About 12 years ago, I was introduced to the non-profit organization called International Justice Mission (IJM). I heard one of their VPs speak at a conference and was blown away by the work they do around the world to set people free. According to their website, their mission is to “protect people in poverty from violence by rescuing victims, bringing criminals to justice, restoring survivors to safety and strength, and helping local law enforcement build a safe future that lasts.” Their multi-pronged approach in 18 different countries rescues so many men, women, and children each year from bonded labor, sex trafficking, and many different forms of slavery. The stories of the victims that have been rescued by IJM staff and local officials out of horrific conditions show you the depth of human evil and the transformation that is possible when captives are set free.

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As we continue our study of Isaiah 61, we see in the second half of the first verse, that the prophet Isaiah is proclaiming the good news of God’s Kingdom that involves freedom and rescue. According to Bible Hub, “in the biblical context, ‘rescue’ refers to God's intervention to deliver His people from danger, oppression, or sin.”

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One of the early accounts of divine rescue in the Bible is in Exodus 3:7-8. God says, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sufferings. So, I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey." Like those trapped in modern day slavery that IJM staff rescues, the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, without rights and autonomy. God used Moses to free the Israelites out of their bondage. They were physically rescued. Physical rescue is so important for those living in captivity, but the Isaiah passage also speaks of prisoners being released from darkness. The Message actually uses the phrase “pardon for prisoners.” I think this speaks to a slightly different freedom than being released from jail or from under the oppression of a slave owner.

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A person could have committed a crime, deserved a punishment, but then been pardoned or had their debt paid. The Colossians passage describes this other aspect of freedom in addition to rescue, too – the idea of redemption.  

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God has “brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (13-14). The emphasis is on Jesus, who provides the rescue from spiritual darkness and sin. Redemption involves “a price being paid to secure the release or freedom of someone” (Bible Hub). The spiritual darkness of living in our sin and the eternal consequence of those sins is a condition in which all humans need rescue. Jesus, and those working in his name, can set people free from dark and terrible physical circumstances, but the greater freedom is found in the forgiveness of sins. Justice here on Earth pales in comparison to being set right in God’s Kingdom, where we have reconciliation with God the Father once our sins are forgiven.

As we begin this new year, let us take stock of how we are or are not living in the freedom Christ as offered to us. If you have accepted Jesus’ free gift of salvation, are you being bound by earthly things, holding you back from loving and serving God? Are you walking in the freedom you have? Are you weighed down by shame? Not forgiving yourself after Christ has forgiven you? We do not have to be prisoners living in darkness when we have been welcomed into the glorious light of Christ.

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God, please help us to go after the ones who are living in bondage, both physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We want to be the ones fighting for justice in our broken world and bringing light to dark places. Guide us to see the ones who need to be set free and meet them where they are to tell them the good news of the gospel. Help us to walk in freedom as those who have been rescued and redeemed. In Jesus’ name, Amen.