JESUS THE LIBERATOR

SERMON TEXT: Luke 4:16-20

SERMON THESIS: Jesus liberates the sinner

INTRODUCTION: Earlier this month, like many of you, I sat spellbound before my t.v. screen as scores of Bradley Tanks rolled into the heart of Baghdad.  Under the command of General Franks, this mighty army was on a mission of liberation.   For many years the Iraqi people had lived under the oppression of Saddam Hussain.  Now the coalition force had come to liberate them.  On Wednesday, April 9, 2003, a day that will be recorded in the annals of history, the giant statue of Saddam Hussain, came tumbling down, signifying the fall of an evil regime.  As we observed on our t.v. screens there was jubilation on the streets of Baghdad by the Iraqi people.  They had been, and I might add, are being liberated from many years of evil oppression while living under an evil dictator.

Some two-thousand years ago another liberator entered a city.  The city was Jerusalem, and the liberators name was Jesus.   He did not enter the city in a Bradley Tank, but on the back of a donkey.  His weaponry, unlike the coalition that entered Baghdad, was not force, but love and peace.  His mission, like the coalition force, was to liberate an oppressed people.  The enemy to be overthrown was not Saddam Hussain, but Satan.  As this liberator entered the city of Jerusalem, He was greeted not with gunfire, but with Hosanna!  The oppressed people cried out, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”(Mark 11:9,10). 

Soon, however, the loud hosanna’s would give way to “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”  This historical event has been recorded for us in Mark’s Gospel, and has become known to us as The Triumphant Entry.  It was triumphant because it included a Cross.  The victory cry of the liberator who died on the cross came when He cried out, It is finished!  Three days later there was jubilation in the streets of Jerusalem, not because a statue had fallen, but as a result of a Savior who had Risen.  It was Mary Magdalene who went to the disciples with the news, “I have seen the Lord!”(John 20:18).

Yes, my friends, Jesus is the liberator.  He came to liberate an oppressed people from the tyranny of sin.  The evangelist Luke, tells us what He, Jesus, came to liberate us from . . .

READ LUKE 4:16-20, Ref., Isaiah 61:3

What does the liberation of Jesus include?

I.  PROCLAMATION OF FREEDOM - Quoting from the prophet  Isaiah, Jesus applies the prophecy of Isaiah to Himself, in the fulfillment of this prophecy thereof.  “The year of the LORD’S favor”(Isaiah 61:2), in the words of one writer, “Seems to refer to the Year of Jubilee, which came every fifty years.”  The Year of Jubilee included:

1.  Freedom of slaves

2.  The Forgiveness of debts

3.  The restoration of lost properties (Lev. 25:3-13)

Seen in the backdrop of this passage, quoted by Jesus, emerges the Christian understanding of freedom from oppression.  In the words of Luke, he came “ . . . to release the oppressed”(v. 18).  Throughout His earthly ministry, as recorded in the Gospel’s this is what Jesus was about . . .

Jesus said to the woman at the well, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst”(John 4:13).

Jesus said to the man with leprosy, “Be Clean!”(Matt. 8:3).

Jesus said to the Centurion, “Go, It will be done just as you believed it would”(Matt. 8:13).

Jesus said to the Paralytic, “Get up, take your mat and go home”(Matt. 9:6)

Jesus said to a noisy crowd, “Go Away.  The girl is not dead but asleep”(Matt. 9:24).

Jesus said to His disciples, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid”(Matt. 14:27).

Jesus gave sight to two blind men.  He asked, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord, they answered, we want our sight.”  In response to their request, the Bible says, “Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes.  Immediately they received their sight and followed Him”(Matt. 20:32,33,34).

Jesus said to a man possessed by an evil spirit, “Be quiet! Come out of him”(Mark 1:15).

Jesus said to a demon possessed man, “Come out of this man you evil spirit”(Mark 5:8)

Jesus said to a sick woman, “Daughter, your faith has healed you.  Go in peace and be freed from your suffering”(Mark 5:34).

Jesus asked the blind man at Bethsaida, “Do you see anything?(Mark 8:23).

Jesus said to the boy with the evil spirit, “I Command you, come out of him and never enter him again”(Mark 9:25).

Jesus said to a corpse, “Young man, I say to you, get, up!”(Luke 7:14).

Jesus said to a dead girl, “My child, get up!”(Luke 8:54).

Jesus healed a crippled woman, “Woman you are set free from your infirmity”(Luke 13:12)

Jesus said to His disciples following His resurrection, “Peace be with you”(Luke 24:36).

Jesus said to a lame man, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk”(John 5:8).

Jesus said to a blind man, “Go . . . wash in the pool of Siloam”(John 9:7).

With a loud voice, Jesus said, “Lazarus, come out! . . . take off the grave clothes and let him go”(John 11:43).

Jesus said to His disciples, “Receive the Holy Spirit”(John 20:22).

Is there any doubt in your mind that Jesus is the great liberator?

Not only does this message of liberation Proclaim Freedom, it also includes . . .

II.  FORGIVENESS OF SINS - While Jesus has the power to liberate us from any and every form of oppression, the greatest miracle of all is when he forgives us of our sins. Hear the words of Luke once again, in which he writes, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed me to preach the good news . . .

The good news is . . . Jesus saves and forgives sinners . . .

Jesus said this to a man named Zacchaeus, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately . . . Today salvation has come to this house . . .”(Luke 19:5, 21).  The happiest day in any house is when salvation comes . . . 

I like the way in which this song writer put it, “It took a miracle to put the stars in space.  It took a miracle to hang the world in place, but when He saved my soul cleansed and made me whole - it took a miracle of love and grace . . .”

Or, “My sin on the bliss of that glorious thought–my sin not in part but the whole, has been nailed to the cross and I bear it no more–Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord! O my soul.”

The greatest oppression under which any of us exist, is the oppression of sin.  How my heart goes out to the Iraqi’s . . . they may have been delivered from the oppression of an evil dictator, but they are still living under the oppression of sin.  Only Jesus can forgive sins.

Not only does this message of liberation include Proclamation of freedom, and forgiveness of sins, it also includes, and most importantly . . .

III.  NEW LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS - This is ultimate liberation.  Did not Jesus say, “I have come that they might have life and have it more abundantly?(John 10:10).

Preparing the people for His own resurrection from the dead, hear the words Jesus spoke to a dead man by the name of Lazarus, “Lazarus, come out! . . . Take off the grave clothes and let him go”(John 11:43).

Speaking of liberation and new life, hear the words Jesus spoke to a dying thief from the cross, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in paradise”(Luke 23:24).

New life in Christ Jesus . . . Do you have it?

CONCLUSION: Jesus is the only true liberator.  The hinge part of the good news that He proclaimed is the Resurrection.  As the resurrected Lord, He is still in the liberation business.  Do you want to be free?  If so, put your trust in Him.