Set at Liberty Those Who Are Oppressed
๐ช๐๐ฅ๐ ๐จ๐ฃ
โข If you could meet one famous person, who would you choose? What lengths would you be willing to go to, in order to make this happen? Why?ย
โข Recall a time when you felt constrained or restrained. How did you respond, and what did you do to break free?
โข How do you respond when you see a person in dire need?
๐ช๐ข๐ฅ๐
โ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ช๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ด ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐ฆ, ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ค๐ญ๐ข๐ช๐ฎ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ณ. ๐๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ค๐ญ๐ข๐ช๐ฎ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ต๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ฑ๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ด๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ, ๐ต๐ฐ ๐จ๐๐ฉ ๐๐ฉ ๐ก๐๐๐๐ง๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐จ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ค ๐๐ง๐ ๐ค๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ง๐๐จ๐จ๐๐, ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ค๐ญ๐ข๐ช๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅโ๐ด ๐ง๐ข๐ท๐ฐ๐ณ.โ ๐๐จ๐๐ ๐ฐ:๐ญ๐ดโ๐ญ๐ต
(Read also ๐๐จ๐๐ ๐ญ๐ต:๐ญโ๐ญ๐ฌ.)
Jesus is the fulfillment of Godโs promise of a Savior. He came to save, free, heal, and redeem us. Today, in particular, we will look at what it means for Jesus to set at liberty those who are oppressed. To be oppressed is to be under someone elseโs power and to be marginalized by society. This is not something too far away from our circumstances. In this lesson, through the life of Zacchaeus, we will see how this applies to our spiritual condition and society, and how Jesus sets people free from both experiencing oppression and participating in it, bringing transformation to individuals, relationships, and communities.
๐ญ. ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ต ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ.
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฅ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ก๐ข๐ค๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฆ๐ถ๐ด. ๐๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ข ๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ฆ๐ง ๐ต๐ข๐น ๐ค๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ณ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ. ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ถ๐ด ๐ธ๐ข๐ด, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ค๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต, ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ด๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ. . . . ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ด๐ข๐ธ ๐ช๐ต, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐จ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ, โ๐๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ช๐ด ๐ข ๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ.โ ๐๐จ๐๐ ๐ญ๐ต:๐ฎโ๐ฏ, ๐ณ
Because Zacchaeus was a tax collector under Roman rule who increased taxes to gain unjustly from the people, he was considered an oppressor. In their time, tax collectors were a special kind of sinners and in a category of their own (Matthew 9:10; Mark 2:15; Luke 15:1). However, because Zacchaeus was an outcast in society and there was stigma related to his profession, he can also be considered oppressed. Still Zacchaeus went to see Jesus, and he did everything he could to meet Him. Think of a person in society today that you would rather avoid. What do you think Jesus would do if He met this person? Why?
๐ฎ. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ.
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ถ๐ด ๐ค๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ, ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ, โ๐ก๐ข๐ค๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฆ๐ถ๐ด, ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ, ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐บ ๐ข๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ.โ ๐๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฆ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ ๐ซ๐ฐ๐บ๐ง๐ถ๐ญ๐ญ๐บ. ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ด๐ข๐ธ ๐ช๐ต, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐จ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ, โ๐๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ช๐ด ๐ข ๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ.โย ๐๐จ๐๐ ๐ญ๐ต:๐ฑโ๐ณ
While we may choose to judge, avoid, and even cancel someone like Zacchaeus, Jesus chose to talk to him and stay at his house. Luke tells us that the people around Jesus did not like this. But Jesus came specifically to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10)โincluding an oppressor like Zacchaeus. As a result, Zacchaeus was set free from His alienation from God and His bondage to the love of money. According to Luke 19:8, how did Zacchaeus make restitution for his actions?ย
๐ฏ. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ.
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ก๐ข๐ค๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฆ๐ถ๐ด ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ, โ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฅ, ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ง ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฎ๐บ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ ๐จ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ณ. ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ง ๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ง๐ณ๐ข๐ถ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, ๐ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต ๐ง๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ง๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฅ.โ ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ถ๐ด ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ, โ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ ๐ด๐ข๐ญ๐ท๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ, ๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ญ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ช๐ด ๐ข ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฃ๐ณ๐ข๐ฉ๐ข๐ฎ.โย ๐๐จ๐๐ ๐ญ๐ต:๐ดโ๐ต
The restitution Zacchaeus made did not just reflect His newfound freedom; it also benefited othersโthe poor and specific people he had defrauded. Jesusโ response was a declaration of salvation. When we are set free from our sin, oppression, and bondage, the result is progressive. Families, communities, and societies can also experience liberty and transformation. What could happen in our families, communities, and nation if Jesus transformed both those who suffer oppression and those who cause it?
๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก
โข In our society, what do the oppressed and oppressor look like? How can they experience liberty, and what role do you think you have to play in it?ย
โข In what ways do you think you have taken part in oppressing others (e.g., unjust treatment of others, bullying, participating in corruption)? Take this time to repent and ask God to help you respond like Zacchaeus, seeking restoration from Him and making things right.
โข How have you experienced oppression (e.g., alienation, unjust treatment)? Ask God to help you experience freedom in Christ. Commit to extend Godโs forgiveness and love to those who may have oppressed you.
๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฅ
โข Thank God for the gospel and the liberty Christ brings. Recall how your life has changed because of the gospel and Godโs goodness.ย
โข Pray for those who directly oppress you (e.g., enemies, some people in government). Pray that they may encounter Jesus and be transformed by Him. Pray also for the oppressed. Ask God to bring restoration and healing to them.
โข Pray for your community and nation to experience Godโs true and lasting liberty. Pray that the kingdom of God would advance as faithful believers proclaim and demonstrate the gospel with love.ย