Institutionalized

## You’re Free

“You’re free to go,” would be music to anyone’s ears who have been in a prison cell for any length of time. There are rare cases that a prisoner may want to stay just because they have grown accustomed to how life is within the bars. This sort of thinking is illustrated in the movie, Shawshank Redemption, when an elderly man was set free after many years of imprisonment. He ended his life because everything was too foreign to him on the outside and he just couldn’t cope with relearning life outside a controlled environment. Imagine him hearing, “You’re free to go,” several years prior. I think he would have had a desire to adapt to a new life because there was time available to him.

## Debt Owed

Jesus brings this illustration out after He scolds their lack of recognition of the time that’s at hand. Since He is accusing the listeners of being hypocrites (Luke 12:55) and they can’t figure out what’s in plain sight, they also can’t see clearly enough to judge wrong. The Bible tells us that we “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), meaning we are all guilty. If the One that is innocent takes us before the Judge because we have wronged Him, then the Judge will rule in favor of the plaintiff and off we go to prison. Then He adds that we’ll never get out until the entire debt has been paid. Unfortunately we can never pay the debt of our sins. Jesus was the only one that could pay the full penalty (Hebrews 6:1-8; 2 Corinthians 5:14-21).

The longer a person is living in prison (sin), the more difficult it is to get free. Some people just accept that’s how life is, much like the man from the Shawshank Redemption movie. You’re used living a specific way, so when the opportunity arises for freedom, you’re not too sure. You’ve been institutionalized. We all have a warrant and we'll walk in the courtroom to face the Judge. We’ll be without excuse because the signs of the time were there. We were given a warning. We can either go to prison and never be able to pay off the debt, or let the One we wronged forgive (or pay) for the debt. Jesus is presenting Himself in such a way that there really isn't an excuse to say there isn't proof that He is the Son of God. You don't have to pray about who He is because God said it through the prophets, then at the baptism through John the Baptist, and again in the book of Acts.

## Self-Check

Overall it's pretty clear: make peace with God before you meet Him as the final Judge. The only way to make peace with the Judge is through Jesus. If you don't have Jesus, you can't be free. If you have Jesus, you are free. Make sure you meet Jesus on Earth before you meet Him in Heaven, or you'll have to pay for your own sin which is death.

## But Have Eternal Life