Jesus Came To Set Us Free

What does God do with people like Zacchaeus? He gives them a second chance. Jesus invited Zacchaeus to salvation. We know the rest of the story. Zacchaeus responded favorably. Surely there were those who opposed Zacchaeus’s opportunity. Jesus accepted Zacchaeus not because he approved of his sinful past but because Jesus forgave Him as Zacchaeus truly repented. (“accepted and not approved” borrowed form Rick Warren in his book The Pupose Driven Church. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995, p. 216). Jesus has accepted all of us who have received Him with that same understanding. Christ accepts all those who receive His offer of freedom because “God is not willing for anyone to perish” (Second Peter 3:9).

Remember Bartimaeus (Mark 10:42-52)? He was handicapped because of his blindness. It was because of this handicap that he had to beg saying “alms for the poor” in order to make a living. Jesus accepted Bartimaeus when others rejected him and treated him as a nuisance. Not only did Jesus accept him, he healed him and set him free from his prison of both poverty and blindness. After that, he was able to live a normal life. He would never be able to forget how Jesus set him free.

It is God’s will that His Holy Spirit works in and through us empowering us to inspire and influence others as to how Christ can set them free as He has set us free. Second Corinthians 3:17 says, “… where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (NIV). That same Spirit---the Holy Spirit that was on Jesus is on us who are His disciples. He has anointed us to share the good news to the poor, proclaim freedom for the prisoners, help the blind to see and release the oppressed as we proclaim the Lord’s favor (Luke 4:18-19 paraphrased). AMEN.