Friday, February 24, 2012

Jesus Always Unties Us

Just as John 3:16 is the "Gospel in a nutshell" because it explains salvation, there is a verse in the New Testament that explains the nature of Jesus and Satan with equal succinctness. It is Luke 13:16, a perfect model of two natures.

To fully appreciate this, there are two Greek words we must learn: δέω (deo) and λύω (leo, pronounced lee-o).

Deo simply means to tie up. I deo my shoe laces when I put on my shoes, the policeman deos the prisoner's hands when he puts them in handcuffs, etc.

Leo simply means to untie. I leo my shoe laces when I take my shoes off, the policeman leos the prisoner when he sets him free, etc.

These are the simple, everyday activities of tying and untying. Nothing complicated here.

In Luke 13:10-17, Jesus healed a woman of a sickness caused by a spirit, she was bent over for eighteen years. The synagogue official became indignant because the healing took place on the Sabbath, then Jesus began to teach us the truth:

"You hypocrites! Don't you all untie (leo) your donkeys and lead them to water on the Sabbath? Shouldn't I also untie (leo) this woman whom Satan has bound (deo) these eighteen years?" Luke 13:15,16

Here is the transliteration of Luke 13:16, the perfect model of the two natures:

ταύτην δὲ θυγατέρα Ἀβραὰμ (this daughter of Abraham) οὖσαν ἣν ἔδησεν ὁ Σατανᾶς ἰδοὺ δέκα καὶ ὀκτὼ ἔτη (that has been tied by Satan these eighteen years)οὐκ ἔδει λυθῆναι ἀπὸ τοῦ δεσμοῦ τούτου τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τοῦ σαββάτου (should she not be untied from her bonds on the Sabbath?)

Satan always ties, and Jesus always unties. You will never see Satan untying someone, and you will never see Jesus putting someone in bondage. Jesus even untied (leo) the donkey before He used it for His purposes (Mark 11:2-7).

And so it is with us. Coming to Jesus we are all tied up by various issues. We come just as we are. We are unable to untie ourselves, as one who is bound can not possibly untie himself. We can only present ourselves to Him and ask to be untied.

Jesus sets us free and puts us into His service. His yoke is easy and His burden is light, and while serving Him we are made completely free.

Turning to the Lord brings us a freedom we can not procure ourselves:

"Whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." 2 Corinthians 3:16,17

When we worship Him, not only does He set us free, but he unchains those around us as well:

Paul and Silas were singing praises to God while in prison, and the prisoners were listening in. Suddenly, an earthquake hit. All the doors were opened and everyone's chains were unfastened. Acts 16:25,26

Jesus promised that if we consistently read His word, we will know the truth, and this truth will set us free (John 8:31,32). Satan binds us with a spirit of doubt, which acts as a sheild against this treasure, and prevents us from being liberated by the word of God.

In the Greek, 1 John 3:8b reads, "The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to leo (untie and release us from) the works of the devil."

This model never fails us. Whenever we see Jesus, He is releasing someone from his or her bonds. Whenever we see Satan, he is tying people up. Through sickness, strife, worry, unbelief, his aim remains the same: to keep people from their God-given destiny - complete freedom in Jesus Christ.

There is never an instance where we see Jesus binding people and Satan releasing them. This is a spiritual principle we can count on.

Satan will make us feel inhibited about worshipping Jesus, as He knows what awaits us when we do . . . total liberation from the binding forces of darkness!