ADVENT READINGS!
WEEK 3: FREEDOM & SLAVERY
“He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives.”
Monday | December 16
Luke 4:16-21 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to 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. “And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Yesterday we considered how the nearness of God sets us free, but today, consider that he has come not just for you but to set the whole world free. When he teaches in the temple, Jesus talks about proclaiming liberty to captives and giving sight to the blind. Jesus loves the vulnerable and the oppressed and he has come to set them free from all the forms of sin and death. Pray today that you would turn your head to the vulnerable, just as God has turned his head to you. We were the vulnerable and the oppressed until God’s nearness set us free, so think today on how you can serve those in need as God served you when you were in need.