anointed man, and not an ordinary person. Christ here, is saying that He was sent. He made a specific point that He was the saviour sent from heaven. He was a special messenger. In other words, He was not sent by men – human beings were not the ones who sent Him. He was not there to proclaim a message for men, but He was sent directly by God the father who will raise Him from the dead.
Jesus was emphasising that it was God who sent Him, because He was going to say certain things in His mission statement that will be very hard on the congregation. It was going to be very authoritative. Where was He getting the authority from? Well, He starts off by letting them know that ‘hey I’m the anointed one, and I’m not a messiah called by men. I’m called by God, with His message and authority, and what I’m telling you is from God.
“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. 21 And he began to say unto them, this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:20-21).
In other words, He was not going to give them any opportunity to disagree and say well, that’s just Christ’s opinion. Jesus was leaving no room for doubt. There was no way that these Jews were going to say, ‘oh that’s just Jesus’s opinion’. Jesus was saying this is not my opinion, I’m speaking directly from God. I’m God’s messenger sent and anointed by Him, to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised” (Luke 4:18). You do not have any other option, you either reject God or accept this as a message from God. There’s no in-between. That’s the point that Jesus was emphasising here.
He has come to bring you out to life in Him. So, you can boldly say “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). What deliverance is it if you have light, but you remain in darkness? Or if you escape from the prison cell but you remain in the prison house? It doesn’t have to be that way.
" What deliverance is it if you have light, but you remain in darkness? "
He came to set at liberty them that are bruised, and to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house. Don’t be held captive. Follow Him out of the prison door, and out of the prison house. The freedom God gives is real. When He sets you free you are free indeed.
Jesus came to set the prisoners free, to bring you out of your captivity, and to give you liberty. He has done it for many of us, and He will do it for you. The weight of sin in your life will be lifted off your shoulders. The power of sin that you can’t conquer, the sin that entangles you and ensnares you, God says He will deal with them. He will forgive you. What sin is weighing on you? Is it lust? Is it evil desires? Are you plagued with fears? He says He will bring them all down. Why? Because He is God. You can’t do it, but He will! He says He will. What a great offer.
You have to leave everything for this. He carried our sins to the cross – to cleanse us and make us free. It’s not God’s desire that any of us should live in sin or bondage any longer. It’s not His will that any should perish. He doesn’t want you to be oppressed by the devil. “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him” (Acts 10:38). He doesn’t want His people to be downtrodden, tormented and trapped.
This is the true gospel, but it’s foolishness to those who are perishing because they think it’s too simple, it couldn’t be that easy. People say it’s tough to overcome addiction. They say it’s tough to leave your sin. They say it’s tough to be healed from broken heartedness. But Jesus said He came to heal the broken hearted (see Luke 4:18). Jesus came to specially deliver mankind from darkness to light, and to live His life in you. He is your salvation.
He came to preach deliverance to the captives, and when you receive Him, you will have new life in Him. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Cor. 5:17). He will transform every part of your being into the glorious image of Himself. “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (Rom. 8:29). It’s a glorious process which will continue for the rest of your life (see 2 Cor. 3:18).
You live His life (see Gal. 2:20). You have to give up your worthless ambitions, your pride, and your self-centered life. Everything has to go. It means total surrender – that’s the price. You no longer live for yourself but for Christ who died for you and rose again. “And He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Cor. 5:15).
Your life for His. Self-denial is costly. It doesn’t happen automatically. It doesn’t happen the moment you get born again, but it becomes a way of life for those who will go on to full maturity in Christ. Few choose this way of life. Few choose to walk this road. They don’t want the way of the cross. Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Mat. 16:24-25). The good news is that there is a glorious reward awaiting those who are prepared to pay that price, such a relatively small price. So, take hold of this special delivery from Christ Jesus and begin to walk in this newness in Christ.
