It is likely we all have been prisoners to or of something. Whether it is addictions, fears, school requirements, relational expectations, or job obligations, it is likely all of us can identify with being a prisoner. Even Jesus became a prisoner. Jesus committed Himself to absolutely follow His Heavenly Father, and it took Him through literal imprisonment, cruel torture, crucifixion and death, and then all the way to resurrection and life everlasting. In John 5:19 Jesus reminded His disciples that what He saw His Father doing, He would also do. Jesus ministered to many, and when they saw Jesus loving and serving people, they were seeing the Father (Jn 14:9). Jesus could have avoided the imprisonment that led to His crucifixion but His heart needed to go where the Father desired Him to go (Jn 3:16-18; Matt 26:36-46). He didn’t enjoy being beaten, whipped, and crucified, however, He continues to experience joy in what became possible through it (Heb 12:2).
The Apostle Paul became an “imitator of Christ”, which is at the core of his statement of being a prisoner of Christ. Jesus followed His Father wholeheartedly, and Paul followed Jesus as his Lord the same way. He experienced many trials because of his choice to be a follower of Jesus Christ, literally landing himself in a prison in Judea, and later in Rome (Acts 21-28). Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote much of our New Testament. His imprisonment to Jesus, demonstrated as physical chains was used by God as a vivid demonstration of a loving relationship with God through Christ. Many souls were won, and many churches were founded as the apostle allowed his heart to be gripped and directed by a compelling love for God and people (2Cor 5:14). In Eph 4:1-10 we see how God’s love practically compels Christians to love each other. It is in loving each other that our family and neighbors begin to see a loving God worthy of our devotion and service.
The “middle wall” that was broken down referenced in Eph 2:14, is referring to the radical cultural differences between the first century Jew and Gentile that disappears when both are in Christ. Together they function as one in the Body of Christ. That being said, every Jewish disciple of Jesus was not loving toward their Gentile counterparts. Paul was despised by many for bringing the Gospel to the their communities, and planting churches among them. Jesus had set him free, and then anointed him to take the Gospel to the everyone. As Saul of Tarsus, Paul was terribly blind and bound by religion. As Paul, he was free from religion, and a prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil 3:8-14).
All of us are going to be prisoners of someone or something. Will you choose to be a prisoner of Jesus Christ today? Choosing to belong to Jesus Christ will grow His heart within you. Compelled by His love within you, you will go places and do things that communicate Him to neighbors, friends, strangers, and enemies. The central compelling force in Paul’s life was Jesus Christ within. Are we willing for Jesus Christ to live in us in a similar compelling way?
A question to consider with a good friend: What is the most compelling influence in your life today?