prisoner

Christ Sets Free

“You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”

“Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

John 8:32, 36c

Some time ago in South Africa, my friend Paul and I were sharing the truths of the Gospel with more than twenty men who were in prison awaiting trial. For two hours we preached the Gospel of Christ, with Q & A, and the importance of knowing the truth. John recorded Jesus saying “I am the truth” (John 14:6) and “the truth shall set you free.” The apostle Paul wrote that believers are set free from sin by Jesus Christ (Romans 6:7, 18). One of the men asked us, “Are you saying that if I became a Christian, when I go to court, I will have to tell the truth?” Our answer was, “No, you won’t have to tell the truth; but if you truly are a Christian – you will want to tell the truth.”

The truth is that truth concerning Jesus Christ who delivers us and frees us from the power of sin, death and the wrath of God by way of the cross. Some may think that telling the truth merely sets us free from the sense of guilt but that is not the freedom of which Jesus is speaking.

Immediately after our response to that prisoner another stood up and, speaking to his fellow inmates, said, “I will speak the truth at my trial. I know I will receive three life sentences, two for murder and one for abduction but I will not lie anymore.” That is a man who has been born of God and truly understands that “the Son makes you free.” He is now free to tell the truth because he has received the One who is Truth. He now knew Jesus and the truth about Him.

This man had been a slave to sin (John 8:34) and that had brought him to a life in prison but he was now free from the prison of sin and death. He is infinitely more free than many outside of prison. Some might think he was not a good candidate for the Gospel but Jesus thought otherwise. To those who think only morally good people, by their evaluation, are worthy of salvation, Jesus said. “For I did not come to call the [self] righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Matthew 9:13). It is Jesus who makes us free from sin (John 8:36), its power and its consequences. The cross of Jesus alone is His justification for forgiving our sin (1 John 1:9) and being reconciled to God (Romans 5:10) so that we may call Him “Father.”

Silencing Christ

“Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up …”

Jeremiah 32:3

We use the phrase, “Shut up” to mean “be quiet” and that is the reason King Zedekiah had imprisoned Jeremiah. Zedekiah only wanted to hear good forecasts and no bad forecasts. The king’s own prophets only prophesied good things; they claimed they came from the Lord, but they were lying. Jeremiah did receive prophecies from the Lord – which was proven when his, and only his, prophecies came to pass.

The nature of sin has not changed since Adam, and remains the same now. People don’t want to hear that which is unpalatable to them. Fortunately God is pursuing people and some do relent and repent. I shudder when I think of what my destiny would have been had He not pursued me!

The Lord’s complaint against Judah was, “This evil people, who refuse to hear My words, who follow the dictates of their hearts … is profitable for nothing” (Jeremiah 13:10); they had forgotten the Lord and “trusted in falsehood” (Jeremiah 13:25). Unfortunately there are those who claim the name of Christ who refuse to take God at His word but distort, revise or spiritualise it with the result that they speak lies in His name. Jeremiah lived in this kind of society.

Because the king and other leaders of Judah did not want to hear the truth they moved to silence Jeremiah. If the general populace heard the truth they might believe it and that would undermine the authority and economics of the king. Their way to silence him was to imprison him. Many countries around the world are imprisoning God’s messengers and we are not immune. The upside is that the Gospel is being preached in prisons.

Jesus’ followers were tested when He was taken prisoner and even more so when He was crucified. Many stopped following Him. Those who later followed the risen Christ were often imprisoned, and faced or suffered death because of their faith in Jesus. The scribes and Pharisees wanted to silence Jesus permanently so they sought His death.

Jesus warned that we should expect similar persecution and tribulation. We don’t seek it – but because we faithfully speak His word some people will seek to silence us. We would be following a growing list of faithful men and women of which some are mentioned in Hebrews chapter eleven.

Worthy to Suffer

“At midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them” Acts 16:25

Paul and Silas were not visiting prisoners, they were prisoners. Without any judicial inquiry they had been beaten with rods until their backs were marked with many painful and bloody stripes. To ensure they did not escape they were placed in the inner cells. I remember visiting the high security section of a prison in South Africa. As we left I counted the locked doors, all with guards that we passed through. There were eleven! Paul and Silas may not have had so many but they were well secured. What could have justified such strong action?

Paul had wanted to go to the Roman province of Asia to preach the Gospel of Christ but was forbidden by the Holy Spirit. So he tried to go to Bithynia with the same outcome. For a man like Paul this might be a little frustrating but then the Holy Spirit directed him to Philippi where he had opportunity to preach the Gospel and see results. In the process of this a demon possessed woman followed him everywhere and was distracting his hearers from his message. He became so annoyed that, after many days and under Christ’s authority, he cast the demon out of the woman. This was a relatively insignificant distraction but it led to Paul and Silas being beaten and imprisoned.

We should not be surprised that relatively insignificant distractions may lead to significant service for Jesus Christ. Quite often these are only seen in hindsight.

Paul and Silas could have been filled with self pity or questioned whether or not they were in the will of God. Some may have thought they had been disobedient to God. Others may have asked what terrible thing they had done or maybe they just assumed Paul and Silas were workers of much evil. Instead, they were praying and singing hymns “rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name” (cf. Acts 5:41). This is where many of Christ’s followers fall short. We are not all willing to suffer for His name. Instead we are inclined to seek the pleasures and enjoy the comforts of this world. In so doing we forsake Christ. Unlike Paul and Silas we are more likely to be concerned about our position rather than the condition of others. That they were singing hymns tells us that they were definitely not sulking or wallowing in self pity. Though beaten and imprisoned unjustly they were singing praise to God from their hearts with thanksgiving.

We ought not to be surprised that the Lord then gave these men the opportunity to lead many to Christ. There is a link between being willing to suffer for His name with leading others to faith in Jesus Christ.