At the beginning of His public ministry, Christ announced: “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor…” Then Jesus said, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:18-19,21, quoting Isaiah 61:1-2, 58:6)
Christ’s words above remind me of a U.S. holiday we recently celebrated.
Freedom Day
Juneteenth, also known as Freedom or Emancipation Day, commemorates the abolition of slavery in Texas in 1865. The name combines June and nineteenth. (Fun fact: a word combo like this is called a portmanteau.) President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862. However, Texas, as part of the Confederacy, resisted freedom for its 250,000 enslaved people. On June 19th, 1865, federal troops arrived in Galveston, TX, to enforce the emancipation. They announced: “All slaves are free. This involves absolute equality of personal and property rights between former masters and enslaved people. They may now become employers and hired laborers.” Formerly enslaved people in Galveston rejoiced in the streets, and the great news spread across the state.
Some formerly enslaved people stayed in Texas to work for wages, while others left immediately after the order was read. Some of them traveled to Northern states in search of more opportunity, and some headed to other Southern states in search of lost family members. As families reunited, they marked the day they had gained their freedom and began celebrating it annually as Juneteenth. The day gained further prominence during the Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968), which aimed to abolish legalized racial segregation and discrimination in the U.S. Juneteenth is now an official U.S. federal holiday.
Spiritual Emancipation
Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” 1 Sin is rejecting God’s Kingship and doing whatever we want, failing to love the Lord above all else and to love our neighbors, coworkers, friends, and relatives as much as ourselves. We all, regardless of class or color or culture, have a natural tendency to rebel against God, so we all need Christ’s liberation.
This holiday reminds me of King Jesus, who came down from Heaven 2,000 years ago to deliver His people from guilt, darkness, and the grave. Christ saves us by His sinless life, His crucifixion and atoning death, His bodily resurrection, His eternal alive-ness, His presence with us, His ongoing help and prayers for us, and His certain return for us.
All the good things we enjoy in life come to us through the Lord and His emancipating work for us. When Christians keep the spotlight on Christ (not our troubles), then we can praise God, rejoice in Him, worship Him, and give Him thanks even in the hardest and darkest times.
Jesus brings His followers into a comprehensive freedom that transforms every area of life. He breaks the chains of sin, shame, and fear, and empowers us to live holy and happy, in fellowship with God (Father, Son, and Spirit). Jesus gives us:
| Freedom from Sin’s Penalty | Justification (immediate, when we are first saved) |
| Freedom from Sin’s Power and Practice | Sanctification (gradual and progressive throughout this life) |
| Freedom from Sin’s Presence | Glorification (perfect and final, when Christ returns) |
Christ’s Mission of Deliverance
Jesus spoke the words in Luke 4 at the synagogue of Nazareth, where He publicly presented Himself to Israel as God’s Messiah, foretold since the fall of humankind. Christ read from Isaiah’s prophecy in the Old Testament, written around 700 BC. Notice that Jesus announced 5 purposes for which God had sent Him:
- to preach good news to the poor
- to proclaim freedom for prisoners
- to give sight to the blind
- to release the oppressed
- to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
How does this apply to all of us today? Why do we need Jesus?
- We are spiritually destitute before Christ saves us
- Satan and our own sin chain us
- We are blind to God and His ways without His help
- We are harassed by the devil, other people, and our own foolishness
- We need the Lord’s love and kindness to restore all that is wrong in us and in our world
Christ came to do all that and more. He performed many physical healings during His years on Earth. These all pointed to His greater and deeper mission: mending the breach between God the Father and us. This spiritual healing is known as the Atonement—from the phrase “at-one-ment”—because Christ powerfully heals the estrangement between God and humanity.
God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And He has given to us the message of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:19)
Gentle and Lowly
Jesus, the Son of God, lowered Himself to save us, so He always understands the lowliest of us.2 Christ did not come to be served, but to serve, and to lay down His life on the cross as a ransom for many.3 The Lord came to save all of us who labor and are burdened by our sins. He gives us peace and rest for our souls.4
Remember that Christ came from a low-income family and a tiny and unimportant village.5 In His public ministry, He lived modestly and mixed with ordinary folks, underdogs, and social outcasts. Most of the people He served were lowly in social, economic, and political ways.
Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And He chose things that are powerless to shame the powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all… As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God. God has united you with Christ. For our benefit, God made Jesus to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God. He made us pure and holy, and He freed us from sin. Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)6
No matter how badly people hate, mock, or mistreat us, Jesus gives His followers high value, dignity, and prestige simply because He loves us and we belong to Him forever. We will come back to that thought in the next post.
So if the Son of God sets you free,
you will be free indeed. (John 8:36)
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank You for coming Yourself to accomplish our emancipation and to deliver us by dying on the cross and conquering the grave! You set us free for our true purpose: becoming more and more like You, living free from darkness and shame, showing and telling others about Your power to transform lives for eternity! Help us praise You and walk in that joyful news today. We repent of the sins You are showing us, areas where we have rebelled against You. Cleanse us, teach us, and lead us, Holy Spirit, in the good paths You have planned for us. Amen.7
To be continued.
Notes (various Bible translations): 1 John 8: 34. 2 Phil 2:6-8; Heb 4:15. 3 Matt 20:28; 1 Tim 2:6; Heb 9:15. 4 Matt 11:28-30. 5 Luke 2:24; John 1:46. 6 See also Jer 9:23-24. 7 Prayer adapted from Laura Arrazolo.