Straightened Stature
I have back problems. I need to go to a chiropractor but my insurance doesn’t cover it. It is frustrating to have a remedy so close yet so far away. I drive by the doctor and look forward to the day when I can go in and get the help I need. The healing is available; the means to obtain it is not.
So, why share that? Is it to make you feel sorry for me? Well, no, but if you do, I appreciate it. I just want us to realize that sometimes help is available yet we cannot get to it. Other times, we can have all the help there is, and it still cannot make a difference. All of us can name people, maybe even ourselves, of ailment: physical, emotional, spiritual, that just never seemed to disappear. No one could help. We lost hope. Some of our ailments cannot be hidden. It is evident to everyone who can see us. Right now I am thinking of a woman I know who lost all her hair in chemotherapy. You see her pain. You guess what she must be going through. But there is nothing you can do. Helpless to help. Wishing for her best and yet cannot make any promises. Prayer continues, yet no answer in sight. So was the plight of one woman in the temple. Praise God she was in the temple. Despite her hardship, she had not lost faith. Dear one, if you too are struggling today, let this woman be your example. She pressed on and believed, even when she thought things could never change. But that was before she heard His voice.
On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 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. When Jesus saw her, He called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then He put His hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, ‘There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not the Sabbath.” The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 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?” When He said this, all His opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things He was doing. (Luke 13:10-17)
By the way, notice where Jesus was teaching. He was in a part of the synagogue where women were allowed. He was not separated with only the men. No, He came to share His message with both men and women. This is our radical Savior here, breaking down misconceptions that women are but dirt. For you see, at this time in history, women were considered possessions of men. That was it. Commodities. But not with Jesus. He saw them as ones created in His image, of equal importance of men. Both loved eternally. Both in need of a Savior. To both He extended His hand of friendship. Is that not the way of the Garden of Eden? God walked with both the man and the woman in the cool of the garden. Here He is, speaking the same message of love that Adam and Eve both heard thousands of years before.
On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 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. (Luke 13:10-11)
Eighteen years. That’s the time from birth to graduation from high school. Imagine all that transpires during that period of time. Some of you reading this may not have even been alive that long. Most of you are too old to lie and say that you are eighteen. (Actually, we never lie about the age eighteen. No, it’s the eternal twenty-nine that we hold onto. By the way, I’m twenty-nine. If you ask me next year, I’ll tell you that I’m twenty-nine so don’t ask!)
For eighteen long and painful years this woman had been suffering. Beyond the physical pain, she suffered embarrassment. How often did people stare? Children may have said cruel things. People may have walked by and then stood up straighter hoping to never end up like her. Or possibly they treated her with extreme consideration, thinking she was incapable of doing anything. Kind of like what I did to this lady today at the grocery store. A woman was in a motorized cart. I turned the corner and almost ran into her. Then I went into the panic of which way to go, right or left, to get out of her way. So, I didn’t move. I know I looked like a deer in the headlights. Finally, I picked going to the left (of course, at the same time she picked going to her right. This means we were now on the same side of the aisle for those of you who couldn’t visualize it.) I began apologizing profusely. She answered, “It’s alright”. I wish you could have heard her tone of voice. It spoke volumes. I knew what she was really saying, “Just because I am physically impaired, and you do not have to treat me like a fragile object. If I had been standing, you would have just passed by on your merry way. Why treat me any different?” I quickly got out of the store. I knew I had joined the list of Joni Eareckson Tada’s group that she discusses in her autobiography Joni. Joni was paralyzed from the shoulders down in a diving accident when she was a teenager. She writes about how people would give her extra room on the sidewalk, more than enough, trying to look considerate, but just really not wanting to be near her. I wonder how often this woman had been treated the same way.
There are many who are “bent over” and unable to recover on their own. Some are physically wounded, suffering from illnesses, or born disabled. Right now my mind is on a few youth in our church that is a part of the special needs ministry. Some have downs’ syndrome, others cerebral palsy, still more with autism. They make some people uncomfortable, disliking their loud interruptions during church. Maybe they cause us to ask the questions, “why them or why not me?” Could it be they force us to ask “Why God?” Some questions are easier not to face. Remember, Job never questioned God until his body was wracked with disease. None of us like to realize how fragile we truly are. But some know. Some live with it daily. Some have dealt with it for eighteen years.
On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 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. (Luke 13:10-11)
There was nothing that she could do to help herself. Nothing. She could not straighten up. It’s not as if she hadn’t tried. But she was helpless. Beyond this just being a terrible physical problem, it was a spiritual one as well. A spirit had crippled her. Now, some of you want to discuss this. So, I challenge you to the debate. Are all physical ailment caused by spirits? No. Was that simple enough for you or what? We have physical ailments in this world due to the fall of Adam and Eve. Yes, they got to skip around that amazing Garden of Eden without even a sniffle from allergies. But all that changed when they sinned. Physical illness, pain, suffering, and ultimately death entered the world. (I still curse them every time I get the flu! Why did they eat the fruit? Why?) If this was not bad enough, the prince of this world has some more mean tricks up his sleeve. He and his evil, wicked band can torment humans physically. Now, remember, this can only happen under the sovereignty of God. Satan was only allowed to inflict disease on Job after he received permission. (If you would like to study more on this, I highly recommend Phillip Yancey’s book. Where is God When It Hurts.)
So, the enemy was tormenting this woman. Obviously, the cause of her ailment was well known so that the writer mentioned it. People could not only point out her physical pain, but they could possibly gossip as to why she had it. I wonder if anyone assumed the following: “She must have been bad to have a spirit attack her.” How often have we made this judgment call? Why do we bring others down when they are already hurting?
But Jesus did not share why this woman was bound for so long, even though He was the only One who would have known. He did not cast judgment. He did not attempt to explain it. Let’s look at what He did.
When Jesus saw her, He called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then He put His hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. (Luke 13:12-13)
When Jesus saw her need, He healed her. That’s it. Plain and simple. He did not analyze, critique, gossip, or complain. He just set her free. Don’t you just love that about Jesus?
I want to be more like Jesus, but sadly enough I’m more like the ‘friends’ of Job. The poor guy lost his children, his property, and his health all in one day. Some of his friends came by to be with him during his time of loss. But they were not what you would call “encouragers”. I would say more like “tear you down, chew you up, spit you out, and then stomp on you” kind of people. They kept asking Job what he did wrong to deserve this pain. Job continued to declare his innocence, but they just scoffed at him. They wanted to hear the gory details of why Job deserved to be punished. Don’t we do the same? Isn’t that why we like a good gossip session? (By the way, “good gossip” is an oxy moron. There ain’t nothin’ good about gossip!) But we enjoy the details of why someone failed, or what went wrong, or how they suffered due to something they did. Maybe it makes us feel better to have the cause and effect relationship. Cause: Sin, Effect: Punishment. It is simple, clear-cut. Our finite minds can grasp it. But when tragedy strikes outside our clear-cut rules, we grow uncomfortable. We try to make sense of our world. But we miss God when we try to “reduce” Him into our opinions, patterns, and equations.
When Jesus saw her, He called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then He put His hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. (Luke 13:12-13)
Everyone else had assumed the woman would always be tormented, bound. They had assigned her the label “hopeless”. She probably also believed things would always be the same. But then she heard a Voice calling her forward. She was just one of the crowd listening to the Great Teacher. But then He signaled her out. Can you imagine her feelings? She did not know what Jesus was going to do. Was He going to tell everyone she deserved to be this way, or was He going to tell everyone how it happened, was he going to use her as a physical example of spiritual warfare? She had no idea what was about to happen. But she took a step of faith. She was willing. She offered all she could. Her hunched back probably made her feel self-conscious as the people were staring back and forth at her and Jesus wondering what would happen next. Then, He spoke. Words of power! Then, He touched her. Realize during this time men did not come into contact with women. In fact, they did everything to avoid women in public. Some men would cross to the other side of the street to avoid a woman, much less talk to her in public, much less to lay his hands on her. Jesus was breaking some major cultural taboos here! Realize eyebrows are being raised.
But suddenly, she stands up straight. Everyone is amazed. Shock, surprise, and wonder sweep the crowd. But the first to speak, the first to break the silence is the woman, by praising God! This faithful woman knew to Whom to give the glory! She immediately breaks into praise. Feel her joy. Listen to her praise. Dear brothers and sisters, do you do the same? Do you know when He is at work? Do you recognize His voice? Do you feel His touch? And when You see His power, is your first reaction one of praise? I hope so! Don’t analyze. Don’t minimize it. Don’t talk to others first. Speak praise! Don’t worry who is around. This woman was in the middle of the crowd and she began to praise God, leading others to worship. She wanted everyone to know the goodness of her Lord! Don’t miss an opportunity to proclaim His Name in public. He is the reason for every good thing in your life. Let others know the marvelous God you serve!
Others need to hear your praise. Because that may be the last thing on their heart. While this woman was praising God, the religious leader had other things to say.
Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not the Sabbath.” (Luke 13:14)
The synagogue ruler, the one who is supposed to lead others to God, quickly shuts the woman and her praise down. By the way, all you religious folks out there, do you do the same thing? Actually, I need to add myself. Do we do the same thing? How often do we focus on the negative, or we rationalize a miracle, or discount someone’s joy, or try to bring others down to the lifeless way we feel? Do you realize that the world views Christianity as boring? Jesus is not the one Who gave us that label. He was radical, inspiring, people were drawn to Him. Why is it now that we equate “spirituality” with no emotion? We think the more frown lines, the holier one is. This is not of God. He has called us to praise, to be people of joy, to celebrate His work in the world. We are called to give God glory when He does something amazing. By the way, He does amazing things everyday. If you are reading this book right now, that is amazing. That means that your eyes are sending signals to your brain, which is interpreting the random lines on the page as letters, than words, than sentences, than concepts. You are doing this in milliseconds of time. Amazing! (Of course, if some of these paragraphs do not make sense to you, don’t’ blame your brain, blame the author. I confuse myself half the time.) God is amazing. Celebrate Him. Praise Him out loud in front of others. Allow others to do the same. Do not stop them. Not like this synagogue ruler who by the way was a coward. Read this again:
Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not the Sabbath.” (Luke 13:14)
Look who he speaks to, not to Jesus but the people. He was not bold enough to engage Jesus into a one-on-one debate on the reasons for not healing on the Sabbath. Instead, he speaks to the group that he is used to controlling, the people. He knew he could not control Jesus. So, he attempts to control the people from coming to be healed. Coward.
But Jesus never sits on the sidelines. Since no one was brave enough to debate Him, He willingly begins the confrontation.
The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 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?” (Luke 13:15-16)
Hee Haw. (That’s donkey language for go get ‘em Jesus!) What a rebuke. It was not just for one person either. Jesus knew all the hearts. He realized that the one synagogue ruler stated the opinion of a group, which is why he uses the plural “hypocrites”. Look at this hypocrisy. Look at their hearts. They were more concerned about their animals, than the people. They cared more about their possessions than the hurting. It was all about them. In their self-centeredness, they no longer saw the needs of others; they only saw their opinions of the law. These opinions would rather leave a woman crippled than rejoice with her in freedom.
I saw this in action before. I knew a minister who was angry that a fellow staff person disagreed with some of his interpretations of Scripture. (I am not talking about essential doctrine. Those are never up for debate.) In his anger, he went about slandering the other man and turned many against him. This minister was so concerned about his opinion of the law, that he bypassed the command to love others and ended up hurting the other man’s reputation. The minister did this, in his opinion, “in the Name of the Lord” but I guess no one ever told Him that one of the Lord’s Names is Love. In his attempt to be more “right”, more “spiritual”, he missed out on the very heart of Jesus.
There were two groups that day. One missed it, the other got it. It was due to the object of their focus.
When He said this, all His opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things He was doing. (Luke 13:17)
Opponents were humiliated, the people were delighted. You can only be humiliated if you are focused on yourself. Remember, the Proverb “pride comes before the fall.” The other group was delighted. They saw what He could do and were amazed by it, not intimidated. Their gaze was on Jesus. Where is your focus today? Are you looking at yourself, and missing the display of God’s might around you? Are you missing his miracles or downplaying His work? Stop it! Delight in Him. Look around and see what He is doing. If you are having a hard time seeing His mighty hand, take a look back. Remember when you were bound in your sin. It had crippled you for so many years. You had lost hope. You thought you would always be the same. But then you heard His voice. He was calling you to step forward to Calvary. There, he set you free. Praise Him out loud in front of all the people!
Silent Sabbath
Have you ever felt like you were being set up? I am not talking about a blind date. That is more like being tortured. No, I mean as if someone is trying to trap you into something. For example, my sister will ask me, “Do you want some chocolate ice cream?” I say, “yes”. Then, she says, “me, too. Will you get me some?” A trap. I fell right into it. I was suspicious of the smile, but I just thought the mere idea of chocolate ice cream made her happy. I was wrong. She had a plan and I walked right into it. Vicious, vicious girl.
The trap set for me led to me gaining five pounds. But, at least, my life was not on the line. Well, unless it kept happening. Ice cream is not the best healthy life style. Of course, I am still waiting for the high carb diet.
Jesus would know how to deal with my sister. For He Himself was set up, but under a more drastic consequences than eating a whole bin of chocolate ice cream. But Jesus walked willingly into the trap set up for He knew it was there. Yet, He did not fall into the ambush. Instead, He allowed someone ensnared by illness to be set free.
One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. There in front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy. Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him away. (Luke 14:1-4)
Notice the day this all takes place. It is the Sabbath. As we saw in our last chapter, the religious leaders did not like Jesus healing on their holy day. They considered it “work” and you were not allowed to labor on the Sabbath. Think about this crazy theology. On their religious day, the Pharisees and experts in the law had set a trap for Jesus. They got mad that He helps people on the Sabbath, but they have no problem with having connived a twisted plan to ensnare Christ. Sin is so crazy. It does not even make common sense!
The beginning of their twisted plan fell into place, for Jesus comes to eat at the Pharisee’s house. By the way, how obvious can you get? The religious leaders have already openly condemned Jesus and now they invite Him to a prominent Pharisee’s house. Could they have not at least tried to be subtle? Not only that, the Scripture states, “He was being carefully watched”. That means everyone knew that all eyes were on Him. There was no mistaking something weird was going on. Can you imagine walking to someone’s house and having all of these people just staring at you? You don’t have to be James Bond to figure out that there is trouble ahead. Then, if it doesn’t already feel like a comedy spy show, as He goes in the house, there in front of Him just “happens” to be a man suffering from dropsy. What a surprise! I wander if that is why everyone is staring at me? Could it be they are trying to decide if I’ll heal on the Sabbath or not? Wow, this mystery was really hard to figure out. So, Jesus goes straight to the heart of the trap:
Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not? (Luke 14:3b)
Straight to the point. Cut through all the pretend formalities. The One they had tried to trick just turned around and trapped all of them with this question. So, what did these educated men do?
But they remained silent. (Luke 14:4a).
They did not say a word. But I am sure these “expert” spies were still staring at Him. Watching His next move. Will He heal? They had already seen Him do this before. Why would this be different? I wonder if they thought they could intimidate Him because they were standing all around, or because He was a guest in the Pharisee’s home. That works on some of us. Who ever acts different around a work crowd compared to the church crowd? Maybe you are not so bold to stand up for what you believe. Maybe you dress or talk differently. Or maybe you act more spiritual to fit in with the “spiritual” crowd. Sometimes, we rise or fall to other’s opinions of right and wrong. Yet, the only opinion that will matter is the Lord’s. He never seems to fit in with the crowd. Often, in a group, people got mad at Him. But He always did what He felt led to do, even when others were watching His every move. What did He do next for the whole crowd to see?
So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him away. (Luke 14:4b)
He took hold of the man. He grabbed him. This was a dramatic move. I see Him almost tackling the guy. He did not want anyone to miss this. He was going to heal. Completely heal, for we do not fully know what this man suffered from. My text note states:
“Dropsy. An accumulation of fluid that would indicate illness affecting other parts of the body.”
So, the physical sign of dropsy indicated that much more was going on in the body than what was already apparent. Kind of like the situation. More was going on than just wandering if Jesus would heal on the Sabbath. They were slowly setting up a case against Him that would eventually lead to His death. More was at stake than was already apparent. Jesus knew the risk. Yet, He chose to heal. His healing was complete.
Has Jesus taken hold of you? Has He grabbed you and healed you? Maybe your healing is more than the apparent physical need. Often, that seems to be the only subject we present to God in prayer. Every week in our church staff meeting, we get the prayer requests from the membership. They are always for physical needs. There is nothing wrong with that. But what about the emotional and relational needs? What about the request to conquer sin or temptation? Jesus is ready to come and heal all parts of your life. Let Him grip your arms as He pulls you into a hug. One that says you are healed. One that will allow you to face life in a new way.
So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him away. (Luke 14:4b)
Sent Him away to a new way of life. No longer would anyone look at him and see the signs of illness. He was healed! But not only that, Jesus sent Him away from the group of religious leaders who were using him. What do you mean, you ask? I will tell you. How did that man with dropsy just happen to be there? Not only there, but also right in front of Jesus? He was placed there. This was not a coincidence. These men had planned it. They were using this ill man for their own agenda. Sadly, this still happens today. “Religious” people prey on the ill, promising them healing for money, saying if they only had more faith. That is a lie. Yes, Jesus can heal. There is no doubt about that. And we should pray and ask for it. But remember, Jesus prayed for God’s will even when it meant suffering and death. Was Jesus out of God’s will? Certainly not! He submitted to the Father. What about Paul? He suffered with a thorn in the flesh. Three times he prayed for its removal. But the Lord, in His sovereign plan, did not take it away. God can heal while we are on earth, or He can choose to do the ultimate healing in heaven. Either way, He is in control. I love that about Him. He takes charge of the situation.
So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him away. (Luke 14:4b)
The religious leaders were hoping to trap Him. Instead Jesus took over. He healed the man and then sent Him away. He helped the helpless. And then He protected him from being further used and abused. Jesus loves doing that. Is not that the whole story of the Bible? A vicious trap was set in the Garden of Eden. Unfortunately, Adam and Eve fell right into Satan’s hands. So, he thought he had won. Foolish little devil. For unknown to the evil one, another trap had been laid, before the beginning of time. Jesus was ready to capture back the hearts that had been lost. How? He would willingly take their place in the trap. He removed the bondage from them and set it on Himself. It killed Him. But it gives life to you and me.
That day in the Pharisee house, Jesus gave back life to one man. But He wanted more.
Then He asked them, “If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out? (Luke 14:5)
Jesus wanted to open their hearts to love. They would be willing to save a son, even an animal, yet they were unwilling to allow Jesus heal people. He was saying, “Look at your so-called logic, it does not make sense. Allow Me to open your minds to truth.”
Can you hear the heartbeat of Christ? These religious leaders had used a sick man to try to entrap Jesus. This was a low trick. Yet, Jesus is reaching out to them, willing to offer healing to their callous hearts. I wish they had accepted. But we see from the text where they started with no words to speak to Jesus,
But they remained silent. (Luke 14:4)
continued until the end of the passage …
And they had nothing to say. (Luke 14:6)
No words. No change. The group remained the same; the silent majority lost out on the healing of Christ. But one man allowed Jesus to grab a hold of Him. And he was never the same.