The Text: Luke 13:10-17
Jesus today attempts a miracle healing.
Sadly the healing was not successful. You may be surprised to hear that because we see a woman who had been bent over for 18 years released from her condition.
But when we look closer we will see that that may not have been the target of Jesus’ healing.
This woman had been suffering for 18 years. She had not asked for healing and yet Jesus calls her over.
In fact Luke doesn’t even call it a healing but a release from a spirit that had kept her bent over.
The true healing that Jesus seems to be initiating is with the synagogue leader who has been bound not by a physical but a spiritual sickness.
The synagogue leader was teaching what he had learnt about the Sabbath Law to the people in the synagogue.
“There are six days to do work – come on one of those to be healed and not on the Sabbath”.
There are 6 days that this woman could have been healed but Jesus chose the Sabbath because he knew that the religious leader had forgotten his duty to care for those in need.
Jesus’ healing revealed the true state of the synagogue leader’s heart in that instead of rejoicing that this woman is now free from this crippling disease he instead referred to the letter of the law which to him took precedence over her wellbeing.
This message is a challenge to us to see if we may have neglected the care of others among us because we have been side-tracked by other things.
Each Sunday, all sorts of burdens are carried into our churches.
Some, like the bent-over woman’s condition, are more visible than others. But others have pain that is not so obvious or perhaps someone else will deal with it.
The difference between the bent over woman and the leader of the synagogue was that the woman went away healed while the synagogue leader still had his sick heart that needed healing.
It is similar to the Pharisee and the tax collector, with the righteous law-abiding Pharisee going away without being made right before God despite all his obedience to the law while the sinful tax collector, with all his disobedience, went away right before God.
This healing was a problem for the synagogue ruler because of when it happened.
Come back tomorrow when it’s alright for healings to be performed.
Wait a little longer.
After all, what is one extra day in an 18 year long suffering?
For Jesus, it is one day too long – for the woman and for the synagogue ruler.
The tension here is between two faithful Jewish men – Jesus and the synagogue ruler – who are struggling with each other concerning what it means to be faithful to God.
Both men believe they are keeping the true meaning of the Sabbath.
The story portrays Jesus as keeping the Sabbath because he sees it differently, and because he has a different sense of timing.
The time for God’s grace and healing is now, not later.
Often when we think of Pharisees and other religious leaders in the New Testament times we think of them in negative terms.
Judgmental, close-minded, harsh, moralistic, religious fanatics.
If we were to ask the general public today it would probably show that many see Christians in the same way.
The religious leaders were trying to be faithful to God and the commandments.
Somehow the people thought that the way to please God was through religious obedience, worship services, impressive buildings, long prayers and fasting, focusing their attention on the law, right down to every technical detail.
All this, even though God often told them that what mattered most is what’s in our hearts, and how we treat one another, and especially how we treat those in our midst who are most vulnerable: that’s the teaching behind the Good Samaritan: (Luke 10:25-37). The priest and Levite ignored the needs of their hurt brother in order to remain ritually clean for their temple duties.
So while religiously they were right – in their love of neighbour they were wrong.
These religious leaders focused on God and how they might serve God better but couldn’t see the suffering of their community.
They didn’t always get it right, but they were sincerely trying.
They sound a lot like us.
As Christians certainly we want to serve God and show our love and devotion to him.
But do we let our devotion sometimes get in the way that we don’t notice that God places in our midst those who also need our love and devotion?
But as we read the Old Testament we see that God was demanding in strict obedience to the Law of Moses with threats of being put to death for disobedience.
What has changed?
The change is that God sent his son Jesus to fulfil the law that we couldn’t fulfil under the old covenant and introduce a new covenant.
The writer to the Hebrews today compares the Old and the New Covenant.
The characteristics under the Old Covenant of Moses included:
The mountain that couldn’t be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a storm, and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death.” Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”
But with Jesus there is a New Covenant brought in.
A new mountain – Mount Zion – the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, with innumerable angels in festal gathering.
Which covenant are you living under?
It is very easy to slip back into the Old Covenant which put the Law first ahead of the needs of people and further burdened them – there are 6 days to work – come back on one of those days to receive God’s grace.
That doesn’t mean the law isn’t important but Jesus interpreted the true meaning of the law in loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and loving our neighbour as ourselves.
The religious leader, in his eagerness to show his love to God, like the priest and Levite on their way to the temple, neglected to love their neighbour.
The religious leader was called a hypocrite because he allowed his members to care for their animals on the Sabbath but ignored the needs of a human being created in the image of God.
Do we sometimes care more about things in the church while ignoring the needs of fellow human beings created in God’s image?
As Christians we have been set the task to value all human life because we know and believe that all human life is created in the image of God.
And when we begin with that foundation that all human life is created in God’s image then everything we do will take that into consideration.
Whether it’s our worship, whether it’s our work, whether it’s our sport, whether it’s our special interests and things we stand up for – caring for human life guides our values and decisions.
It is so easy to let our political agenda or our theological agenda or our personal agenda to guide our values and decisions which doesn’t always take into account the well-being of others.
It comes so natural to tell those squatters to get a job and wait their turn for public housing.
It’s comes so natural to tell those illegal immigrants to go back where you came from and stop jumping the queue.
Issues like these and others can reveal the true state of our hearts despite all our exterior obedience.
It’s so easy to put rules first and people second.
That’s where the synagogue leader got it wrong.
He was guided by his zeal for the commandments of God without considering God’s call to love his neighbour in need.
There are times when our Christian beliefs will be challenged when we are wondering the right decision to make.
But when we act out love for God and our neighbour as Jesus did, then we allow God’s heart to guide us and his grace to forgive us when we might feel that we have broken God’s law for the sake of a neighbour in need.
Jesus saw the Sabbath Day as a day for God to free us from the weight of the world that keeps us bent over rather than a day where we add to that weight by trying to please God.
This lesson invites us to ponder the ways in which our own rules, customs, and habits of what is right and proper have in fact become “Bad News” and burdens on those seeking release.
As Jesus once said – the Sabbath was made for humans – humans were not made for the Sabbath.
So let the Sabbath free you but more importantly use the Sabbath to free others.