Everlasting Liberty

"Christ accepted you, so you should accept each other, 

which will bring glory to God." - Romans 15:7 (NCV)

Jesus read, "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD." - Luke 4:18-19 (NKJV)

Jesus was back in his hometown of Nazareth, after recently being baptized by John the Baptist.  It was Saturday, the Sabbath, so Jesus went to the synagogue, as was the Jewish custom.  There men read from the Scriptures and commented on what they'd read.  Jesus was handed the scroll of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah, and he chose to read the words from Isaiah 61:1 to the crowd.  Afterward he said, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."  Thus was the beginning of Jesus' public outreach to the people of Israel and to the world.

About seven hundred years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah recorded the future Messiah's purpose statement. Messiah means "Anointed One," or someone God has set apart for a very special purpose.  Jesus' special purpose was to extend God's freedom to those who were in captivity.  In Isaiah's time, the prophet's words comforted those who had experience literal captivity.  They had been exiled for their home and force to live under the harsh rule of the Babylonians.

In Jesus' time, Jesus did set some people free from the bondage of physical and mental ailments.  However, the liberty Jesus was destined to deliver goes much deeper than that.  He fulfilled Isaiah's words by providing freedom from spiritual blindness and the power of sin and death.  The freedom Jesus offers is permanent.  Once he breaks the invisible chains that are holding you back, you have the freedom to become who God created you to be.

Think back over your life, calling to mind what spiritual, physical, or emotional chains God has freed you from.  Thank him for the liberty he's given you in each of those areas.

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* This excerpt was taken from "100 Favorite Bible verses," published by W. Publishing Group (a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc.)