The crippled woman

Luke 13:10-17

Our gospel reading is one of the lesser known healing miracles of Jesus. I think this is mainly due to the fact that it is only recorded in Luke’s gospel. Some of the other miracles are recorded in 2, 3 or even all 4 gospels, which means that we read or hear them more frequently. Since this story is only recorded in one gospel, it is only read on a Sunday morning once every three years.

It’s a true story that has three main characters:, Jesus, a woman, and a synagogue ruler. This morning I want to look at it from the perspective of each of there three people.

First, let’s look at this story from the woman’s point of view. We don’t know her name, nor do we know the precise nature of her infirmity.

In verse 11 we read, “a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years.” The actual phrase used in the original Greek is that she had “as spirit of infirmity for eighteen years”. Different scholars have different views on what was meant by “a spirit of infirmity”. Some think that she was possessed by an evil spirit that had made her infirm, …others think that it simply meant that nobody was able to give a medical explanation of why she was bent double.

A doctor today may have diagnosed a form of spondylitis, where the small bones in the spine fuse together to make a solid lump. But even today we often have little idea of the causes of many conditions.

• Some physical disabilities and illnesses have a physical cause, …perhaps an virus, or a faulty gene;

• Sometimes they have a psychological cause, … perhaps this woman was persistently abused as a child, (either verbally or physically), and her twisted-up emotions gradually started to communicate themselves to her body;

• Sometimes they have a spiritual cause, …if someone is spiritually unhealthy, it can affect their physical health.

Our body, minds and spirits are closely interconnected, and a problem in one area often affects the other two.

But whatever the cause, this woman has been suffering for a long time. She was probably a religious woman, who regularly worshipped at the synagogue, and was well known to the other members of her small community.

Notice she didn’t asked to be healed, (which makes this different to most of Jesus healing miracles), …rather, Jesus sees her in the congregation and calls her forward. He puts his hands on her and immediately she straightens up and praises God.

It is interesting to see that Jesus says she has been “…set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her” (v16).

At times, we too need to be set free from things that bind us. Is there anything that is binding you at the moment?

• perhaps a physical ailment;

• or perhaps you feel bound by a habit you can’t break;

• or a relationship that has gone wrong;

• or an attitude that’s unhealthy;

• or something else from which you long to be set free.

Perhaps, like this woman you have been bound for many years.

Well, Jesus is here at St Christopher’s this morning. Listen to him. Is he calling you to be set free?

The second main character in this story is the ‘Synagogue Ruler’, (or the ‘Synagogue Leader’ as other translations call him.

He had a position of status in the community, and it was he who decided who should teach, who should read, and who should lead the prayers in the local synagogue. In other words, he was in charge.

Presumably it was him who had invited Jesus to preach that morning, but if so he must have regretted that decision, because you can sense the tension between the two of them.

When Jesus healed this woman, he was furious. He was really angry with Jesus, …but instead of confronting him directly he tells off the congregation! In verse 14 he says, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

So what was the reason for this outburst? Perhaps he felt that Jesus was undermining his authority, …after all, he was in charge, not Jesus. He had invited Jesus to preach, not to start a healing service. Perhaps too there was an element of jealousy. You can imagine everyone’s eyes being fixed on Jesus, and the synagogue ruler being ignored.

In some ways this synagogue ruler reminds me of a toddler, whose parents have just brought home a new baby brother. His parents are so excited to have a new baby, and lots of people want to visit and bring presents. But the toddler is rather resentful of his new brother, because this baby is now the centre of attention, and not him. So the toddler throws a temper tantrum.

There is a common pattern in the gospels that whenever Jesus did anything really good, there were those who grumbled, complained, and criticised.

I guess it is something that we are all guilty of from time to time. Everyone else is happy about some good news, but we find ourselves grumbling or criticising. It is easy to convince ourselves that we are right and everyone else is wrong.

I’m sure that the Synagogue Ruler felt that Jesus was wrong for healing on the Sabbath, …but the way he reacted betrayed his true feelings. Instead of privately challenging Jesus after the service, he tries to publicly humiliate him. And it was this reaction that reveals his underlying jealousy or dented pride.

Is there a situation in your life at the moment where others are happy but you’re not? Can I encourage you to talk to God about it? How have you been reacting? Ask God to show you your true motives.

Finally, let’s look at this story from the Jesus’ point of view. One word that the Bible often uses to describe Jesus’ motives for doing things is “compassion”. For example, when Jesus saw the huge crowd that had been following him, “he had compassion on them and healed their sick”. (Mat. 14.14). It was his compassion that also motivated him to feed the 4000, (Mark 8.2).

And now, in this synagogue we see Jesus’ compassion in action again. He sees the crippled woman in the congregation, calls her forward, and heals her.

He probably realised that healing someone on the Sabbath might get him into trouble. The fifth commandment reads,

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath, …[and] you shall not do any work.” (Ex.20.8)

During the hundreds of years since Moses received this commandment there had been much debate about what did, and what did not, count as ‘work’. The Jews had drawn up precise rules to clarify the situation. For example, on the Sabbath:

• animals could be led out on a chain, so long as they didn’t carry anything, (Morris, p245)

• and water could be drawn from a well for animals to drink, provided it was poured into a trough, (a man must not hold a bucket for the animal to drink from).

Jesus didn’t go along with these petty rules. It was the principle of the matter that was important to him. He had previously gotten himself into trouble by allowing his disciples to pick ears of corn when passing through a cornfield on the Sabbath. His critics counted that a ‘working’ (Luke 6). And on that occasion too, Jesus followed the compassion of his heart, not the letter of the Jewish rules.

Laws are important, …without them our society would fall apart in chaos. But there are times when it is right to ignore them for the sake of a higher principle. It was the principle of compassion that led Jesus to heal the crippled woman on the Sabbath.

Are you facing a difficult decision at the moment? Sometimes it can be helpful just to ask yourself, “What would Jesus do?” It doesn’t always shed light on our dilemmas, …but does sometimes.

So there we have it. One story from three different perspectives. In a minute we are going to have a few moments of quiet in which you can ask God if any of these situations are applicable to your life:

• Like the woman, is there anything in your life that is binding you, and from which you long to be free. Is he calling you this morning?

• Like the synagogue ruler, is there a situation where others are happy but you’re not. And what’s behind that?

• Like Jesus are you facing a dilemma, or a difficult decision?

This passage won’t be applicable to everyone here this morning, …but ask God if there is anything he wants to say to you.

(pause)

Mention prayer after the service.