Luke 13:1-35
Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath, when He saw "a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years." She had been bound by Satan all that time. The poor woman was bent over and unable to stand up straight. The Lord called her to Himself and said, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity." As soon as He laid His hands on her she straightened up and glorified God. We don't know anything else about this woman. This incident is only recorded by Dr. Luke.
The ruler of the synagogue wasn't impressed, and didn't join the woman in praising God. Instead, he was filled with indignation and anger, because Jesus had healed the woman on the Sabbath. His legalistic schooling took over his mind, and he spoke to the crowd, saying, "There are six days on which men ought to work." He was a staunch defender of the law of Moses, which commanded, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God...." Exodus 20:8-10. So far so good, but he continued, "Therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day."
Did the woman with the spirit of infirmity decide that she wanted to come and be healed on the Sabbath? Was the decision to be healed her decision to make? Who decides which day of the week God should heal them?
Jesus had an appropriate word for the ruler of the synagogue: "Hypocrite!" Then the Lord addressed the crowd that had gathered, saying, "Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? So ought not this woman...be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?" If it's all right to loose some animal to care for it, why isn't it all right to loose the woman?
The woman wasn't the only one loosed that day. The people who heard Jesus were also loosed from the legalistic teaching of the ruler of the synagogue. Undoubtedly they had sat under the religious instruction of this hypocrite. But now they were free, loosed from the tradition of the Jewish elders.
"And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame." He also put them to silence. Jesus Christ always has the final word. And those who witnessed the miracle and heard the word of the Lord all "rejoiced for all the glorious things that done by Him." We also can rejoice in the freedom found in Christ.
Lord, You are the Healer and Redeemer. We have also been loosed, set free to live in the liberty of Your Spirit. Thank You for the light that You shed on our path. Lead us in Your truth and teach us. In Jesus' name.
