Luke 13:10 tells us that
Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on a Sabbath. Present and listening
to Him was a woman who had suffered from a condition for 18 years. Her
condition was both spiritual as well as physical. The passage makes it clear
that it was caused by a spirit. She was unable to stand or walk physically upright.
Imagine for 18 long years she was bent over. Just as the fig tree in earlier
verses represents unbelieving Israel, this lady could represent their inability
to walk upright despite being given the law. The healing of this woman has an
intended lesson.
Notice in verse 12 that it
was the Lord who had initiated the healing. He called her over to Him. Because
of the spiritual origin, He first broke the shackle of the spirit that held
her. Then He laid His hands on her and prayed for her. Verse 13 tells us that
immediately she was unshackled by the spirit and straightened up and began to
glorify God. We need to know that the Lord still does heal to meet our needs.
Healing of physical conditions still brings glory to God.
The reaction from the
synagogue official was appalling. Instead of applauding the Lord for healing
that lady, he began to address the other attendees at the synagogue. He told
them that they could come and be healed on six other days, why must they come
to be healed on the Sabbath. This reminds us that opposition to the Lord's work
can be irrational. Though that official did not confront the Lord directly,
Jesus knew that the message was intended for Him. He also knew that what that
officer said was not his idea alone. It represented the idea of a group of
Pharisees. Knowing that, He chided them and called them hypocrites. They all
had misplaced value and priority.
Why were they hypocrites?
It's because they were not congruent in applying their religious regulation.
They deemed their work of leading a donkey or an ox for a drink at the water trough
on the Sabbath as necessary work. And this was allowable by their regulation,
hence, they did not violate the Sabbath. So obsessed were they by their desire
to oppose Christ that they couldn't see the healing of that crippled lady was
also a necessity, even if it's on the Sabbath. After all, this lady was a child
of Abraham and also of a higher creative order. What the Lord did, humiliated
the religious leaders, but pleased the crowd and brought great joy them.
In our life and ministry, we
must seek to be governed by the Word of God. And our dedication must be to
Christ. We need to give attention to the Word of God and meeting human needs in
the ministry. So act and live as directed by the Word of God, and our faithful
commitment to Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment