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ISAIAH 65:1-9

GALATIANS 3:23-29

LUKE 8:26-39

SUNDAY REFLECTION

One of the fundamental needs of human beings is to live in freedom devoid of any form of encumbrance. Humanity is also always on the quest or in search of solutions to overcome the burdens or entanglements of life. Our theme for the day leads us to the fact that Jesus shall set us free only if we allow Him to become our Lord and Saviour. Dear friends, the theme for our reflection is Jesus shall set you free! We shall discuss three burdens Jesus can set us free from according to the three Scripture readings presented to us for our reflection. Jesus shall set free from:

1. Sin and the wrath of God
2. The law
3. Demons or Satanic attacks

Firstly, Jesus shall set us free from sin and the wrath of God. In the first Scripture reading, Isaiah 65:1-9, God showed his displeasure at the disobedience or sins committed against Him by the Israelites. The Israelites had begun patronising idol worship and practices which were in contrast to God’s commandment and will for them. Isaiah cautioned them “Behold, it is written before me: “I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will indeed repay into their lap both your iniquities and your fathers’ iniquities together, says the LORD; because they made offerings on the mountains and insulted me on the hills, I will measure into their lap payment for their former deeds.” (Isaiah 65:6-7). Imagine suffering for your own sins and that of your father’s, it will be a burdensome ordeal. God however showed mercy to His servant among the people and gave them hope, “As the new wine is found in the cluster, and they say, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it,’ so I will do for my servants’ sake, and not destroy them all. I will bring forth offspring from Jacob, and from Judah possessors of my mountains; my chosen shall possess it, and my servants shall dwell there. (Isaiah 65:8-9). Dear friend, we can only possess the promises of God, overcome sin, escape the wrath of God and be set free through our Lord Jesus Christ. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (John 3:16-18). God will judge and punish evil-doers and sinners but those who trust in Jesus and follow His example and teachings will please God and shall be set free.

Secondly, Jesus shall set free anyone who believes in Him from the self-righteous deception of the law. Formerly, the belief was that people were counted righteous because of the mere or outward observance of the Mosaic law. It is important to note that the Torah or law given by Moses played a role or a function, in that before the coming of Christ it showed us the will of God for humanity and how human beings must relate to one another. Thus, the law justified people as righteous through obedience to it or through human effort in following the law. However, the law was not complete in itself. The inadequacy of the law was that the more people tried to observe the law their weakness or inability to faithfully obey it to the latter was exposed hence numerous burnt offerings for sins were observed. The law was considered a guardian but at the same time an entanglement to God’s people. Jesus came to set us free from the entanglement and burden of the law so that it is no longer our obedience to the law that makes us righteous before God but having faith in Jesus and following His perfect example is what justifies us to be righteous. It was for this reason, Paul wrote in the second Scripture reading which was His letter to the Galatians that “Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (Galatians 3:23-27) In other words, if Jesus lives in you, you will live like him and you will no longer need any law to guide your relationship with God. Jesus shall set you from the law and self-righteousness if you confess that He is the Lord of your life and put your faith in Him. This kind of freedom from the law brings peace into the life of a believer, therefore we can now say with Paul that “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.” (Galatians 2:20-21)

Thirdly, apart from Jesus setting you free from sin and the law, He shall also set you free from Demonic or Satanic attacks. Jesus has power over unclean spirits which is why in our third Scripture reading, Luke 8:26-39, Jesus set free a man who was possessed by a host of demons collectively called legion. A legion is a division of 3,000–6,000 men, including a complement of cavalry, in the ancient Roman army. Imagine one man possessed by over 3000 demons. ” Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned. (Luke 8:30-33) The man was in total bondage but Jesus set him free from the thousands of demons that had possessed and tormented his life. Jesus assures us in Matthew 19:26 that “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Beloved in the Lord, we need Jesus in our lives to overcome the demonic or satanic attacks on our physical and spiritual well-being for Paul reminds us that “… we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12). It is only Christ who can set you free from unclean spirits!

In summary beloved in the Lord, Jesus shall set you free from sin, the law and demons or unclean spirits if you repent and embrace Him in faith as your Lord and Saviour for He is the “…Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” (Revelation 22:13). The Holy Spirit strengthen us to have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ for our holistic liberation. Amen