In the book of Luke, we read a number of interesting experiences Jesus had during His ministry. In one particular account, Jesus returned to His hometown of Nazareth. On the day of the Sabbath, he went into the synagogue, and as he stood up to read, the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Jesus then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were stuck on him. He began by saying to them: “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing (Luke 4: 16-21).” The passage above tells the mission of Jesus in His own words: He wants to free us.
What is fascinating, however, is the account that directly precedes this story in chapter four. Full of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was led into the wilderness, where Satan tempted Him for forty days and forty nights. During this period, he ate no food and was tested by the devil many times. Satan tempted Jesus with food; showed Him a vision of all the kingdoms of the world and offered them up to Him; and even quoted scripture to try and confuse Him. But Jesus resisted the evil one and eventually, Satan left (Luke 4: 1-13).
It’s important to understand that our Savior was tested in many of the same ways we are also tempted in our lives. One of the most amazing aspects of our God is that He actually became a man and experienced the temptation of sin. He didn’t passively sit on His Heavenly throne (although He could have if He wanted) while judging our every mistake. He is and was not simply a “spiritual” being; he was also a man, a descendent from the line of David (see: Romans 1: 2-4). So when we consider what it means to be “free” we need to begin by examining the actual experience of our Lord.
In this chapter, we’ll consider what “freedom” means, the types of bondage to which we are subjected (especially the subjection to rules), and how Jesus frees us from all bondage. In this light, we will consider some common mistakes made in the field of psychology and see how we can integrate a Biblical view of man into effective methods of modern psychology. My hope is that we will be able to identify exactly how we can, as Christians living in the modern world, take “the gold and silver of the Egyptians” [1] and use them for the glory of God in service to the mission of Jesus. To read more of chapter 2 of Christopher Doyle's upcoming book,
The Meaning of Sex: A New Christian Ethos,
click here.
