Emancipation Proclamation

We have all heard of it but are we familiar with its meaning? The word emancipation is defined as the fact or process of being set free from legal, social, or political restrictions; liberation. And the word proclamation is defined as a public or official announcement, especially one dealing with a matter of great importance. Those familiar with history know that Abraham Lincoln presented this proclamation in 1863 for the intention of freeing slaves. I know that there is more to it than that but stick with me here! The proclamation was presented in 1863, freedom was granted in 1865 (the message got lost in the spam folder for Texas), Jim Crow laws started up around 1867, descendants of slaves still fought for equal rights into the 1950’s, and were finally allowed to vote “safely” in 1965. Good ol Abe’s proclamation of freedom was not very immediate! And that’s normal for us human beings. We can try as hard as we may but we do NOT have the power to grant immediate freedom! But God does! God through Jesus grants a woman IMMEDIATE freedom upon the proclamation of Jesus in Luke 13:10-17!

Imagine being in the shoes of the woman to the left. A woman much similar to this one is spoken of in the text mentioned. She walks into a holy place of teaching to learn of God, because she’s that dedicated to God despite her situation. There is a man teaching there that is well known in the Temple and as he is teaching he makes eye contact with the crippled woman. He notices her! But this attention is different than the kind that she usually receives though. It is not the attention she has witnessed for 18 years being incapacitated. It is not the stares of adults and the pointing of children. There is love and care in his eyes. He even stops teaching to call you to come to him! The thumping of her heart intensifies as she makes the decision to come to the teacher. All of a sudden she is no longer overly concerned with what others think of her twisted figure. She only wants to find out what this teacher wants. She gets to the teacher and he proclaims to her “Woman, you are free of your disability.”. This is a strange thing to say to a woman who has been stuck in her situation for 18 years! But for some reason because of the love and care shown she believes! The teacher touches her and the deformed bones unbind from each other, the muscles tired from being in unnatural positions are relieved, and for the first time in 18 years she stands up straight! The woman immediately proclaims praises to the greatness and power of God! Yes there are holy folks in attendance that don’t appreciate the change that has happened but they don’t matter in this situation. They are too stuck on tradition. And as Elbert Hubbard says “tradition is a clock that tells you what time it used to be”. And they can’t see that this time is the time of the “Son of Man”, the Christ, the prince of peace! And just because they won’t see it doesn’t mean she needs to miss her blessing!

There are things in our lives that place shackles on us! Sin will burden you down and cause you to live an uncomfortable life. There will be days when you wonder why God is allowing for your suffering to continue. You will wonder why you have become a slave to the very thing that you HATE to do! Do not lose hope! There is one who can proclaim your freedom and it is IMMEDIATE! If you notice in the text when the crippled woman had contact with Jesus her healing was immediate! You can come to have contact with Jesus through contact with His blood through baptism. Accept your freedom today!