Scott Jennings: The Irony of Freedom Fear

Scott Jennings
Church of the Harvest
Fitchburg, Massachusetts


Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:1

That through death He might destroy … the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Hebrews 2:14-15
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In January 1945, a small group of elite U.S. Army Rangers landed in the dark of night behind enemy lines on the main northern island of the Philippines. Their objective … 513 American prisoners – the last remaining contingent out of almost 12,000 U.S. soldiers captured three years earlier when the Philippines fell to Japan.

These 513 were among those who survived a 100-mile forced march in April of 1942 from Corregidor in the south; a trek now known in infamy as the Bataan Death March. Over 1,000 U.S. soldiers, and many thousand Philippino freedom fighters, died in this march. By early 1945, of the some 10,000 U.S. servicemen remaining after the march, many had died and many others had been shipped to POW camps on the Japanese mainland.

Only 513 remained. And the U.S. military, fearful that these prisoners would be exterminated before the liberation of the Philippines that was now imminent, sent a team of specially-trained and highly-motivated Rangers in to rescue them.

The rescue mission was a stunning success, now well-recorded in the chronicles of World War II history. All the prisoners were located, set free, and returned to the safety of American shores. But a little-known, seldom-emphasized, and shocking fact about the rescue mission would be impossible to believe were it not well-documented by the heroic Rangers who carried out the daring release: After months of careful planning, costly preparations, and perfect execution of an excruciating decision to risk the lives of one group of soldiers for the freedom of another … when the liberators finally reached the prison camp and overcame the Japanese captors -- not all the prisoners wanted to be rescued !

How could this be? Had they become traitors? Had they turned their backs on their nation and its cause? Were they now supporters or sympathizers with a Japanese enemy who had attacked their homeland without warning or provocation? No … none of these things were the case. The truth about the reluctance of the captives to be led to freedom by their brothers-in-arms was much more subtle and troubling.

These were American citizens, being forced to exist in a foreign land, controlled by hostile forces; hardened soldiers who had been constantly beaten, harassed, humiliated, and tortured, day after day, month after month, for almost three years; men who had been constantly threatened by their captors with the promise of death should they fail to comply with even the simplest or most obscure of the rules of their captivity. During this time many did die … executed by their enemy by horrible means that their helpless compatriots were forced to witness. And slowly, even imperceptibly, a dark force gripped the hearts of some of these prisoners. Fear. The fear of the consequences of disobedience to their masters. The fear of the results of standing in opposition to the brutal prison guards who defined the rules by which one might retain life, or assure the sentence of death.

And thus, when deliverance was offered to them by rescuers who had overcome their foes and risked all to bring an escape from the yoke of bondage, the pall of fear and the smell of death were so strong in the souls of some captives that the concept of true freedom could no longer be grasped. What if the enemy was still watching … lurking in the shadows? What if they were recaptured? Were these liberators really fellow-soldiers, or imitators luring them into a trap designed to give their oppressors an excuse to finally end their lives? No, these prisoner thought … it was safer just to sit tight … wait it out … not rock the boat.

Freedom fear gripped their hearts.

Were it not for the compassion of the Rangers, their forceful insistence, their unwillingness to leave even one compatriot behind in spite of this shockingly unexpected reception, some would have been left languishing in their confused and pitiful state. But, by the grace of God and the diligence of their friends, all were set free.

So what, you may ask, does this have to do with the Christian life?

I shudder as I think of the times through the years that I have sat with dear brothers and sisters … citizens of heaven and heirs of the promise through faith in Jesus Christ … yet finding themselves entangled in the yoke of bondage subtly placed around their souls over years of oppression, lies, and threats by a relentless enemy. Fellow-soldiers in the army of the Lord who have been isolated from their comrades and taken captive by sin, pride, the deceitfulness of riches, the cares of life. And slowly but surely, the lure of the world has blinded them to the liberty by which their Messiah sets them free.

I speak to them of true freedom. I remind them of their inheritance. I point them to a city yet to come, made without hands, whose Builder and Maker is God. And yet, so often, I see Freedom Fear grip their hearts. At what cost do I have to make these changes, they ask? How much do I have to give up? Where might this new direction take me, and will my friends, my family, follow? It’s safer just to sit tight … wait it out … not rock the boat. And in spite of my compassion, my forceful insistence, my unwillingness to leave even one behind ... sometimes they choose to remain in captivity.

If you are the captive, dear saint … you who are reading this today … open your heart to the love of Jesus, the Savior and Deliverer of your soul. Let the perfection of His love for you cast out the fear that has made you a subject of bondage in this foreign land. Those who the Son has set free are free indeed.

If you are the rescuer, and you feel that your calls to freedom are being ignored by those whom you have been sent to release … don’t give up. Your sacrificial love and gracious, persistent encouragement may be used by God to help overcome the fear of freedom and release a brother or sister from bondage. Be faithful to your mission … God will be faithful to deliver.