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(Bible quotes are from the New English Bible, unless otherwise noted)
V 10. One Sabbath he was teaching in a synagogue, Jesus at this point is still being welcomed in the synagogues, but this is the last time we read of him teaching in a synagogue. V 11. and there was a woman there possessed by a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent double and quite unable to stand up straight. Here was a woman who had been severely crippled for eighteen years. We don't know what her problem was as we would know it these days - it may have been a spinal deformity, osteoporosis, arthritis - who knows? But in spite of her deformity, here she was worshipping at the synagogue on the Sabbath. How many of us stay away from worship even when we are feeling 'a bit off', let alone if we were as severely disabled as she was. On the other hand, I wonder if she was there because she's heard that Jesus was going to be teaching on that day and she'd heard of the healings he did. Maybe she was hoping he would heal her too. Quest Study Bible note, p. 1443. Evil spirits have spiritual powers that can affect the physical world. Though medical technology has discovered various other causes of disease, it has not discounted the effect the spiritual has on the physical. It's possible some psychosomatic illnesses - those caused, psychiatrists say, by mental or emotional problems - have a spiritual explanation. Jesus himself recognised that demons had power to cause physical maladies (v. 16, Luke 9: 42) V 12. When Jesus saw her he called her and said, 'You are rid of your
trouble.'
Jesus called her to come forward (NIV: called her forward; NLT: called her over). Jesus noticed her among the women! No-one is too insignificant for Jesus to notice. And he called her to him. Never would she have expected that. Then, without being asked, he told her she was cured. At this point, she was still bent double, but Jesus said she was already free of her problem - whatever it was. Jesus knows what our innermost problems are and he is able to free us from them. V 13. Then he laid his hands on her, and at once she straightened up and began to praise God. Jesus touched her and she knew she could stand up straight - and did so. She knew who had healed her- she immediately praised God for it. This is an indication of her faith. Jesus told her she was free of her problem, she trusted that what he said was true and her behavour reflected that. She stood straight and tall - a woman who was right with her life and confident in her healing. If we truly believe that what Jesus has one for us is real, our behavour should reflect that confidence. V 14. But the president of the synagogue, indignant with Jesus for healing on the Sabbath, intervened and said to the congregation, 'There are six working days: come and be cured on them, and not on the Sabbath.' The synagogue leader was bound up in his rules and regulations. For him, these were more important than the welfare of the individuals who worshipped there. Quest Study Bible note, p 1443. Sabbath laws and traditions included rigid details defining work. But the synagogue leaders had to acknowledge that God 'worked' on the Sabbath whenever babies were born or people died. so they concluded it was permissable for people also to save someone's life on the Sabbath. New Bible Commentary p1003. The synagogue leader argued that where life was not at stake the healing could well have waited until a week day. He 'saw the Sabbath as a set of laws rather than a means of renewal.
Sabbath is a time we set aside to renew our relationship with God and our
relationship with the people in our lives. It’s not about a bunch of rules
at all. It’s about setting aside a regular time each week, a full day in
fact, to take care of the essentials – our relationship
The early church set aside Sunday for the same purpose as the Sabbath . Many Christians over the years have developed 'rules' about how the Sunday is to be spent. When I was very young, my parents were fairly free - for their time - about how we spent our Sundays, though the mornings were spent at worship and Sunday School, after which we often seemed to visit grandparents for Sunday dinner. I was allowed to do pretty much as I pleased on Sunday afternoons. In those days, there was no Sunday sports, but I remember being allowed to go and hit a ball around a tennis court or play games on Sunday afternoon. My father felt free to go back to the office to catch up on work when he felt it necessary. But I do remember, when one grandfather was due to visit us one Sunday, my mother would not allow me to do my knitting, as her father would not approve of me 'doing work' on the Sunday. Incidentally, as far as I know, that grandfather never darkened the doors of any church on any Sunday! Sunday observance is still a discussion point for many of us. We need to remember what the 'day' is set aside for and consider what is important to God. In this modern day, when many people's jobs involve working on Sunday, we might ask a question about whether that particular day of the week is the only one which people should set aside for God. Does God really mind which day of the week we give to enrich our relationship with him? V 15. The Lord gave him his answer: 'What hypocrites you are!' he said.
'Is there a single one of you who does not loose his ox or his donkey from
the manger and take it out to water on the Sabbath?
Jesus was quick to point out to the synagogue leader the inconsitency of his views. Did the man place the welfare of animals above the welfare of human beings? He could be flexible about his 'rules' when it suited him. V 16. And here is this woman, a daughter of Abraham, who has been kept
prisoner by Satan for eighteen long years: was it wrong for her to be freed
from her bonds on the Sabbath?'
By calling the woman a 'daughter of Abraham' Jesus emphasised her importance to God. The synagogue leader probably thought of her a 'just a woman' and therefore not of any great importance. When we see how Jesus treated all the people he came into contact with, we are assured that everyone is equally important to God. Jesus makes it very clear that the woman's disability was not caused by God, but was a bond of Satan. She was not disabled as a punishment by God for sins she had personally committed, which is possibly what most people of the time would have thought. New Bible Commentary p 1003. Note how the disability is said to have been caused by a spirit (v 11.) and to be a state of being bound by Satan (v 16.). Human suffering is thus due to the same cosmic disorder as human sin. 'eighteen long years' (NIV & NEB) - Jesus was well aware of how long those eighteen years would have been for a disabled woman. Because Jesus was fully human, he understands how we feel the passing of time. He understands how long it feels to us when things are not going right for us. He does not take those feelings lightly. V 17. At these words all his opponents were covered with confusion,
while the masses of the people were delighted at all the wonderful things
he was doing.
No wonder we don't hear of Jesus being welcomed into the synagogues
after this! The religious leaders would not have appreciated having
their words thrown back at them and their laws and rules so openly challenged.
Are we any better about this to
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