Luke 13:10-17 New American Standard Bible
Healing on the Sabbath
10 Now Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And [a] there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a [b]sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent over double, and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your sickness.” 13 And He laid His hands on her; and immediately she stood up straight again, and began glorifying God. 14 But the synagogue leader, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, “There are six days during which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” 15 But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites, does each of you on the Sabbath not untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it away to water it? 16 And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for [c]eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this restraint on the Sabbath day?” 17 And as He said this, all His opponents were being [d] humiliated; and the entire crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him.
Word of God for the Children of God
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Everyone probably knew her as the bent-over woman.
She came to worship at the synagogue regularly.
But she was recognized by her condition, not her identity as a child of God or even by her name.
Her neighbors saw her through eyes of pity.
The religious leaders saw her as an example of someone who was not right with God and deserved her plight.
She came into the synagogue every Sabbath crippled with pain, bent over in her shame and humiliation, lack of self esteem, and thirsty for the living water of healing from God. Yet no one paid, no one paying attention or really saw her.
For an astonishing eighteen years the religious leaders, one after the other neglected their office, failed to pray with her on the six days when they had every opportunity to comfort, anoint her with oil and pray for God’s healing.
They were more focused on keeping their religious rules than seeing the need to be compassionate, kind, bring a daughter of Israel before the mercy seat of God.
But Jesus saw her.
When he called her forward, she might have thought he meant someone else.
But Jesus was speaking to her, and she slowly shuffled toward him, who saw her as a reject in need of being set free from her unimaginable measure of burden.
Do we see people this way—burdened and distressed?
Do we bring them to Jesus for healing?
In what ways can you offer comfort and prayer for someone like that today?
As we look closer we should also notice this woman, along with the woman with the 12 year issue of blood had one of the worst illnesses recorded in the Bible.
She had a severe illness; she was stricken by a severe infectious disease.1
But beside her having issues going on in her body, she had just got healed, she really had some other problems going on, specifically problems with the people.
But if you notice the problems didn’t arise because our Lord Jesus healed her, but the primary problem arose because the Lord healed her on the Sabbath day.
They were upset because this healing that the Lord was doing was not just a onetime deal, but because the Lord healing of people on the Sabbath day was a reoccurring source of big contention between Himself and the religious rulers.
And if we really looked at this, the rulers of the synagogue were a bunch of hypocrite because they treated animals better than he treated people. They would rather take extra care of animals then the men and women of God.
And let’s be honest here.
Because suppose the woman would have come to the synagogue on another day.
Could Jesus had healed her on another day without any issues?
Of course not, because there are some people that no matter what you do, or what you say they will always have something bad to say.
No matter how many people are getting healed, no matter how many people are getting saved, no matter how many people are being delivered there will always be some haters in the crowd.
And that makes me wonder.
I wonder how many needy people come to church looking for love, looking help and relief, and go away disappointed because of some hypocrites and some hell raisers, or people keeping up dissension or discord.
How many people are leaving the church because church members are fighting against one another? Lying on one another and just being too hypocritical?
And one of the great tragedies of religion is that religious needs are often placed before man and their needs. But what I love is Jesus met this problem head-on.
My question is, when are we going to trust God, and not how things look. When are we going to believe the Word of God, and not lean to our on understanding?
This woman had a spirit of infirmity that had plagued her for eighteen years.
Dr. Luke described her condition as “this spirit of infirmity” as thou she had a curvature, a curving, a bend, a twisting or a bending of the spine.
This really sounds like some form of arthritis where the joints of the spine were fused together.
Her illness was chronic, and incurable, and because of it she was bowed down low by Satan or, you could say “bent double.”
This poor woman could not lift herself up.
Here was a woman in a desperate condition.
She was an unfortunate victim who was an object of pity. This was probably one of the most terrible cases of physical infirmity that the Lord dealt with on earth.
And only Luke mentions this bent-over woman who had spent the previous eighteen years staring at the floor.
She was unable to stand up, sit up, look up, or even straighten up.
Her back was crooked, arched and humped.
Here is the text.
Jesus and His disciples had traveled through her city on their way from Galilee to Judea.
They entered the synagogue on the Sabbath to teach, that was the Lord’s practice; to be in the Synagogue, or in church if you will every Sabbath. (pause)
Notice that when Jesus saw her, he called her to him.
It does not appear she made any request to him for healing, or that she expected anything from him; but Jesus called her and she answered.
And I think that’s where we’ve got to get to today.
And that is whenever the Lord calls us we’ve got to learn to answer the call.
We’ve got to learn to move when the Lord is beckoning for us, because if God is calling us then that means that there is a blessing in the call. There is a blessing on the way; and there is a blessing in the response to Jesus.
She came to Jesus, and after Jesus tender touch, he spoke the words, women thou art loose, for the first time in eighteen years, this “daughter of Abraham” straightened her back, stretched to her full height.
So, among the sons of Abraham, who perhaps now hung their heads in shame, here she held her head high to the glory of God.
What an amazing word, when the Lord touches us things will straighten up in our life. And then we need to give God the glory.
And the second word for you this morning, knowing some of you have been going through some issues down through the years, I’ve come to tell you this day that thou are loose.
Turn to your neighbor and help me free somebody in here this morning, tell them neighbor you art free.
3X’s neighbor you are healed, come on tell you neighbor that you are delivered.
Whatever you are going through thou are free, whatever is ailing you thou are free, whatever is keeping you down thou are free, whatever has you bound thou are free, has you bent over, straighten up because thou are loose, and set free.
And watch this: nothing honors the Savior any more than a heart of gratitude and a spirit of praise.
And there is something I think that you all ought to know about this woman.
And that is before Jesus healed this woman, this woman was a worshipping.
Despite her agony, it remained her habit to worship, and to seek the face of God.
In other words, she was where she was supposed to be there on this particular Sabbath: she was supposed to be there in worship. She was supposed to be at church. She was scheduled to be in praise and worship – no agony too great!
And because she was there that she received this special touch from God.
Somebody might ask why her, why did she receive the blessing.
Why did she get the Lord attention?
It was because she was so sincere in seeking God and His care.
And this blessing was fulfilling what the scripture said in Psalms 146:8 which says, “The Lord raiseth them that are bowed down.”
And for somebody who is bowed this morning, I tell you are in the right place at the right time, you might be bowed down in your body, in your spirit, but if you are sincere in seeking the Lord, His promise is to lift up your bowed down head.
Psalm 113:7-9 New King James Version
7 He raises the poor out of the dust,
And lifts the needy out of the ash heap,
8 That He may seat him with princes—
With the princes of His people.
9 He grants the [a]barren woman a home,
Like a joyful mother of children.
Praise the Lord!
I don’t know why this woman had been bound by Satan.
Because apparently she was not a wicked person, she was not a immoral person, she was not known for showing up every not every now and then, but she was known as a regular steady attendant at the synagogue despite her condition.
She didn’t care about how she looked or felt, she showed up for worship, she didn’t care who liked her and who didn’t like her, she showed up for church.
She didn’t worry about the gossipers, she showed up in the house of the Lord.
It was at the synagogue that the Great Physician (the Lord himself) said to her, “Be loosed.”
And then He laid His hands on her and immediately she was made straight and glorified God.
The bible said that he touched her. The reason He touched her was to aid her faith. And I believe that somebody just need a touch for the Lord this morning.
But here was the amazing part.
After such a good day at church here comes the hater.
Has anyone ever had a great worship experience at church and before you get home it just seems like there is someone with their negative attitude, spoiled and all with their messy, extra messy self, and they just ruin all of the goodness that you just receive that day?
Look at the haters after she has received, her miracle that she had been waiting on for over eighteen years, the ruler of the synagogue rebuked her sharply.
The reaction of the religious ruler was strange.
Because they were more interested in the rule, than the fact a poor woman, who had been shackled for eighteen long years with an infirmity, had been freed.
The Sabbath rules were far more important issue to these religious rulers then the healing of a poor soul.
And still until there are people who are more concerned about paper work than they are souls.
This day the Sabbath question is still one of heated debate today.
Jesus’ reply was that the Sabbath was not intended to prevent the works of necessity or mercy.
But I love what the Lord said.
The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox, or their asses from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound these eighteen years shouldn’t she be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?
It is odd that Jesus referred to the woman as “a daughter of Abraham,” since such a description is usually reserved for the “sons” of Abraham.
But in front of all the upright religious people, Jesus gave this humble woman a place of honor when He confirmed she, too, belonged to the family of Abraham.
(Luke 13:17) And when he had said these things, all of his enemies were ashamed: and all the people of God rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.
And I write to tell somebody this day, don’t let nobody get in the way of you being blessed by God.
Don’t let nobody get in the way of you receiving your miracle.
I came to tell you woman
I came to tell you man
I came to tell child
I came to tell you boy
And I came to tell you girl
You are freed in the Lord
And I don’t know who you are this day but if you need a touch from the Lord just reach up and grab it.
If you need a blessing from the Lord please just reach up and grab it.
If you need some burden just lifted up of your hands unto the Lord and just reach up and grab.
Because I heard when praises goes up blessing will come down.
Is there anybody in the room that needs a blessing?
Please don’t let nobody get in your way from a blessing, don’t let anybody hold you back from receiving what God has for you.
Because the haters will come and hate whatever and the haters will go but just know that as long as you have got Jesus on your side you are in good shape.
In fact that’s what he died on an old rugged cross.
And if Jesus can heal this woman surly he can heal you.
In the name of God, the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit …
Praying …
Psalm 146 New King James Version
The Happiness of Those Whose Help Is the Lord
146 Praise[a] the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2 While I live I will praise the Lord;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
3 Do not put your trust in princes,
Nor in [b]a son of man, in whom there is no [c]help.
4 His spirit departs, he returns to his earth;
In that very day his plans perish.
5 Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,
Whose hope is in the Lord his God,
6 Who made heaven and earth,
The sea, and all that is in them;
Who keeps truth forever,
7 Who executes justice for the oppressed,
Who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners.
8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;
The Lord raises those who are bowed down;
The Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the strangers;
He relieves the fatherless and widow;
But the way of the wicked He [d]turns upside down.
10 The Lord shall reign forever—
Your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord!
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 