“He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives.”

Jesus read that from Isaiah to some people who were captives.

• Some people are trapped by other people.
• Some people are trapped by their own bodies.
• Some people are trapped by broken elevators.
• Some people are trapped by education–or lack thereof.
• Some people are trapped by poverty, by popularity, by expectations created by others or by themselves.
• Some people are trapped by labels, by stereotypes, by career paths, by bad experiences.

Most people at some point in their lives would describe themselves as captives.

The message here, to captives, is peculiar. People are not freed. Release is proclaimed. It’s a message, not a magic wand. The cage doesn’t disappear, but the door is unlocked, the chains fall off.

That’s what the good news is. You can have release.

But you gotta know you were captive. And you gotta know that you gotta move.

If we are comfortable in our captivity, release isn’t good news; it’s trauma. If we are unwilling to accept the terms of freedom (you can’t free yourself, you can only accept freedom), then release isn’t good news, it’s bondage.

But release has been proclaimed. Jesus said so that day.

(From Luke 4:14-30)