An iconic photo taken during the Civil War shows a black man who has come to be known as “Whipped Peter” (his name was originally Gordon). The photo shows his back, heavily scarred from the whippings he received as a slave. The abolitionist movement used the photo to raise public sympathy and support for their fight to end slavery.
Recently, Hollywood made a movie, Emancipation, loosely based on the life of former slave Peter. It stars Will Smith as Peter. Smith’s character endures all kinds of horrors as the result of being a slave in the South during the Civil War. While working under inhumane conditions to help build a railroad, he overhears his captors say that President Lincoln has signed a proclamation freeing all slaves. Peter and three of his fellow slaves decide to flee through the swamps of Louisiana and meet up with the Army of the Potomac on the other side. They will then be able to experience the freedom Lincoln has given them.
For days, the four men try to avoid capture in the swamp. The cruelty of their Confederate pursuers is evident. Only Peter survives the ordeal and finds the freedom he longed for.
It is a tragic story. At the movie’s end, they show the picture of the real Peter. Through Will Smith’s character we see that there were people who, though legally free, could not enjoy that freedom. The cost of making that freedom a reality was very high. It took a great deal of courage and effort on Peter’s part to exercise the freedom that was his. I can understand why slaves who knew about the Emancipation Proclamation written by Lincoln were not willing to pay that price.
If you have believed in Jesus Christ for eternal life, He has written an emancipation proclamation for you. In Rom 6:10–12, Paul says that when Christ died on the cross, He broke the power of sin. Through the power of Christ who lives within him, the believer has been set free from slavery to sin. He no longer has to serve it. The Christian should consider himself as one who has been set free from slavery. The Lord spoke of these same truths when He said, “If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).
In the movie, Smith is chased, sees his friends die, is attacked by alligators and dogs, suffers from hunger and thirst, and is repeatedly at the point of death. Without going through these ordeals, he would not have ultimately experienced the reality of the freedom that was legally his. It was not enough for him to simply say that the president had set him free.
It is not that way with believers. We simply have to believe what Christ and Paul have told us in the Scriptures. Our King has set us free. At the moment of faith, we can set the chains aside. While working on the railroad, Peter couldn’t do that. We can.
We might understand why slaves during the Civil War did not do what Peter did. But it makes no sense for believers today to refuse to walk in the freedom that is ours in Christ. We no longer have to be slaves to sin. Through Him, we can walk in the freedom that brings abundant life.
