Jesus and freedom

One of the things that immediately stands out as one reads the gospel accounts of Jesus' life is how liberated he seems compared to other people.

Here is a man who is unfazed by the criticism and opposition of his enemies, the questioning and advice of his friends, or the social mores and taboos of his time. The things that so often keep us captive seemed to have no hold on him.

The Pharisees were highly respected, even feared, but Jesus tackles them head on. Rather than meekly answering their questions, he replies by questioning them. He is not afraid of their power to blacken his name, to question his authority, or even to have him arrested and killed.

Nor does he fear the censure , disappointment or disapproval of those closer to him. He can calmly walk away from his mother and brothers when they come to call him home. He calls his best friend "Satan" when he recognises where Peter's seemingly well-intentioned advice is coming from.

In a world where women and children were regarded as little better than beggars and lepers, he welcomes them all. It is difficult for us to comprehend how shocking Jesus' friendships with women must have seemed to the Pharisees, and even to his own disciples. (Look at the disciples' reaction when they find him talking with a women at the well of Sychar). What other rabbi not only welcomed women, but allowed them to sit at his feet with his disciples?

The Pharisees despised and feared women. They went to great lengths to avoid coming into contact with them in public. Women were polluting. Women provoked lustful thoughts that could drag a man away from the purity which they so carefully cultivated. Jesus appeared to be free from such fears. He was well aware of the sort of lusts and temptations that men faced. But he didn't live in fear of such lusts. He was free to relate to women as fellow human beings.

Jesus never backed away from his words in response to criticism. He never got deflected from his purposes. He was free from the sort of fears and anxieties that leave us feeling bound and confused. He treated all with respect, but was afraid of no-one. He was a completely free man.

Sometimes, of course, he was tired (Jn 4:6), exasperated (Mt 17:17), even distressed (Lk 12:50). He was not free from the normal trials of life. He was not free from temptation - far from it (Lk 4).

In the last days of his life he was physically bound and held captive. But even in the midst of his trial and execution, it was he, not his captors, who seemed most free. Pilate offered him freedom, and Jesus calmly reminded Pilate where his power to hold or free him really came from. At his crucifixion, Jesus freed his persecutors from the burden of guilt by forgiving them.

Even death could not rob Jesus of his liberty. "But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him." (Acts 2:24) The resurrection is the ultimate shattering of that which keeps us most bound - the fear of death.

We must be careful in what lessons we draw from Jesus' life. He was, after all, the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity. But he was also Son of Man, truly one of us, and surely we can learn much about what a human life is meant to look like by studying Jesus' life. If 'the Son shall set us free', we ought at least to consider how he modeled for us the sort of freedom he intended us to have.


This post is one of a series on what it means to be free in Christ:

Free in Christ - introduction

Choosing the right master

God's freedom and ours

Jesus and freedom

Going beyond personal freedom

Freed from the fear of death

Fools for Christ

Reputations