The prophet Isaiah spoke of the coming Messiah when he said, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners” (Isa.61:1).

As we have just celebrated our national day of independence from British oppression under King George, I want to reflect on the theme of freedom in scripture. The passage from Isaiah above declares that Jesus would have a three point mission when he lived among us. First of all, he would preach good news (the gospel) to the poor. The gospel is a message of freedom from the tyranny of Satan who holds all men in bondage until they respond to the gospel and accept the ransom that Jesus paid for each of us on the cross. In a sense, the gospel gives us positional freedom in Christ. By his blood, we are given a legal standing in heaven that declares we are justified as our sins are forgiven and the record of them in heaven is wiped clean. That is definitely good news and takes away the legal right of Satan to to afflict us and oppress us at his discretion.

However, there is more. Even though we have a legal standing in heaven of righteousness, there is still our fallen nature (the natural man) and our brokenness that must be dealt with. That belongs to the rest of Isaiah 61:1 where the word declares that Jesus will heal broken hearts and set both captives and prisoners free. Nearly every human alive comes to Jesus with a broken heart…obviously some more than others. A broken heart unattended will always limit our ability to be all that Jesus wants us to be.

A broken heart speaks of shattered emotions: shame, rejection, self-condemnation, and even self-hatred. Many of us come to Jesus with the belief that no one can love us because we are unworthy of love. We believe intellectually that God loves us because the Bible says he does, but deep in the hearts of many believers there is still a place that doubts that anyone can love them…not even God.

Even after we are saved, Satan preys on that doubt and reinforces it. A major part of the Holy Spirit’s mission is to give us a revelation of God’s love in our hearts that removes the doubt and silences the accuser. Some receive that revelation in their heart at the moment of salvation. For others, it seems that a process is required. However we receive that assurance, it is still part of Messiah’s mission to heal our broken hearts and restore our identity so that we know we are children of God.

The passage then announces that Messiah (Jesus) is committed to setting both captives and prisoners free. Captives are those who have been victimized by others and experience bondage to shame, fear. and hopelessness. Those are the abused, molested, violated, and abandoned of this world. It is those who were innocent, but traumatized by other broken or evil people in this world. Prisoners are those who are in bondage because of their actions like a those in jail. Sometimes we are in a bad place because of our own decisions. The good news is that Jesus is willing to set both free from their bondage and their brokenness.

That freedom can come in many ways. Sometime accepting the truth of God’s word sets us free from lies that have kept us in bondage. Jesus said, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Satan’s primary weapon is the lie. Jesus called him the Father of Lies and his strategies always distort the truth about God, the truth about us, and the truth about him. Choosing to give God’s word more authority in our lives than the lies of the enemy or our old beliefs based on those lies is a key to freedom.


Sometimes, freedom only comes through direct confrontation with the enemy. A major element of Jesus’ ministry was delivering people from demonic affliction and oppression. He has given his followers power and authority to do the same. Even though we have been redeemed, we may come into the kingdom with demons already assigned to us by the enemy. Although their legal right to afflict us may have been taken away, sometimes they still must be evicted by the authority and power of Jesus.

What I want to emphasize today is that God is interested in our freedom. That is not a freedom to do as we please, independent of Him, but a freedom from sin, brokenness, and the oppression of the enemy whose only desire is to kill, steal and destroy. It is a freedom to become all that God has destined for us and to find the joy and fulfillment of knowing who we are and walking in that destiny.

All men desire freedom. That is want prompted the American revolution. It is why Ukranians are fighting Russian aggression as you read this. That desire for freedom is an inherent part of being made in God’s image. Satan tries to persuade us that God’s commands are restrictive, oppressive, and totalitarian. Instead, they are the very instructions that will free us from our prisons if we will follow them. God has designed us and crafted us for a unique destiny that, once discovered, can make our lives extraordinary.

The challenge is to embrace the truth that surrendering to God’s will and God’s ways is not oppression, but the open door to a freedom we all desire. Our independence is not independence from God but from the one whose will is to destroy us. Scripture declares that “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom,” and “If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed.” My hope is that we will all recognize the true freedom that Jesus offers and celebrate it each day. Blessings in Him.