First, a few questions. For the children of Israel in Egypt, who was the oppressor, who were the oppressed, what was the system of oppression, what was the damage done to the oppressed? During the time of the NT gospels, who was the oppressor, who were the oppressed, what was the system of oppression, what was the damage done to the oppressed? In the modern U. S., (2015), who are the oppressors, who are the oppressed, what is the system of oppression, what damage is being done to the oppressed?
As Jesus was reading from Isaiah 61 (Luke 4:18-19), he inserted a phrase from Isaiah 58:6 "to release the oppressed." This idea must have been extremely important to Jesus for him to have added it to Isaiah 61.
But most white Americans are quite ignorant about oppression---biblically, historically and sociologically. During my 89 years, I have never heard a sermon on the extensive biblical teaching on oppression. There is almost no theological literature by white American theologians on oppression. Most Bible dictionaries either omit oppression altogether or lightly touch it, even though there are 555 references to oppression in the OT.
"To release the oppressed" in America, white Christians and churches must first identify and then repent from what they are doing, then engage in restitution, then repair the damage oppression has done to individuals, families, communities and cultures.
Biblically, oppression not only smashes the body, but it also crushes the spirit. Please extensively meditate on Exodus 6:9 which concisely describes the damage oppression did to the people of Israel. I think the same damage is being done today in America. Their spirits were so badly broken by oppression that they could not even hear or believe God when he said he would free them from slavery. Today, we might label this mass PTSD, or cultural PTSS. Oppression damage creates individual, family and cultural dysfunction. Damage precedes dysfunction.
What is the biblical answer to oppression? It is found in 4:19: "the year of the Lord's favor." This refers to the OT Sabbath Year, the Jubilee Year when slaves were freed every seven years, when debts were canceled every seven years, when land was returned every 50 years. How radical is your understanding of justice? Bandaid justice will not suffice. Only a kingdom of God justice, a liberating justice will do. A shallow understanding of oppression leads to a shallow practice of justice; far too common in modern America. In America, we really don't end systems of oppression, though we think we do; we merely redesign them.
Who in the Bible actually did release the oppressed? Pharaoh finally released the Egyptian slaves, but relunctantly, after judgment, after God slayed the first-born.
Not even Jesus succeeded in releasing the oppressed in Israel. He tried hard to convince the Jewish religio-politico-economic elite to repent---"Woe to the rich" Luke 6:24; "Woe to the scribes and Pharisees" Mt. 23 and Luke 11; and he cleansed the temple and called it a den of robbers. All to no avail; they refused to repent and end the oppression. James, in chapter 2, scorched the church for being pro-rich, pro-oppression, and anti poor. Most of the modern American white church has repeated the James 2 church error, either sitting idly by or participating in Indian genocide, slavery, segregation, taking half of Mexico's land. For the past 30 years doing little to stop mass incarceration.
Luke 4:18-19 guides the Spirit-filled church on how to release the oppressed by implementing Sabbath Year/Jubilee Year justice. Why has the American church chosen to neglect this part of the gospel?
Nineveh, the great city, did repent; Zaccheus, the tax collector did repent and restitute. But for the most part people, even most American Christians prefer to enjoy the fruit of ethnocentrism and oppression---superiority and wealth---so much that they refuse to repent and release the oppressed poor.
World Bank, Bread for the World, and many other NGO's are committed to ending extreme poverty by 2030. Will the church commit itself to ending extreme oppression by 2030?
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