Freedom! When I left home for college, I thought I escaped church and left all the rules and regulations behind. I did not realize I traded those rules and regulations for chains of pride, selfishness, and sin.
Ever since Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, we are in bondage to sin. God created us in His image to enjoy a perfect relationship with Him (Genesis 1:26a, 27). God told Adam and Eve they could eat from any tree in the Garden of Eden except one. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, sin entered the world and damaged the relationship between God and man. (Genesis 3:4-5). From then on, God banished Adam and Eve from the garden and they would no longer live forever. The penalty for sin is death, but Jesus set us free.
Year of Jubilee
Did you ever read the book of Leviticus? I admit I never did until recently. It surprised me to find out it is all about Jesus. I used to think Jesus appeared in the New Testament, but the entire Bible is the story of Jesus.
In the book of Leviticus, God established the Sabbath year, a “solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord,” (Leviticus 25:4) after the weekly Sabbath day of rest (Exodus 20:11, Leviticus 23:3). During the Sabbath year, the land lay fallow; no plowing, planting, or harvesting allowed to encourage the people to trust God’s provision (Leviticus 25:4-5).
In addition, God proclaimed the Year of Jubilee every seven Sabbath years (Leviticus 25:10). Besides a Sabbath rest for the land, God instructed the Israelites to liberate prisoners and slaves, restore land to previous owners, and forgive debts. This encouraged generosity and assured equal distribution of wealth among the Israelite people.
Jesus fulfilled the Year of Jubilee
We have no evidence in the Bible that Israel ever celebrated the Year of Jubilee as God intended. However, freedom from bondage and cancellation of debt during the Year of Jubilee foreshadows how Jesus set us free from bondage to sin by His sacrifice on the cross.
The Hebrew word for “liberty” in Leviticus 25:10 is the same word for “liberty” used in Isaiah 61:1, ESV. Jesus read this at the synagogue, and declared Himself the fulfillment of the year of the Lord’s favor, also known as the Year of Jubilee (Luke 4:16-21).
Commentators reveal it was customary to stand while reading the Scriptures in the synagogue and sit during the explanation of the reading.
Jesus stood (Luke 4:16) and read, the Lord’s anointed shall “proclaim good news to the poor, proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19).
Then Jesus sat down (Luke 4:20) and said, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21).
Jesus set us free by His blood (John 8:34-36) and canceled our debt (Colossians 2:13-14). He restored our land, a new heaven and new earth where we will live forever (John 14:2).
Jesus sat down at the right hand of God (Hebrews 12:2) as the everlasting ruler of the kingdom of our Lord (Revelation 11:15). His work is finished on the cross (John 19:30).
Conclusion
After many years of alienation from God, I finally realized only Jesus sets us free. He never gave up on me. He pursued me as the lost sheep.
Jesus said, “If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off ” (Matthew 18:12-13).
Friend, believe God will never give up on you or your family and friends who are far from God. Keep praying for them. Only Jesus offers true freedom to all who believe in Him—freedom from bondage to sin and freedom to live forever with Him.
Keep praying!!! I love those words. It’s never too late.
Thank you for reading and commenting, Mary Anne. So true, keep praying because our answer to prayers are in God’s timing, not ours. We may never even see the results in our lifetime, but God is always listening.