Christ the Locksmith

Introduction

Have any of you ever seen the family vacation pictures where someone has their head and hands stuck in a medieval stock? Usually this is at theme parks, but people will run up to them, stick their head and hands in them and take a cheesy picture as if to say, “look mom, i’ve been captured, HAHA.” Well, if you know anything about me you know that I just HAD to do this. I was at Dorney Park once with my High School band and a group of us found this medieval stock.

Of course, I volunteered to go up to the stock and put my head and hands in it and have it shut. What was supposed to be a jokey picture turned in to actual worry for me. One of the costumed medieval workers came up and actually LOCKED it! My friends, finding this to be hilarious, LEFT ME! (of course only for a couple of minutes)

I was stuck there as people walked by, my head and hands shackled into this stock. No matter what I tried to do I couldn’t escape. My head was stuck, my hands could barely move, and I was stuck there bent over and standing. No matter how hard I tried to pull away or lift up or break the chains and shackles, I could not. I was stuck and there wasn’t a thing I could do to get out. Luckily, my friends came back and convinced the park worker to let me out, but for that brief amount of time I was not happy!

There wasn’t a thing I could do for myself in that moment except to cry out and hope that someone would help me.

Issue in Bible

Our Scripture today tells a bit about being shackled. Luke writes and says that Paul and Silas were jailed by the Romans and shackled and chained to the stocks. Like I was at the theme park these two are stuck. Not only was it them, but it was also many other people.

That brief moment of feeling stuck

This was the time after Jesus’ death. Many people started spreading the word of Jesus around to everyone they could, and this was also the start of heavy Christian persecution. Christians who were spreading the news of Christ were being jailed, beaten, and murdered. Luckily for Paul and Silas they were only beaten and jailed, still a punishment that was not okay.

So, Paul and Silas, along with many other Christians, are stuck and shackled in this Roman prison. They have been severely beaten, stripped naked, and are now stuck.

No matter what physical attempt they would have had to escape or break the chains, they could not do it. They were now limited because of their bondage.

Issue Today

I think we can all agree that we know what it is like to be shackled and chained. Maybe we are not shackled and chained in the same manner as Paul and Silas, but we still are none the less.

I remember when I used to struggle with lying. This was mostly when I was a kid, but it was pretty bad. I would get caught with chocolate smeared all over my face before dinner and my dad would say, “Did you eat anything with chocolate before dinner?” I would shake my head, violently left and right saying, “nooooo, no way!” Of course the evidence was all over my face.

This instance is sort of funny, but as I got older my lies grew more frequent and severe. I would find myself lying to my family, my friends. I would lie out of fear of getting in trouble and out of fear of being perceived in a negative way.

The issue here is that I was being shackled and restrained. No, I was not in a physical jail or held by physical chains, but that sin that corrupted me was holding me down. I wasn’t able to be a good Christian, I wasn’t able to be a good person, I wasn’t able to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. My constant sinning was holding me back, it was subduing me.

This is something that we have all experienced. Our sins, the things that we do that go against God, they hold us back. We are unable to reach our full potential as servants of Christ when we are still chained to the floor. Yes, maybe we can do some good works, maybe we are able to help some people and set a good example sometimes, but as long as we remain chained with our sin we are not able to go anywhere!

Solution in Bible

Issue Today

Like us, Paul and Silas knew they were stuck and being held back. They knew they couldn’t fight it, they couldn’t escape. So, they did the only thing they couldn think to do, they prayed. They began to pray to God, to sing joyful hymns that echoed throughout the jail.

This could have gone on for minutes or even hours. They sang and prayed, sang and prayed, sang and prayed. Finally, as they prayed there was an earthquake that was so violent that it not only broke their chains and set them free, but it did it for the other persecuted Christians as well!

God heard their praise in this trial and He answered them.

When they had no where else to turn, they turned to God and God answered their cries! Their faith in Christ, devotion to Him, and open prayer and worship of the Lord removed that chain that held them down.

Solution Today

So, what does that mean for us? Well, it means that even though we are chained down by our sins, even though sin corrupts our character and destroys us, even though it seems like we can’t get anywhere without being chained down again, we have a chain breaker.

Christ died for us and ascended into heaven. He did this not only for our sins to be forgiven, but so that when we have chains that hold us down we can go to him and ask for His help.

Christ is the ultimate chain-breaker that will remove that burden from your life, you just need to call out to Him.

You can try to handle it all on your own, sure, but is it possible that this solution of yours will only fasten you to the floor and stocks more? It’s as if we know that we are held back by our chains so we add more and think, “surely this will help me escape!”

While not necessarily in R

Acts 16:16–34 NLT

16 One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future. She earned a lot of money for her masters by telling fortunes. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.” 18 This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And instantly it left her. 19 Her masters’ hopes of wealth were now shattered, so they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities at the marketplace. 20 “The whole city is in an uproar because of these Jews!” they shouted to the city officials. 21 “They are teaching customs that are illegal for us Romans to practice.” 22 A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. 23 They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. 24 So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks. 25 Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. 26 Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! 27 The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. 28 But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!” 29 The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” 32 And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. 33 Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. 34 He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God.

No! We need to quit trying to solve all of our own problems on our own. Christ stands in the cell with us, He stands beside us with His locksmithing tools, he even has the equipment in our locks ready to turn that final pin to set us free and all He says is, “tell me what you want,” and we look at Him and say, “Don’t worry Christ, I’ve got this.”

This is why we are stuck. This is why we don’t mature in our faith. This is why we find ourselves broken and beaten, lost and ashamed, tormented and defeated. It’s because we ignore the chain-breaker and try and do it all on our own.

We need to take up the example of Paul and Silas and we need to pray. We need to go before God with what hurts us, what ails us, what holds us back and we need to say, “Christ, I can’t do this on my own. Please, free me from this chain, break me away from this suffering, help me O Lord.” When we do this, when we do this with a heart of sincerity and a soul of belief, Christ acts. Without hesitation or mental reservation Christ frees us from our bondage and shackles, and all we have to do is ask.

So, as you experience this week ahead and you see the sins in your life that bind you, that weigh you down, that chain you to the floor and stocks, ask Christ to break your chains. Ask Him to liberate you from that sin, from that bondage, to set you free.

Christ ascended into heaven and has offered to help us all, and all we need to do is ask.

Let us pray.