JESUS HEALS THE INFIRM WOMAN

Luke 13:10-17 And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And, behold, there was a woman, which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And He laid His hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath Day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath Day. The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath Day? And when He had said these things, all His adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.

At the close of chapter 11 of the gospel according to John, we find the Jewish leaders conspiring to put Jesus to death. Because the hour of His death had not yet come (See Luke 22:14; John 13:1), Jesus fled from Jerusalem and went into the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with His disciples (See Vss. 53-54). This city is located approximately 16 miles northeast of Jerusalem and borders a wilderness area. It is thought by bible scholars that Jesus was in this city when, according to the lesson text, He entered a synagogue and began teaching on the Sabbath Day. Interestingly, only Luke records this event in the life of Jesus. He wrote that among those present on this day was a woman, which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. As was common in those biblical days, the affliction was brought upon this woman by Satan, the devil himself (Vs. 16). It seems that where this took placed, it was allowed by God in order that His name be glorified through the miraculous power of His Son, Christ Jesus. This was not a case of "possession" of one's body by Satan, as was true on many other occasions, but rather the disease resulted from an infirmity that was inflicted on her by the devil.

Seeing her gathered with the multitudes surrounding Him, Jesus had pity on her and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. Although the woman was probably aware of Jesus' healing power, there was no record that she asked Him to heal her. Yet Jesus noticed her disabling condition, had pity on her, loosed her from the bond of Satan. With compassion Jesus, laid His hands on her, and healed her infirmity. Having been made straight, the woman immediately glorified God, giving Him due praise for the healing power that came to her through Jesus.

Verse 14 tells us that, once again, Jesus was condemned by Jewish rulers for healing on the Sabbath Day. John, also, records a similar accusation for healing on the Sabbath Day (John 9:14-16). Indeed, it was the plan of these leaders to find sufficient fault with Jesus to accuse Him of violating, what they considered to be, the Jewish law in force at that present time (See Matt. 12:10-12; Mark 3:2-6; Luke 6:7, 14:3-6). In the lesson text, the ruler of the synagogue warned the Jewish people about Jesus "violating" the Sabbath Day by saying that there are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath Day. He contended that the woman should have sought healing during a week-day instead of the Sabbath, and neither should Jesus have performed this healing on this holy day. However it was not the Mosaic Law that was broken, because it did not forbid healing on this holy day. Rather it was the tradition of the elders - laws designed by the wisdom of men and added to God's law, that they were accusing Jesus of violating.

Jesus showed this accusation to be hypocritically false by asking the ruler of the synagogue this question: doth not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? Caring for one's livestock is certainly considered to be work, and it was done by Jews each day of the week, including on the Sabbath Day. Considering this truth, Jesus then posed this question, shouldn't this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath Day? The woman was a member of the true Jewish family having heritage stemming from their father, Abraham. Being bound by Satan for eighteen years, no one could deny that she was deserving of any miraculous act that could relieve her from this body-tormenting infirmity. This same defense was used by Jesus when He healed the man having a withered hand on the Sabbath Day. Again using the saving of a sheep that fell into a pit on this holy day, Jesus rebuked the Jewish leaders by asking this rhetorical question followed by His interpretation of a just law: How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath Days (See Matt. 12:8-14).

And when He had said these things, all His adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him. No doubt all of the Jews that witnessed this event felt a sense of disgrace and shame, even the ruler of the synagogue and those that agreed with his opposition to Jesus. However, we know this incident did not prevent the Jewish religious leaders from continuing to find fault with Jesus, accuse Him of blasphemy, and seek His death. On the other hand, the people, that is, the common Jews, found joy in the compassionate miracles Jesus continued to perform on every occasion, even on the Sabbath Day.

It is worthy to note the infallibility of each miracle Jesus performed. The fact that the infirm woman did not seek Jesus out to heal her diseased body, but He recognized her need and voluntarily gave her a new life to live as one healed. Also, the length of time she had suffered with this deformity assures us that she had been noticed by her family, friends, neighbors, and, more than likely by the Jewish priesthood. The healing of her infirmity cannot be attributed to some slight-of-hand trickery or magical deception. Before the eyes of all present on this occasion the bowed, deformed back of this woman was made straight allowing her for the first time in eighteen years to stand erect. All saw it. It served as irrefutable evidence that Jesus was the Son of God, the promised Messiah, and the Savior of the world.