Am I To Receive
or Give Freedom?
When
Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free
from your infirmity.” Luke 13:12 (NIV)
Day before yesterday a scene from the
movie Braveheart was sent in one of
my WatsApp groups. It’s the first major battle scene between the Scottish and
the English Armies. The Scottish lords are preparing to negotiate a treaty, and
the soldiers, disgusted by the lords and afraid of the superior English
cavalry, are starting to turn away and go home. Then William Wallace rides up
with his men. And he gives a rousing speech. Basically, he says, “Yes, you can
run away and live, but you’ll live forever defined by your fear. On your dying
day, you’ll look back and want to come back and say to the English, ‘No!’” He
closes his speech riding his horse, wind whipping his hair, bellowing out,
“They can take away our lives, but they can’t take away our freedom!” The world
can burden you. The world can weigh you down and abuse you. The world can even
take away your life. But it can’t take away your freedom – your freedom to live
as a child of God.
In Luke 13:10-17 we need to notice the
language that Jesus uses of freedom and bondage. The synagogue leader uses the
word therapeuo – the word for healing.
Jesus, however, keeps coming back to the words luo and apoluo – the
words for releasing and loosing the bonds. Jesus is making the point that
something greater than healing is going on here. The synagogue leader talks
about the finer points of the Law while Jesus talks about freedom from bondage.
Jesus is proclaiming freedom not from
individual sins or a specific act of disobedience, but He offers freedom from
the nature or condition that enslaves all people. His freedom is not a
political revolution. True freedom is not about changing your outward
circumstances. This is a significant concept because it reveals that Jesus can
free you wherever you are. Paul was on the road to Damascus persecuting
Christians. The prodigal was in a pig pen. Peter was in a boat fishing. One
woman was drawing water from a well. Another woman found freedom when caught in
adultery. A thief was on a cross of execution when Jesus set his soul free!
Jesus identifies a process for
experiencing true freedom with the words, "If..then." The process
should not be confused with a legalistic formula. He does not say, "If you
have a daily quiet time with thirty minutes of prayer, tithe faithfully, and
only miss Sunday School twice a year, then you can be free." While Jesus
does not prescribe a formula, His words do reveal a way in which things operate
in His kingdom. For example, you are free to watch the sun rise each morning,
but you must do two things to see it. You must get up early in the morning, and
you must face east. If you sleep until ten o'clock and look west, you will miss
the sunrise even though you are free to watch it. Why? Because there is a way
things work.
The little word "if" is a big concept in the Kingdom of God. The word represents an invitation. True freedom will not attack us; rather we must respond to God's invitation to accept His complete freedom.
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