“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,”
(Luke 4:18 LSB)

“You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him,”
(Acts 10:38 LSB).

“On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.
15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”
(Luke 13:10-16 NIV).

“Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven,”
(Matthew 18: 18-19 NIV).

Jesus isn’t just here for the spiritualized allegories; He’s the ultimate freedom fighter, breaking chains of demonic oppression like it’s his day job. He’s passed on that Spirit-powered liberation toolkit to us.

It’s all fun and theological games when you read the words, apply basic reading comprehension, follow the rules of logic, and let the Bible interpret itself… until you bump into a doctrine you don’t like. Suddenly, there’s a line in the sand. Will you be faithful to let the Bible be your only first principle of knowledge and authority, or will you swap it out for some human concoction of observations? Will you atone for the Bible’s so-called “mistake” of its radical faith doctrine by sacrificing it on the altar of your own observations and sensations? When Christians do this, they’re being religious, but not in the good “fear of God” way. It’s more like a religion, a sacrifice, and a doctrine straight from central casting for demonic doctrines.

In Luke 4, Jesus reads from Isaiah, applying it to Himself. He says the Spirit of God has anointed Him to proclaim the good news. Then He adds He’s anointed to proclaim freedom to captives and sight for the blind. Notice the pause in the “proclaiming” parade, where Jesus shifts gears to say He’s anointed to set free, or “send freedom” to the “oppressed.”

Although some Christians love to spiritualize and allegorize the Bible as if they were a Buddhist drunk on the blood of mystics, we’re going to fear God and stick to what’s actually written. The beauty of spiritualizing the Bible is you control the narrative, bending definitions like playdough when you don’t like what you read. You might argue, “Works are works, grace is grace, and these categories are set in stone,” but your tune suddenly changes when its not about your pet doctrines. Then, suddenly, everything’s up for reinterpretation. They can’t heal the sick, and their prayers might as well be on mute when they pray; therefore, they rewrite the Bible in their image, making prayer outcomes as unpredictable as a coin toss. They make the bible a reflection of their own image.

What does Jesus mean by being anointed to set free the oppressed? Are we to spiritualize this too? If Jesus says He’s anointed to proclaim the good news, does that mean He’s just sending out spiritual vibes? No way. When He talks about giving sight to the blind, He means actual, physical healing, not some metaphorical eye-opening. The repeated examples make this as clear as day; to claim otherwise is like saying your brain’s still loading from the ’90s dial-up era.

Our focus is on Jesus saying He’s anointed to “set free the oppressed.” Not just to “proclaim” freedom, but to actively do the freeing. To keep letting the Bible interpret itself, let’s look at where Jesus sets the oppressed free. The most direct wording comes from Peter in Acts 10:38, where he says Jesus was Spirit-anointed, by the Father, for this exact mission. It’s likely Peter is thinking of Isaiah 61 and remembers Jesus’ calming of it, because they resemble each other so much. However, instead of “set free the oppressed,” he uses “healing” for “oppressed.”

The Bible teaches that sending freedom by the Spirit heals those made sick by demonic power. Peter sums up that all the sick Jesus healed were under demonic oppression, not merely cursed from Adam’s fall. Luke 13 gives a direct example of Jesus, anointed by the Spirit, healing a woman oppressed by Satan for 18 years. She had a physical defect caused by demons. Jesus called her a daughter of Abraham, indicating her election, as He does not call all Jews children of Abraham. Despite her status as one of God’s elect, Satan oppressed her with sickness for many years, making her bow and look at her feet in torment.

Jesus was not there to “use signs to confirm His ministry,” but to fulfill an old promise to Abraham. These are two different categories. He said it was necessary, for a daughter of Abraham to be healed on the Sabbath. The sabbath, was the day that God provides. Thus, is not merely a sufficient reason, but a necessary reason that God provides healing for the children of Abraham on the Sabbath. He promised to bless Abraham and his children, and this included supernatural health and healing. This is obvious from what God promised Abraham and the context. And Jesus affirms that healing must be given to Abrahams children. 

The specific word Jesus used was “bound,” and “set free.” Jesus was anointed to set free the oppressed. He found a lady bound by demonic sickness and so Jesus set her free. Notice, Jesus did not preach to her about healing, or other aspects of the gospel. Rather, he went straight to her and commanded the healing, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” This is exactly what Jesus said. He was anointed to set the oppressed free. Not to merely proclaim it, but to do the freeing Himself.

Peter, in his Pentecost sermon, explains that Jesus was promised the right to pour out the Spirit for power as a reward for His atonement and resurrection. This Spirit baptism is for missional power, distinct from inward sanctification. The Book of Acts shows this empowerment through speaking in tongues, healing, visions, prophecies, and other miracles. Jesus was the forerunner, anointing us with the same Spirit. We are to preach the gospel and free the oppressed, as seen when Peter healed a cripple. His statement would get him kicked out of many churches for stealing God’s glory and not acknowledging God’s sovereignty. Peter does not preach, but commands, saying, “What I have, I give, in Jesus’ Name, Walk.”

The man, like the woman, was “bound” by demonic oppression through demonic power. Words are not enough for their situation. Preaching will not cut it. These oppressed people’s only hope is unstoppable power. We have greater power. And faith is the only way to get it. Jesus and Peter, loosed them from their torments. Jesus said we would do these things, saying, “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

In the context of Matthew 18, forgiveness is mentioned, but so is faith to ask for and receive anything. Matthew 16 also discusses this, where Jesus promises to build His church on Peter’s declaration of Him as the Son of God, stating that the gates of hell will not prevail against this confession. In this context He says, “what you lock I will lock, and what you unlock I will unlock.” This suggests a broad application for this conferred authority, which Jesus gave to us who confess He is the Son of God. It’s an all-encompassing power. It is the same faith used for salvation, healing, moving mountains, expanding His kingdom, forgiveness, and asking for our desires. Consider using faith to receive wealth for funding gospel work. Not only did you unlock a financial door here on earth, but by sowing this back into God’s work you have unlocked treasure for yourself in heaven. Faith opens doors on earth, in heaven, and beyond; it’s the master key. Jesus teaches to give to Caesar what is “his,” and if you command a mountain to move with faith, it will obey “you.” You cast out demons, free souls, and what you loose on earth will be loosed in the next life.

Now, for us, the baton’s passed. Jesus promised the Holy Spirit for power, not just for personal holiness but for mission work, as seen in Acts with miracles galore. Peter, taking after Jesus, healed a cripple just by commanding it. He said, “What I have, I give, in Jesus’ Name, Walk.” We are commissioned with the same power and authority to do the same. We don’t need to beg God for it. It’s a packaged deal with the finished atonement of Jesus. You already got it. If you need to be baptized in the Spirit, then ask by faith and receive.

Unless your faith’s been stuck on dial-up, it’s time to log into the divine network and start freeing folks from their physical and spiritual shackles. Remember, in this game of faith, you’re not just playing; you’re meant to change the scoreboard.

[Grok 2025, personal. Helped with proofreading and a few witty summaries.]