“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭61:1‬ (‭ESV) (emphasis added) 

‬‬This is the verse Jesus quotes in the synagogue in Luke 4. This verse is a prophetic, messianic verse. In other words, Jesus was declaring that he is the Messiah when he stood up and read this verse in front of his fellow Jews. 

Jesus came to set the captives and the prisoners free. How can that be? We are all for setting captives free. Something outside their control ensnared them. And they should be free! But is it fair for Jesus to give freedom to prisoners? After all, unlike captives, prisoners did something wrong and deserve to be held as prisoners. 

Let’s take a look at two people, and then you can judge whether or not Jesus should set prisoners free. 

Johnny

Johnny is a 40 year-old man. By all accounts Johnny has a great life. He is a successful businessman, has a beautiful home, drives a fast car, and even has a gorgeous wife and two kids (one boy and one girl, of course). 

When people look at Johnny, he appears to have the perfect life. The thing is Johnny has a secret. He has a secret nobody knows, not even his wife. What is that secret? Well, Johnny has a severe addiction to pornography. No matter how hard he tries, Johnny just can’t help himself. Not a day goes by without him hiding someplace to fulfill that itch that seems to never be satisfied. 

There are times when Johnny almost confesses his dark side to his wife, best friend, or even pastor. Before he can get the words out, his embarrassment takes over his heart and mind, and he decides to continue his fight alone. “After all,” he thinks to himself, “if I can have the determination to be as successful in all the other areas of my life, why can’t I just use that same determination to quit watching pornography?”

On and on the battle goes for Johnny. 

The Beginning Of The Fight

Johnny’s spiral into the world of porn started at a very young age. By the time Johnny was six, his father would call him into the family room to watch “manly movies.” Johnny felt special because it was a time when he was able to spend one on one time with his father. At six Johnny didn’t understand what he was seeing. Still, there was a part of him that thought he shouldn’t be seeing what his father was watching with him. He would look up at his father to make sure everything was ok, and all he could see was a look of excitement and pleasure all over his father’s face. So, Johnny would just sit there and watch the “manly movies” with his dad. 

Time passed and Johnny learned exactly what these “manly movies” were. By this time Johnny was hooked. He loved the feelings he felt when watching these movies. Sometimes he watched them with his dad, but mostly he watched them when he was alone. It was always better when he was alone. 

Now, Johnny is entrapped and can’t get away from watching porn no matter how hard he tries. It’s shameful now that he is married and has a family of his own. He wishes everyday that he could just stop, but he can’t. He is held captive and can’t escape. 

Cindy’s Story

Cindy is a girl who grew up in a good home. She had a loving mom and dad. They gave her everything she ever wanted. Cindy worked hard and made good grades in school. Her parents were proud of their only child. Life was good!

Life was good until the day her father came home from work one spring evening. Cindy could tell something was wrong as soon as she saw him. She was told the company her father worked for had been bought out and the new owners layed off half of the current employees. Her father was in the half that got the pink slip. 

For the first time in Cindy’s life she was told ‘no’ when she asked for the new shoes she saw at the store. Her mother explained that they all needed to make sacrifices until her father could get another job. 

At first Cindy was ok with this new, sacrificial life. As days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months, Cindy got tired of hearing ‘no’ from her parents. 

The Turning Point For Cindy

One day Cindy was at the store looking at the cute new outfit in the window. Oh, how she wanted that outfit. She would look so good in it. As she was standing there, a boy from her school came up behind her and said, “That would look so hot on you.” Cindy was startled at first, but then replied, “I love it, but I can’t have it because my dad is between jobs at the moment.” The boy then offered a way for Cindy to get that new, hot outfit. 

When Cindy first heard of the boy’s suggestion she was appalled. But as she thought about it, she thought nobody would get hurt and then she would have an awesome new outfit to wear. Cindy agreed to the boy’s proposition and they both went into the store. The boy bought Cindy the outfit, and in return Cindy sent the boy a picture of herself in just her bra and underwear. 

Cindy blushed when she saw the boy the next day. But she soon forgot all about what she did when her bestie came up and complimented her on her new outfit. 

It was this day that led Cindy to a very dark place in her life. Cindy learned she could use her body to get whatever she wanted from boys. It didn’t take her long to find the perfect purse to go with the new outfit. To get this purse Cindy agreed to show a little more of her body. 

Cindy’s New Job

Soon Cindy found herself having sex to get something else she wanted. Time passed and Cindy found herself sleeping with anyone for money. She learned how to woo the boys and convince them to pay her for sex. She didn’t think of herself as a prostitute. No, she thought of herself as a savvy businesswoman. After all, she wasn’t hurting anyone, or so she thought. 

At 18 Cindy had enough money to live on her own. She moved to her own apartment and really started doing well in her “business.” 

Cindy figured out the best places to pick up men. She would take them back to her apartment and the transaction would take place. Cindy felt powerful and successful.

Time passed and Cindy found herself on the street. As it turned out her neighbors and landlord didn’t fancy her business. Cindy found it almost impossible to find a respectable place to allow her to live. Everything went well until the new landlords would call her previous landlord. Suddenly she would be rejected. Cindy found herself living out of her van, still using her body to make money. 

Life wasn’t going at all like Cindy dreamed it would go. Cindy felt like a prisoner. 

Johnny And Cindy Meet

One day Johnny was walking down the street, trying once again to not give into his temptation. Though he wasn’t looking at naked women, he couldn’t help but notice every pretty girl who walked by. His mind would wander, only to take notice of the next pretty girl. Johnny decided to just sit on the park bench. That’s when Cindy and Johnny’s worlds collided. Cindy was out looking for her next mark when she saw Johnny sitting on the bench. Cindy walked over and asked if she could sit down. Naturally, Johnny agreed and Cindy started making small talk with Johnny. Cindy learned to get men talking about their troubles, and then she would go in for the offer no man could resist. 

Everything was going as planned in the mind of Cindy. She then offered her “deal of a lifetime,” and to Johnny’s surprise, he agreed to it. Cindy led the way to her van just a few blocks away. 

Deep down Johnny didn’t want to have sex with Cindy. He just didn’t know how to say no to this sort of temptation. To be honest, this wasn’t his first rendezvous with a hooker. He just didn’t make it a habit since getting married. 

Likewise, Cindy didn’t really want to give her body to this middle aged man. However, her stomach told her otherwise. It had been a couple of days since she last ate anything substantial. She needed the money, and giving her body to the pleasurement of men was the only way she knew to make any money. 

So off they both went. Neither really wanting to say yes, but neither could they say no. One was held captive to a life of temporary pleasure, while the other was a prisoner of providing temporary pleasure. 

The Meeting

When Cindy and Johnny arrived at her van, there was a man standing there. Cindy smiled and the man smiled back. When this guy smiled, she instantly knew he was different from every man she had ever met. The man asked to speak with Cindy privately. At first she told him he would have to wait, but then Johnny told her it was ok. He was willing to wait for a few minutes. 

As Cindy talked to this mysterious man, she knew he was special. This man started telling her all about her life. He told her how she had gotten trapped in sex trafficking. Then he started telling her about a different life, a life she knew deep down she was supposed to be living. It was a beautiful life. A life she knew she would have loved. 

The Revelation

Then the man said something she would never forget, “I forgive you my dear, sweet child.” It was at this moment Cindy knew this guy was more than a man. You see, this man was in fact Jesus in the flesh. Jesus came to set the prisoners free. He wanted more than anything to set Cindy free from the prison she made for herself. Jesus wanted to give Cindy the life he saw when he looked at her. He loved her. 

Cindy thought for a moment and then broke down crying. She buried her head in Jesus’ shoulder and wept like she had never wept in her life. She knew she had gotten herself into the situation she found herself in. Cindy wanted to be the woman Jesus told her she truly was. She didn’t know how that was possible, but she knew Jesus would show her the way. 

Cindy changed the way she saw herself, her body, and her future that day. Cindy gave up the life of prostitution and started a safe house for other women who were escaping sex trafficking. 

What About Johnny

What happened to Johnny? At the same time Jesus was talking to Cindy, he was also having a chat with Johnny. Jesus told Johnny that he loved him just like he was right then and there. Jesus showed Johnny how it wasn’t his fault he was held captive to his deep, dark secret. Johnny was shown what a life of freedom looked like. He saw his future with his wife and kids. Johnny saw how he had the power to stop this secret from being passed to his son. 

Like Cindy, Johnny had a choice to make. Thankfully Johnny chose freedom. Johnny gave his whole life to Jesus, past, present, and future. Johnny left a brand new man. 

That night Johnny had the most difficult conversation of his life. He told his wife about his childhood and how the choices of his father led him to a life addicted to porn. Then Johnny told her about meeting Jesus. Johnny told her how he is now a new man, a man who is free from the captivity that pornography held him in for all those years. 

It took awhile for his wife to digest all that Johnny told her that night. In time she discovered that Johnny really was a brand new man. One night she asked Johnny if Jesus could make her a new person too. Johnny had the privilege of leading not only his wife, but his two kids as well to a new life found only in Jesus. The next 40 years of Johnny’s life was amazing and better than he could have ever imagined. 

Now What Do You Think

You see, it doesn’t matter if a person is held captive by sin because someone else forced it on them like Johnny, or if a person purposely chose a life of sin and finds themselves held prisoner of that sin. Jesus came to set both the captives and prisoners free. He doesn’t discriminate between prisoners and captives. This means that we shouldn’t discriminate either. We need to see everyone with the same eyes as Jesus. I pray that Jesus will give me his eyes, and I pray the same thing for you!