Today’s Youth Devotion

FREEDOM

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19).

When Jesus came to earth, His message was clear: The Kingdom of heaven
had come. He was a King bringing His Kingdom. But what was this King like?
What is God like? How did He live? How did He talk to people? Who is this King? Jesus—God—wanted people to experience freedom. He hated anything that robbed them of the PEACE AND JOY OF LIVING FREE. THINGS LIKE Disease. Guilt. Sin. Death. PEOPLE WERE ENSLAVED. JESUS KNEW THAT. So He came to BREAK THEIR CHAINS.
[READ] One day at the temple, Jesus was called upon to read the Scriptures. In Jesus’ day, and still today, Jews read Scripture on a set yearly schedule—so the Scripture passages that Jesus read in the temple that day were no coincidence. He opened the scroll of Isaiah that had been handed to Him and read: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19). The scene was probably pretty normal until Jesus sat down and said this: “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21).
[THINK] Jesus declared that He was the Freer of prisoners, the Sight-Giver of the blind, and the Releaser of the oppressed. But He also said a phrase that we might miss, but it would have caught the ear of the Jews in the temple. It’s the phrase that He would “proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Jesus was referring to the Year of Jubilee in Leviticus 25. God had told His people that they were to rest and be refreshed every seventh day on the Sabbath. More than that, every seventh year they were to take a sabbatical and let their land rest from planting crops. That seventh year they wouldn’t
plant or harvest, but would eat from the plenty God had given them from the previous six years. God wanted His people to receive refreshment from Him every seven years. And then, even beyond that, after seven cycles of years, or 49 years, God wanted His people to declare a Year of Jubilee. “Sanctify
the fiftieth year; make it a holy year. Proclaim freedom all over the land to everyone who lives in it—a Jubilee for you” (Leviticus 25:10 MSG). During the Year of Jubilee, God’s people were to release all captives, they were to forgive all debts, they were to return all property to its original owner, and they were not to plant or harvest. They were to rest. It was a full year of ultimate celebration. Family members returned home; the burden of debts were removed, never to be brought back again. But the Israelites were never able to practice the Year of Jubilee. The people just couldn’t bring themselves to release their slaves, to release their land, or to release their debtors. Sadly, Israel never once celebrated a Year of Jubilee.
[LIVE] Isaiah had foretold that God would send Someone to declare a Year of Jubilee—a year of celebration and freedom. But it would involve an even better celebration than just freeing a slave or releasing land. It would involve freeing people from fear, from guilt, from captivity to Satan, and from the stain of sin..
To the paralytic, Jesus said: “Get up, take your mat and go home” (Mark 2:11). To the blind man, He said: “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you” (Luke 18:42). To the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years, He said: “Take heart, daughter . . . your faith has healed you” (Matthew 9:22).
To the sinful woman who anointed His feet with perfume: “Your sins are forgiven. . . . Go in peace” (Luke 7:48. 50). Jesus gave sight to the blind. He released the oppressed. He freed the captives. Declare the Year of Jubilee—freedom has come!
[NXT LVL] Read more about the Year of Jubilee that God gave to His people in Leviticus 25

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