“What freedom does a dead man/slave have?”
If a slave is offered freedom, can he accept? If a sick man is offered healing, can he accept?
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” - Luke 4
Summary V.16 "It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy...God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden."
It's not dependant on Israel's, man's or Pharaoh's desire or effort..."Israel", "man" and "Pharaoh" all subject to God's will.
He WILL accept. But here’s the key point...
He’ll only accept freedom if he comes to a realization that he is a slave. What I am saying is that God gives that revelation of sin to people. Man’s natural reaction to that revelation is to come to Christ. (it’s called irresistible grace)
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”