Deliver or deliverance means the action of being rescued or set free, to liberate, release, ransom, redeem, and save. This was Jesus’ mission. His entire ministry was a ministry of deliverance.
But what did Jesus come to deliver us from? What was so wrong that the Son of God had to come to earth in human form to deliver us from it? The answer is sin. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve sinned and from that point on, every person born was born with a sin nature. And this sin separates us from God. But God so loved the world that He sent Jesus to deliver us from our enslavement to this sin nature. He took away all of our sins on the cross and those who put their faith and trust in Him are freed from this sin nature and will have eternal life. Only by the Atonement and shed blood of Jesus Christ are we delivered from sin.
What can we say Jesus is like from this? Some people say that Jesus wasn’t all about sin, He was about love and acceptance of everybody. But sin was the very reason why He came. The bible also says that without the shedding of blood, there can be no forgiveness of sins. We needed forgiveness. He knew very well that He was coming to deal with sin, once for all. To say that Jesus wasn’t about looking at and dealing with the sin in people is a wrong view of Jesus. When the woman was caught in adultery, He rescued her from death, loved her, but then told her to “go and sin no more.” Jesus was not shy about addressing the sin in people’s lives. Whenever the disciples said or did something wrong, He loved and forgave them but He immediately admonished them for their lack of faith or corrected them for their wrong thinking or challenged their pride and prejudices. He even told Peter once, “Get behind me Satan…you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” The bible says Jesus knew what was in the heart of man. He did not let sin go unaddressed. He didn’t wink at it, ignore it, or pretend it didn’t exist or wasn’t so bad. Sin had to be dealt with, there is no getting around it. Sin separates us from God and Jesus came to deliver us from sin so we could be in right relationship with God. On the cross all the sin of the world was placed on Him and His death is what truly showed His love for us.
Jesus can only deliver because He is master over and has power over all things. When Jesus was on earth, it says that He had compassion on the crowds and He delivered many people from various problems, heart-aches, and difficult situations. For example, he delivered people from physical danger and disaster, basic needs like hunger, financial crisis, from a difficult life, mental illness, physical handicaps, and spiritual ruin.
Ps 37:40 says, “The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord; He is their stronghold in time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in Him.”
David knew where his help comes from and he always expressed his honest feelings in times of trouble as Ps 70:5 says, “I am poor and needy; come quickly to me, O God. You are my help and deliverer; O Lord, do not delay.” David always went to the true source of power with petitions for deliverance. So, go to the one who can deliver you. Don’t go anywhere else. Go to Jesus. He is the complete Deliverer for every circumstance. Not only did He come to completely deliver you from your enslavement to sin but He is always with you to deliver you from anything trouble that may stand in your way.
