Good On The Sabbath
Luke 13:10-17 (ESV)
Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God. But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.
Reflection
Crippled for 18 years, this woman was healed immediately with the touch of Jesus. Incredible, but that is Jesus for you! “I will instantly change what you could not change for 18 years; I will do the impossible.” Now, where is our focus in this story? The miracle, right? We focus on the gift. But I want you to focus on something else.
Can you imagine being this poor, crippled, bent-over woman, and getting up to go listen to Jesus that day? Anytime I am not feeling well, it is easy for me to call it a day. But not her. She showed up. To be at the synagogue where Jesus taught, she had first to get up and go.
I bet she was aching and hurting and embarrassed by her condition. But she got up anyway, as God was with her. And that is precisely what we need to do. We can't always wait for a miracle to knock on our door.
But may I take you even deeper? What we don't see in this story is what made this woman show up for her encounter with Jesus. Her faith brought her to the synagogue that day, where she met Jesus and received her miracle. What if she thought she was too sick or tired to attend church that day? She would have missed her healing on the Sabbath.
I have tried to imagine how often she had been to this place before, walking to and from her home bent over. How many times had she struggled through her day with no change? If she had been thinking, "Well, what's the point of even going there today? It's never done anything for me," what would have happened? Nothing would have happened, because she wouldn't have been able to encounter Jesus.
But I bet she wasn't thinking those thoughts on that Sabbath day. I bet she felt that He is with the broken, He is God with us and He is with me…that I will get up and go, to get myself there, and have my encounter with the One who ministers to the broken.
It was her belief that led to her actions. It was her actions that led to her encounter that led to her miracle. After 18 years of a disabling spirit, when Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your disability" (verse 12).
She got up and went anyway, and she heard in the words of Jesus, “You are set free.”
Action Steps
How will you have faith and take action even when you don't feel like it? Will you bring your 18-year hardships, your 18-year battles, to an encounter with Jesus, and have faith that you will be set free?
Prayer
Dear God, I come to You with an open heart and mind, seeking Your guidance and strength. I ask that You help me to have faith and take action even when I don't feel like it. Thank You for being with me always, for Your encounters, and for miraculously healing the broken. I thank You for Your love and guidance, and I pray that You continue to set the broken free. Amen.
Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God. But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.
Reflection
Crippled for 18 years, this woman was healed immediately with the touch of Jesus. Incredible, but that is Jesus for you! “I will instantly change what you could not change for 18 years; I will do the impossible.” Now, where is our focus in this story? The miracle, right? We focus on the gift. But I want you to focus on something else.
Can you imagine being this poor, crippled, bent-over woman, and getting up to go listen to Jesus that day? Anytime I am not feeling well, it is easy for me to call it a day. But not her. She showed up. To be at the synagogue where Jesus taught, she had first to get up and go.
I bet she was aching and hurting and embarrassed by her condition. But she got up anyway, as God was with her. And that is precisely what we need to do. We can't always wait for a miracle to knock on our door.
But may I take you even deeper? What we don't see in this story is what made this woman show up for her encounter with Jesus. Her faith brought her to the synagogue that day, where she met Jesus and received her miracle. What if she thought she was too sick or tired to attend church that day? She would have missed her healing on the Sabbath.
I have tried to imagine how often she had been to this place before, walking to and from her home bent over. How many times had she struggled through her day with no change? If she had been thinking, "Well, what's the point of even going there today? It's never done anything for me," what would have happened? Nothing would have happened, because she wouldn't have been able to encounter Jesus.
But I bet she wasn't thinking those thoughts on that Sabbath day. I bet she felt that He is with the broken, He is God with us and He is with me…that I will get up and go, to get myself there, and have my encounter with the One who ministers to the broken.
It was her belief that led to her actions. It was her actions that led to her encounter that led to her miracle. After 18 years of a disabling spirit, when Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your disability" (verse 12).
She got up and went anyway, and she heard in the words of Jesus, “You are set free.”
Action Steps
How will you have faith and take action even when you don't feel like it? Will you bring your 18-year hardships, your 18-year battles, to an encounter with Jesus, and have faith that you will be set free?
Prayer
Dear God, I come to You with an open heart and mind, seeking Your guidance and strength. I ask that You help me to have faith and take action even when I don't feel like it. Thank You for being with me always, for Your encounters, and for miraculously healing the broken. I thank You for Your love and guidance, and I pray that You continue to set the broken free. Amen.
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