Freedom
Isaiah 61:1
Emmanuel Christian Church 4.20.25
INTRODUCTION: What one word would you use to sum up Easter?
Most people would say “Resurrection”, but was that Sunday
morning, almost 2,000 years ago the first time anyone had been raised
from the dead?
• Three days earlier at the very moment of Christ’s death on the cross,
Matthew records...”The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy
people who had died were raised to life. Matthew 27:52
• Just a couple of months earlier Jesus Himself had raised Lazarus from
the dead.
• A year earlier the widow’s son and Jairus’ daughter came back to life at
the touch of Jesus’ hand.
• 800 years earlier, Elisha prayed and the Shunammite’s son came back
from the dead.
Fantastic to be sure! Certainly uncommon. But unheard of before?
No.
PROPOSITION: Easter is not simply about Resurrection. It is about one
specific Resurrection. And even more than that, it is about what that one
specific Resurrection accomplished for you and me. Which brings us
to the one word that I believe best sums up what Easter is all about. That
one word is freedom.
TRANSITION: Now, you may say “I’m all for freedom- but I have no need
of it - for I already possess it. After all, I’m an American! I live where I
choose to live. I choose for myself what I do. I say what I want to say. And
I believe what I want to believe.” Freedom? I’m already free!
What if I were to say that there are two possible areas in your life where
you possibly remain bound?
It could be, (in these two areas) invisible shackles are clamped around
your wrists. As a matter of fact, right now, right here, they may be
keeping you from living a life that is truly free.
What would you think if I told you that it was for freedom from these
shackles that Christ not only rose from the dead, but came to earth in the
first place?
The scene is Jesus’ own hometown. The occasion is the very beginning of
His three year ministry.
It is the Sabbath as Jesus enters the synagogue in Nazareth, and as the
honored guest speaker for the day, He is handed the scroll of the prophet
Isaiah from which He has been invited to read and give commentary.
Unrolling the scroll to what we know as the 61st chapter, He reads these
words.
“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...” Isaiah 61:1
Having read from the Prophet, He returned the scroll to the attendant.
Every eye in the room was fixed upon Him, waiting for Him to take His seat
as a signal that the lesson was about to begin. And then He spoke these
words...
“Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Two questions sprang to the minds of those who heard Jesus that day.
They’re our questions as well.
Who are the imprisoned that He came to set free? By what have they
been held captive?
The captives include every member of the human race- for every one
of us have been placed in shackles by the sin of our parents Adam and
Eve and by our own continued willingness to walk in their footsteps.
In his letter to the Roman Christians, Paul at once points to Christ as our
liberator while at the same time identifying that which has kept us
enslaved.
“...through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law
of sin and death.” Romans 8:2
So what is the law of “sin and death” that has forged the invisible
shackles around our wrists?
What is its power to keep us from living our lives as those who are truly
free?
Let’s take a look at them one at a time.
The Law Of Sin and Death
-
DECEIT (It lies and you die.)
• “Here’s the shortcut to happiness and pleasure!” Instead, it
delivers the sadness of broken relationships and the pain of violated
flesh.
• “This is what the smart people are doing!” But once you’ve tasted
from it’s cup you find yourself asking “How could I have been so
stupid! What was I thinking?”
•
“It’s no big deal. Besides, no one will ever know!” And then you find
yourself looking into the shattered faces of those whose trust you’ve
broken as you attempt to explain the inexplicable.
• “This is the life!” But instead it delivers disease that kills the flesh,
separation from God that kills the spirit, and shame that kills your very
will to go on living.
Are you beginning to feel those invisible shackles clamped around your
wrists? Would you like to know how Christ can break your chains of sin
and set you free?
As Paul writes to the Romans, he tells them how rising from the dead,
Christ kept His promise to make us truly free.
Romans 6:1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that
grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it
any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into
Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried
with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised
from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
Romans 6:5 If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will
certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6 For we know that
our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done
away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin — 7 because anyone
who has died has been freed from sin.
It seems ironic to think that in dying to our sinful selves by sharing in the
death of Christ we would be freed from the power of sin and be given a
new lease on eternal life- but that freedom from sin is exactly what
Christ’s resurrection made possible for us!
But that’s only one of the shackles that Christ came to break from our
wrists. The other shackle is...
The Law Of Death- FEAR (fear of the unknown)
• “Will it hurt, will I suffer?”
• “Will I really live on?”
• “Will I be ready for the Judgment?”
• “Will I know and be known?”
The truth be known, we’ve all anguished in fear over questions like these.
But I want you to know that Christ came to earth, lived, died and rose
again to free you from your fear of death.
Speaking of Jesus, the Scripture says...
“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity
so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death —
that is, the devil — and free those who all their lives were held in slavery
by their fear of death. Hebrews 2:14-15
Let’s revisit those questions and allow Jesus to give us some answers...
“Will it hurt, will I suffer?”
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you
rest.” Matthew 11:28
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or
mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Revelation 21:4
“Will I really live on?”
John 11:26 “...whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”
“Will I be ready for the Judgment?”
Romans 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are
in Christ Jesus,
1John 2:1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin.
But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our
defense — Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
“Will I know and be known?”
1 Corinthians 13:12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then
we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even
as I am fully known.
CONCLUSION: Just as a new life in Christ requires us to be willing to
share in His death, our freedom from sin and our fear of death will come at
the price of our own personal surrender.
If your weary of the power of your invisible shackles, if you’re ready to be
set free from the power of sin and your fear of death...
Surrender your self-confidence and place your faith in Christ.
Surrender your will and share in His death, burial and resurrection so that
you might be truly free.
Jesus said...
“...I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of
truth listens to me.” John 18:37
“...you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32
“...if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36