Hallelujah! (Source: "More Stories Behind the Best-loved songs of Christmas)

Handel’s words woven from John’s Revelation reflect the message of the angel Gabriel when he told Mary about her son, "He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!" (Luke 1:32-33) The angel announced to Mary that the child she would bear would be God’s final absolute ruler of all the universe and that his rule and his reign would be without end. From the lips of Gabriel and the pen of Handel we are reminded that this child would come to rule and reign. While his beginning would be unnoticed and ignored, his power one day would be supreme. While we might become softhearted at the sight of the baby "shivering in the night," we would do well to remember that he is the one who has come to "reign forever and ever."

We must admit that when Mary first heard the announcement of the angel that she was filled with more questions and doubt than belief and devotion. Yet in a few days, she went to her cousin Elizabeth and would tell her of what God was doing through this child. "He has done mighty deeds with His arm; he has scattered those who were proud in their heart. He has brought down rulers from their thrones, and exalted those who were humble" (Luke 1:51-52). In spite of all that challenged her rational mind, she knew this child had come to bring a revolution to the "universal wrongness" that enslaved humanity.

Thirty years would go by for this child whom Mary named Jesus. Thirty years of life, living and knowing that he was sent to bring change, to begin a revolution. Yet his revolution did not start by establishing an army. His revolution began by reading words from an ancient scroll called Isaiah in a Jewish synagogue in an obscure village called Nazareth. It would be there that he would say, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released…"(Luke 4:18)

I want us to focus on this one statement this morning. "He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives" (Luke 4:18). There is no question that for the Jews even hearing these words would spark a flame of passion for freedom and liberty. One author said, "No people in history has fought so tenaciously for liberty as the Jews, nor any people against such odds." (Caesar and Christ, p. 542). The Jews had a history of being captives to other nations stronger and more powerful than they. From over four hundred years of slavery in Egypt to seventy years of exile in Babylon to the domination and brutality of Rome, the Jews knew what it was to be forced to yield their freedom to the control of others and suffer as captives.

About the time that Jesus was born the Roman emperor Caesar Augustus was flexing his power from the shores of the Atlantic in Spain to the Euphrates River in modern day Iraq. His goal was to extend Roman rule as far to the east, west, north and south as possible. The area where Jesus was born, Judea, and Nazareth, where he would later live, were especially a problem. Augustus had made an agreement with the Jewish king Herod that if he would keep things under control, he would feel less of Rome’s force. Herod, however, would not be able to make good on his agreement and Rome would throw in its forces to bring the troublemakers under control. As a result, it was common for thousands of Jews to be massacred at one time merely to prove that you would not defy the rule of Augustus. This would, in turn, create a cycle of insurgency on the part of the Jews and oppression on the part of the Romans.

You can see how Jesus’ revolutionary words were "good news" yet were, as well, words that would make the Jewish leaders nervous. When you start announcing that captives were going to be released, you better have an army that’s bigger than the one that’s holding you prisoner. You can only release captives if you conquer their captors and Jesus had nothing! He had no army and at this time he had no followers. How in the world would Jesus, as the song "O Come, O Come Immanuel" says, "ransom captive Israel"? How was he going to release any captive anywhere?

I want us to take a look at the words that Jesus uses for a moment. The word captive is really a combination of two words that mean to be captured by the point of a spear. It describes a person who, through some force beyond their control, is taken prisoner and forced to be controlled by someone or something else. The other word that is important is the word release. The word describes a person, who by their own fault or through some greater power, has come under the control of someone else and has lost all freedom to make his or her own choices and decisions. Then, when their own resources are unable to deal with that power, they can only regain their freedom by the intervention of someone else. What Jesus is saying is that he has come to offer freedom to release us from the captivity to things that control us. He has come to tell persons held captive that there’s freedom!

Did Jesus ever unlock the doors of a prison? Did Jesus ever challenge the spear point of a Roman? Did Jesus ever break the chains of a slave? Did Jesus ever lead an army against the legions of Rome? No! Yet there are prisons that imprison people that only Jesus has the key to unlock. There are chains of slavery that only Jesus can break and there is a force more powerful that all the armies of the world cannot defeat. The freedom Jesus offers reaches places where prison doors, shackles, force and oppression cannot touch. Jesus offers freedom to release us from the captivity to things that control us.

You cannot read the New Testament without understanding that Jesus offers freedom that releases us from the captivity to things that control us. Yet remember you can only release captives when you have conquered the captors. There are three things that control us from which Jesus offers us freedom: Satan, sin and death.

Jesus offers us release from the captivity of Satan. One of the great stories found in the gospels of Jesus encountering a man who was possessed by many demonic spirits. The demonic spirits had so gained control of this man that he lived among the tombs in a cave without wearing any clothes. People had tried to chain him and kept him under guard but each time the demons would cause him to break the chains and he would run out into the desert. At last, Jesus met him and commanded the demons to leave him and they did. The man was found "sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind" (Luke 8:26-35).

That story is a reminder that Jesus came to tell us "There’s freedom from captivity to Satan!" Paul would say that before we trusted Jesus Christ that all of us lived "obeying Satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air" (Eph. 2:2). Yet now because of Christ, we are no longer captive to the one who desires our absolute destruction. We may not see it or realize it, but apart from Jesus Christ and his death on the cross, all humanity is under the control and influence of our enemy, Satan. Paul would say, however, that Jesus, "…has rescued us from the one who rules in the kingdom of darkness, and he has brought us into the Kingdom of his dear Son." (Col. 1:13)

Have you stopped to think about the things that occur in our world that are "diabolical"? Things that have the finger print of Satan’s hand? Places of war, oppression, fear, abuse, cruelty and violence are innumerable throughout our world. Are there human decisions and choices involved in those places? Yes, but they as well bear the mark of the influence of all that is evil. We may not talk about it or seem willing to admit it, but this world system is under the control of one who delights in nothing more than our ruin. The only One who can offer release to those under Satan’s captivity is the One who came to "proclaim release to the captives." The good news for the world is there’s freedom from Satan’s captivity.

Another place where Jesus offers us freedom is from the captivity to sin. In Jesus’ encounter with the woman caught in adultery he told her, "Go your way; from now on sin no more" (Jn. 8:11). On another occasion Jesus told the man who was paralyzed that was placed in front of him, "Friend, your sins are forgiven" (Luke 5:19). He told another woman, who was obviously a prostitute, who washed his feet with her tears, "Your sins have been forgiven" (Luke 7:46). Over and over throughout his ministry Jesus confronted the captivity to sin that enslaved people and set them free by his love and forgiveness. He knew that humanity, all humanity, was chained and shackled by the power of sin’s control and that only he had the power to set them free.

Where was that freedom secured? It occurred on the cross at a place called Calvary. As a result, the Bible says, "Once you were slaves of sin…now you are free from sin…" (Romans 6:17, 18) Because of Jesus taking the full responsibility for all of our sin on the cross, we have the freedom to live released from the control and power of sin. If you have never been honest enough with God to admit that no matter how hard you try you are unable to always do what you know is right, then you don’t understand this freedom. If you have never recognized that within you is a power that no matter what you do to win, it will always defeat you, then you don’t understand this freedom. If you have never struggled against the darkness inside of you, then you can’t understand this freedom. But if you do, then you know that the good news is that Jesus offers us freedom from the captivity to sin.

One last place where Jesus offers us freedom is the freedom from the captivity to death. There are multiple places in Jesus’ ministry where he brought back to life persons who were dead. He gave life back to a widow’s son as he was being carried to a tomb (Luke 7:14-15). He gave life back to the daughter of a Jewish leader who had died (Luke 8:54-55). He gave life back to his close friend Lazarus after he had been dead four days (Jn. 11:43-44). Yet the greatest of all was his own resurrection after his crucifixion. Everyone thought he would stay dead but the stone was rolled away and the message was, "He has risen!" (Luke 24:6) Jesus would tell the sisters of his friend Lazarus, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die" (Jn. 11:25-26). It is for this reason that Paul would write, "How we thank God, who gives us the victory over sin and death through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (I Cor. 15:57)

Death is an enemy over which we are helpless. We cannot stop it, avoid it or defeat it. Death always wins. It robs us of that which is most precious to us—life. Death doesn’t care about your age, accomplishments or bank account. It is a relentless enemy of all humanity. Yet because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the captivity to death’s chains is broken once and for all. We are promised through our faith in Jesus Christ that death does not have the final victory! We confess in the face of death’s reality that we will live! We hold to the truth that the gift of eternal life is ours and all that is contained in the word "forever" is waiting for us! Jesus released us from the captivity of death and that is why we can say, "Good News! There’s freedom!"

How much did Mary understand about this child when Gabriel told her to name him Jesus? Did she know that he was the one to free her from the captivity to things that she could not control! Did she know he would be her deliverer from Satan’s power, sin’s slavery and death’s dominion? I don’t know but I know Jesus did, for he would stand and say that he was sent "to proclaim that captives will be released…."

Donald Miller in his book Blue Like Jazz tells a story that he heard from a friend about a group of Navy SEALS. The SEALS were freeing hostages from a building in some dark part of the world. The team flew in by helicopter, made their way to the compound and stormed into the room where the hostages had been imprisoned for months. The room was filthy and dark. The hostages were curled up in a corner, terrified. When the SEALS entered the room, they heard the gasps of the hostages. They stood at the door and called to the prisoners, telling them they were Americans. The SEALs asked the hostages to follow them, but the hostages wouldn’t. They sat there on the floor and hid their eyes in fear. They were not of healthy mind and didn’t believe their rescuers were really Americans.

The SEALs stood here, not knowing what to do. They couldn’t possibly carry everybody out. One of the SEALs, got an idea. He put down his weapon, took off his helmet, and curled up tightly next to the other hostages, getting so close his body was touching some of theirs. He softened the look on his face and put his arms around them. He was trying to show them he was one of them. None of the prison guards would have done this. He stayed there for a little while until some of the hostages started to look at him, finally meeting his eyes. The Navy SEAL whispered that they were Americans and were there to rescue them. Will you follow us? He said. The hero stood to his feet and one of the hostages did the same, then another, until all of them were willing to go. The story ends with all the hostages safe on an American aircraft carrier. (Blue Like Jazz, p.33-34)

One night 2000 years ago God came to join us in our captivity in the form of a baby in a manger. He knew we were hostages to the power of Satan, sin and death and needed to be free. When that baby became a man it would be his death and resurrection that would break the chains of our captivity once and for all. That is why we can proclaim to all the captives in all the places of their captivity, "Good News! There’s freedom!"

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Dr. Bruce Tippit, Pastor

First Baptist Church

Jonesboro, Arkansas

btippit@fbcjonesboro.org