On Line Bible Study - For the Week January 31-February 6, 2011

Lesson 478

Luke 13: ¹⁰ On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, ¹¹ and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. ¹² When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” ¹³ Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

¹⁴ Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

¹⁵ The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? ¹⁶ Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

¹⁷ When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

Lurking in the background is the question: Will people recognize what time it is? (See Luke 12:56.)

This is the last time in Luke's Gospel Jesus will be in the synagogue on the Sabbath (Darrell Bock). Does Luke want us to think about what Jesus is teaching and the action Jesus takes? There is conversation among scholars as to whether this story is symbolic - does the "bent over" woman represent the synagogue? The nascent Church? The woman struggles as a result of a spiritual battle. And note: The woman does not reach out to Jesus; he reaches out to her.

She is suffering from a condition mentioned only here in the New Testament. And she is set free not because of her faith. No mention is made of that. She is set free because of the authority of Jesus. The healing is both physical ("...she straightened up...") and spiritual ("...set free from Satan..."). This woman makes the connection between her healing and God's presence - she praises God is she straightens up. And this is the crux of the problem for religious leaders who watched Jesus in action.

It's interesting, isn't it, that the synagogue leader expresses indignation toward the crowd. Who is he actually upset with? Jesus - obviously! "There are six days for work ..." Who had done the work? Jesus! The anger is routed one way, but fully intended to boomerang back at Jesus.

Jesus trades rebuke for rebuke. It's that harsh word, that pointed accusation that surfaces once again - "You hypocrites!"

Are we not at least equal to (if not superior to, with a repentant nod to animal lovers) the beasts of burden? It is a most damaging testimony - that they are kinder to a donkey than to a person.

Jesus' action of healing and liberation began the process of dividing the house. The people loved him. The leaders loathed him. But are any of them truly recognizing the times in which they lived?