by Bruce Mackay | Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

Jesus declared to the people His mission statement when He stood up in the synagogue. Luke 4:18-19. Within that mighty proclamation, He said He would 'set at liberty those who are oppressed'. What good news! Jesus would heal and set free the oppressed and downtrodden, the crushed and bruised. Ever since Satan oppressed Adam and Eve through his deception and their disobedience, the human race has been downtrodden by oppressors, leaving it crushed and bruised. Many today find themselves in this situation. The purpose of this article is to make clear that we don't have to stay crushed and bruised, but rather through Jesus we can become 'healed victors'.

The compassion of Jesus

When Jesus looked on the multitude, He saw the condition of their souls. He saw that they were bruised and downtrodden like lost, scattered sheep with no shepherd. Jesus had compassion on each individual and He healed them and set them free. Jesus was a man of compassion. The Bible says of Jesus, 'A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoking wick He will not put out'. Isa 42:3. Luke, in his Gospel, gives us a little snapshot summary of Jesus' love and compassion for each person. 'And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples, and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed. And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.' Luke 6:17-19

Jesus not only showed His compassion by setting the oppressed free, He also experienced what it was like to be oppressed by others. The Bible says Jesus was despised, rejected, forsaken, afflicted, bruised and crushed. He became a man of sorrows as He bore our affliction and pain. He took our place and became downtrodden, bruised and crushed for our sake that we may be set free. On the day of His crucifixion, after He was beaten with whips, the soldiers took Jesus into the governor's palace and they all gathered around Him. Among other things, they began to mock Him and spit on Him. This is true oppression when people take pleasure in spitting on a half-dead person! Spitting doesn't hurt the body but it is intended to degrade the soul; and it does. There is no record of anyone wiping the spit from the face of Jesus. As Jesus hung on the cross, bearing our sin, the spit on His body, mixed with His blood, demonstrated His compassion. He was despised, bruised and downtrodden so that the oppressed of the world might go free.

Satan the oppressor

Just as Jesus is the author of 'life' and 'light', and 'peace' and 'truth', Satan is the master of all oppression and the father of lies. He keeps us victim to the many circumstances and choices that happen in our life. God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. Acts 10:38

Satan's method is to keep us as victims, attributing blame to others or our circumstances. He is even happy if we blame him. He would have us blame anyone and everything as long as we do not take accountability for our own responses. Many people are innocent victims, but we are all accountable for how we respond and act and with what attitude we live. Jesus will heal and deliver us when we meet Him in full accountability for our actions and attitudes. We will never meet Him and experience Him setting us free from oppression while we remain victims, attributing blame. This is a most vital key for being set free. Therefore we will address this further.

A woman healed

Let us look at an incident in the life of Jesus on earth and witness Him setting the oppressed free. 'So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him. Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well". Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?" But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'" And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction". Mark 5:24-34.

In this incident, we have a woman who had a physical affliction. In her desire to be made well, she ended up worse off. You could say she was an innocent victim of the medical system. The result of the suffering and humiliation at the hand of others, that had cost her every cent she had, left her bruised, downtrodden, ashamed and oppressed. She had tried everything and every method for wholeness, but only grew worse. Healing and change only came when she put her faith and trust in Jesus. Because she was so downtrodden she didn't have the confidence to face straight up to Jesus. She hid in the crowd. Yet, she had the faith that she would be healed if she could touch the clothes of Jesus. Some people become so consumed with their problem and so overtaken by the unjust treatment they have received that they cannot hear God's word to them and have no place for faith. They have allowed their situation to remove all trust. They grow worse and further oppressed.

The next step Jesus took would seem extremely uncaring. He made her come out of the crowd, even though she was trembling with fear. Jesus knew she had to face Him as an accountable person. She had to meet Him in truth, whatever the shame. We also notice that Jesus didn't take up the charge against her oppressors. That would never set her free. Justice doesn't change our oppressive situation. Jesus didn't come to improve the justice system of the world! He came as the friend of sinners. He came to save and make whole all who would meet Him and be accountable for their own sin and responses. When Jesus returns the second time as He promised, He will judge the oppressors. But now He is healing the oppressed. This lady came and opened up her soul to Jesus. She didn't come as a victim. She told Jesus the truth regarding herself and she found peace. 'And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction". Mark 5:34. Jesus set her free from her oppression.

The truth sets us free

Jesus is willing to set us all free to be sons of God. To experience this we should know the truth.

• Did you know that God loved you and chose you to be His child before He created anything?
• Did you know that He chose you to be in Christ before you were even born?
• Did you know Jesus never came to condemn you but to save you?
• Did you know that even though you have suffered injustice, you have still
• sinned against God in your thoughts, words and actions?
• Did you know that your freedom to be a child of God comes by you facing your sin and not by making right other people's wrongs?
• Did you know that Christ died for our sins, was buried and on the third day rose from the dead
• Did you know He established the church, which is now His body on earth, to be the place of your healing and salvation? The place where you can be set free to live as a disciple of Jesus?
• Did you know He raises the poor out of the dust and lifts the needy out of the ash heap that they might sit as sons of God with all the family of God in heavenly places?
• Did you know that the purpose that Jesus, the Son of God, came to live on the earth was that He might destroy the works of the devil?
• Did you know that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father but through Him?

Our response

Jesus said, 'Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light'. Matt 11:28-30.

Like the woman in the story, we must come with faith, knowing that to touch the Lord Jesus is to know change. We must put off our victim attitudes, humble ourselves and open our lives to the Lord Jesus. He will not reject us. We come confessing our sin, our attitudes and our responses. Whatever others may have done to cause these things, we are the ones who are oppressed. We are the ones in need of wholeness. We must meet Jesus as a sinner. One of the greatest hindrances to going free is our inability to confess our sin in these matters. We are so overtaken at the injustice and overpowering of our oppressors or abusers that we find it hard to face that we have participated in sin. Even though the abuse was against our will, we must accept we have still participated contrary to the will of God. This is why we suffer guilt and shame. This is why we must first confess our sin to Jesus. Christ died for sinners. Come to Jesus fully accountable and He will give you rest. To receive forgiveness from Christ, we likewise must forgive those who have sinned against us. Jesus said that if we don't forgive others, neither will our heavenly Father forgive us. Mark 11:25. From the cross, having suffered wrongfully from others, Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them'. Luke 23:34.

Along with this, the Scriptures say, 'Be yoked to Christ'. Christ's life is now expressed in His church, the body of Christ. To be yoked (joined) to Christ is to find a gathering of disciples of Christ who are committed to living according to the teachings of the Bible. Be joined to these ones who are participating together in love towards one another in Christ. When we are joined, and when we are participating with others in the love of God, we will learn of God's ways. We will find ourselves being set free from oppression. The bruised and crushed will find rest and peace for their souls.

Author: Bruce Mackay | Citywide Christian Fellowship - Cairns | CCFC
Published by Vision One at Toowoomba Christian Fellowship | TCF
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