Scripture Reading(s)
Luke 13:10-17
13:10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.
13:11 And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight.
13:12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.”
13:13 When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God.
13:14 But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.”
13:15 But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water?
13:16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?”
13:17 When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.
Reflections
There are so many lessons that one can learn from this passage but I believe one of the main ones that sticks out is the idea of hypocrisy. Jesus despised those who displayed an outward appearance of living righteous lives but their hearts were so far away from actually living out the truth. This is such a dangerous place to be in. Many who claim to be Christians convince themselves that if they are able to keep up a Christian appearance, then that should be enough. Scripture speaks directly on how God looks at the heart. It does not matter how much head knowledge we have. If our hearts do not match with what we are claiming to speak, then you are speaking empty words.
Jesus here is emphasizing that our Christian walk is to be lived out each and everyday. We never stop living for and loving God. God’s love is to rule in our hearts day in and day out. The issue with the Pharisees is that they were so hung up on following a set of rules and not actually applying scripture to their lives. It was a means of “do’s” and not actually being passionate about what they believed it. Their hearts were so disconnected from God that they would have rather Christ leave this woman to suffer then to extend a gracious hand towards her. There is something severely wrong with those who claim to be religious leaders and have little to no understanding on how to actually live it out; in this case showing a very sick woman compassion and love.
Let us always remember to daily remind ourselves of what God has done for us and to continuously live out the Christian faith. God never stops being God and we should never stop being His children. I love how despite the Pharisees reaction, the praise and Glory to God did not get forgotten. People were amazed at who Christ was and were so thankful at how loving and powerful He is. Christ set the example and we ought to follow.
Jesus made the religious leaders upset at nearly every turn. But He was always one step ahead of them. When he is accosted for healing a woman on the Sabbath He retorts with a common daily task. That daily task was also illusory of what Jesus was doing. Every day, even on the sabbath the Jews would untie (unbind) their livestock to get water. On this particular sabbath Jesus unbound the woman from Satan, basically equating the events as the same thing that the religious leaders do every Sabbath. That is why they were hypocrites.
You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?”
Jesus has come to set us free. He has come to,
“proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free” (Luke 4:18)
Jesus has also set us free. We are free from the wages of sin and death. We aught to rejoice just as much as the crowds did in Luke 13:17.