Devil's Island Closes

 

And he [Jesus] 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. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “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, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” And 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. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:15-21 ESV).

 

Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco’s Bay closed down and transfers its last prisoners on this day 63 years ago. At its peak period of use in 1950s, “The Rock," or "America’s Devil Island," housed over 200 inmates at the maximum-security facility. Alcatraz remains an icon of American prisons for its harsh conditions and record for being inescapable. The twelve-acre rocky island, one and a half miles from San Francisco, featured the most advanced security of the time. Some of the first metal detectors were used at Alcatraz. Strict rules were enforced against the unfortunate inmates who had to do time at Alcatraz. Nearly complete silence was mandated at all times. Even the notorious mafia boss, Al Capone, found it to be nearly impossible to tolerate. He was one of the first prisoners to occupy the new Alcatraz federal prison in August, 1934. Capone had bribed guards to receive preferential treatment while serving his tax-evasion sentence in Atlanta, but that changed after his transfer to Devil’s Island. The conditions broke Capone. “It looks like Alcatraz has got me licked,” he reportedly told his warden. In fact, Convict No. 85 became so cooperative that he was permitted to play banjo in the Alcatraz prison band, the Rock Islanders, which gave regular Sunday concerts for other inmates. It was a far cry from his ruthless lifestyle in Chicago.

 

The Bible teaches that the real “Devil’s Island” is the fallen world in which we now live. This world is beset by our sin nature. We shouldn’t be surprised by the grim events of evil men in our world. This is what a world with the perfect rule of Christ looks like. The Good News is that Jesus has broken that curse and even now is working His will and purpose to save as many of us from the eternal curse of death as possible. He has already set the captives free by His crucifixion and resurrection. We now merely wait for the final judgment of His rule to be enacted. Perhaps it will be soon!