He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath day. Behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years. She was bent over, and could in no way straighten herself up. When Jesus saw her, he called her, and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.” He laid his hands on her, and immediately she stood up straight and glorified God.
The ruler of the synagogue, being indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the multitude, “There are six days in which men ought to work. Therefore come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day!”
Therefore the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each one of you free his ox or his donkey from the stall on the Sabbath, and lead him away to water? Ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham whom Satan had bound eighteen long years, be freed from this bondage on the Sabbath day?”
As he said these things, all his adversaries were disappointed and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv10, 11, 12, 14 Christ came to deliver us from the bands of…
Christ came to deliver us from the bands of Satan.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv10–17 10 And he was teaching in one of the…
10 And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.
Ver. 10. On the sabbath] The soul’s marketday, on which the Lord Christ sells to his people "gold tried in the fire, white raiment, eye salve," &c., Rev 3:18.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv10, 14, 15, 17 Though the Greek be on the sabbaths, which might…
Though the Greek be on the sabbaths, which might signify any day of the week, yet it is manifest by what followeth that this miracle was wrought upon the seventh day, which was the Jewish sabbath, else the ruler of the synagogue would not have quarrelled with our Saviour about it. What is meant here, Luk 13:11, by a spirit of infirmity, would not easily be determined, whether only a very great infirmity, or an infirmity in the bringing and continuing of which upon her the devil had a great instrumentality, but for Luk 13:16, where she is said to be one that Satan had bound; she was a cripple, and so bowed down that she could not lift up herself, and thus she had been for eighteen years, so as the distemper was inveterate, and out of the course of ordinary cure. Christ, who, as to people’s bodily infirmities, was sometimes found of those that sought him not, seeing her, calleth her to him, and saith,
Woman, thou art loosed from thy infirmity. And he laid his hands on her; and immediately she was made straight. The inveterateness of the disease, and the instantaneousness of the cure, without the use of any means, made the miracle evident. The woman for it gave thanks to God, for that is meant by
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glorified God, she spake some things to the honour and glory of God, who had healed her.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On v10 Observe here, 1. The afflicted person, a woman which…
Observe here, 1. The afflicted person, a woman which had a sore disease inflicted upon her by the devil for eighteen years, which almost bowed her together. There is nothing that the devil delights more in, than the miseries and calamities of mankind. Satan is not satisfied barely to infect the mind, and poison the souls of men; but he delights to afflict and hurt the body, where and when he can obtain leave.
Observe, 2. Christ’s compassion towards her, and his miraculous healing of her; Jesus called her to him, and with a word speaking, healed her.
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Where note, that the inveterateness of the disease, and the instant- aneousness of the cure, made the miracle evident. She that had been bowed down eighteen years, in an instant is made straight, and only by a word of Christ’s mouth. Such a miraculous operation was an evident testimony of his divine mission, that he was the Son of God.
Observe, 3. How the heart of the poor woman is affected with Christ’s hand: she glorified God; that is, she gave thanks to God, and attributed the miracle to him. As the chief end of all God’s extraordinary works, either of power or mercy, is the exaltation of his own glory; so the only way that we can set forth his glory, is by celebrating his praises, and expressing our own thankfulness: He that offereth me praises and thanks, glorifies me, Psa 50:23.
Observe, 4. The unreasonable anger and unjust indignation, which was found with the ruler of the synagogue against our holy Lord for working this miraculous cure on the sabbath day. There is no person so holy, no action so innocent, but may fall under unjust censure, especially where malice and ignorance are combined. What a severe reflection does this man make upon our blessed Lord for performing a work of mercy on the sabbath day!
Observe, 5. Our Lord’s vindication of himself from calumny and false accusation;
1. He charges his accusers with hyprocrisy. Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you loose his ox or his ass from the stall on the sabbath day, and water him? It is one note of an hypocrite, to condemn that in another which he does himself: the Jews held it lawful to loose and lead a beast to watering on the sabbath day, which was a work of servile labor; and yet would condemn Christ for healing a poor woman only with a word speaking.
2. Christ vindicates his own action, by comparing it with theirs, which they judged lawful on the sabbath day: Was their loosing and watering the beast a work of necessity? Much more was his. Was theirs a work of mercy? His much more. Their compassion was to a brute beast, his to a rational creature, to a woman, and that not a stranger, an heathen woman; but one of their own, a Jewish woman, a daughter of Abraham. No, farther, Christ’s act was an act of far greater necessity, and more special mercy, than theirs. The beast might live a day without water; the beast might not be sick: but this woman was in sore distress, and had been so for eighteen years; no, she was in the hands of the enemy of mankind, bound by Satan. Was it not then a greater act of mercy and compassion to loose her, than to lead a beast?
Observe, 6. What effect our Lord’s vindication of himself had upon the hearers of it: His adversaries were ashamed, and the people rejoiced, verse 17. His accusers were ashamed, and probably convinced, perhaps silenced; but we read not that they confessed their error, or acknow-ledged their unjust censure, or craved Christ’s pardon.
When persons judgments are under conviction of an error or mistake, it is very hard to bring themselves to confess and own their mistake, because all men stand very much upon the credit and reputation of their understandings, and look upon it as a reproach to own themselves mistaken; though it is really otherwise. But though our Saviour’s adversaries were only ashamed, others rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v10 Here is, I. The miraculous cure of a woman…
Here is, I. The miraculous cure of a woman that had been long under a spirit of infirmity. Our Lord Jesus spent his Sabbaths in the synagogues, Luk 13:10. We should make conscience of doing so, as we have opportunity, and not think we can spend the sabbath as well at home reading a good book; for religious assemblies are a divine institution, which we must bear our testimony to, though but of two or three. And, when he was in the synagogues on the sabbath day, he was teaching there - ēn didaskōn. It denotes a continued act; he still taught the people knowledge. He was in his element when he was teaching. Now to confirm the doctrine he preached, and recommend it as faithful, and well worthy of all acceptation, he wrought a miracle, a miracle of mercy.
1. The object of charity that presented itself was a woman in the synagogue that had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, Luk 13:11. She had an infirmity, which an evil spirit, by divine permission, had brought upon her, which was such that she was bowed together by strong convulsions, and could in no wise lift up herself; and, having been so long thus, the disease was incurable; she could not stand erect, which is reckoned man's honour above the beasts. Observe, Though she was under this infirmity, by which she was much deformed, and made to look mean, and not only so, but, as is supposed, motion was very painful to her, yet she went to the synagogue on the sabbath day. Note, Even bodily infirmities, unless they be very grievous indeed, should not keep us from public worship on the sabbath days; for God can help us, beyond our expectation.
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2. The offer of this cure to one that sought it not bespeaks the preventing mercy and grace of Christ: When Jesus saw her, he called her to him, Luk 13:12. It does not appear that she made any application to him, or had any expectation from him; but before she called he answered. She came to him to be taught, and to get good to her soul, and then Christ gave this relief to her bodily infirmity. Note, Those whose first and chief care is for their souls do best befriend the true interests of their bodies likewise, for other things shall be added to them. Christ in his gospel calls and invites those to come to him for healing that labour under spiritual infirmities, and, if he calls us, he will undoubtedly help us when we come to him.
3. The cure effectually and immediately wrought bespeaks his almighty power. He laid his hands on her, and said, "Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity; though thou hast been long labouring under it, thou art at length released from it." Let not those despair whose disease is inveterate, who have been long in affliction. God can at length relieve them, therefore though he tarry wait for him. Though it was a spirit of infirmity, an evil spirit, that she was under the power of, Christ has a power superior to that of Satan, is stronger than he. Though she could in no wise lift up herself, Christ could lift her up, and enable her to lift up herself. She that had been crooked was immediately made straight, and the scripture was fulfilled (Psa 146:8): The Lord raiseth them that are bowed down. This cure represents the work of Christ's grace upon the souls of the people. (1.) In the conversion of sinners. Unsanctified hearts are under this spirit of infirmity; they are distorted, the faculties of the soul are quite out of place and order; they are bowed down towards things below. O curvae in terram animae! They can in no wise lift up themselves to God and heaven; the bent of the soul, in its natural state, is the quite contrary way. Such crooked souls seek not to Christ; but he calls them to him, lays the hand of his power and grace upon them, speaks a healing word to them, by which he looses them from their infirmity, makes the soul straight, reduces it to order, raises it above worldly regards, and directs its affections and aims heavenward. Though man cannot make that straight which God has made crooked (Ecc 7:13), yet the grace of God can make that straight which the sin of man has made crooked. (2.) In the consolation of good people. Many of the children of God are long under a spirit of infirmity, a spirit of bondage; through prevailing grief and fear, their souls are cast down and disquieted within them, they are troubled, they are bowed down greatly, they go mourning all the day long, Psa 38:6. But Christ, by his Spirit of adoption, looses them from this infirmity in due time, and raises them up.
4. The present effect of this cure upon the soul of the patient as well as upon her body. She glorified God, gave him the praise of her cure to whom all praise is due. When crooked souls are made straight, they will show it by their glorifying God.
II. The offence that was taken at this by the ruler of the synagogue, as if our Lord Jesus had committed some heinous crime, in healing this poor woman. He had indignation at it, because it was on the sabbath day, Luk 13:14. One would think that the miracle should have convinced him, and that the circumstance of its being done on the sabbath day could not have served to counteract the conviction; but what light can shine so clear, so strong, that a spirit of bigotry and enmity to Christ and his gospel will not serve to shut men's eyes against it? Never was such honour done to the synagogue he was ruler of as Christ had now done it, and yet he had indignation at it. He had not indeed the impudence to quarrel with Christ; but he said to the people, reflecting upon Christ in what he said, There are six days in which men ought to work, in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day. See here how light he made of the miracles Christ wrought, as if they were things of course, and no more than what quacks and mountebanks did every day: "You may come and be healed any day of the week." Christ's cures were become, in his eyes, cheap and common things. See also how he stretches the law beyond its intention, or any just construction that could be put upon it, in making either healing or being healed with a touch of the hand, or a word's speaking, to be that work which is forbidden on the sabbath day. This was evidently the work of God; and, when God tied us out from working that day, did he tie himself out? The same word in Hebrew signifies both godly and merciful (chesed), to intimate that works of mercy and charity are in a manner works of piety (Ti1 5:4) and therefore very proper on sabbath days.
III. Christ's justification of himself in what he had done (Luk 13:15): The Lord then answered him, as he had answered others who in like manner cavilled at him, Thou hypocrite. Christ, who knows men's hearts, may call those hypocrites whom it would be presumption for us to call so. We must judge charitably, and can judge only according to the outward appearance. Christ knew that he had a real enmity to him and to his gospel, that he did but cloak this with a pretended zeal for the sabbath day, and that when he bade the people come on the six days, and be healed, he really would not have them be healed any day. Christ could have told him this, but he vouchsafes to reason the case with him; and,
1. He appeals to the common practice among the Jews, which was never disallowed, that of watering their cattle on the sabbath day. Those cattle that are kept up in the stable are constantly loosed from the stall on the sabbath day, and led away to watering. It would be a barbarous thing not to do it; for a merciful man regards the life of his beast, his own beast that serves him. Letting the cattle rest on the sabbath day, as the law directed, would be worse than working them, if they must be made to fast on that day, as the Ninevites' cattle on their fast-day, that were not permitted to feed nor drink water, Jon 3:7.
2. He applies this to the present case (Luk 13:16): "Must the ox and the ass have compassion shown them on the sabbath day, and have so much time and pains bestowed upon them every sabbath, to be loosed from the stall, led away perhaps a great way to the water, and then back again, and shall not this woman, only with a touch of the hand and a word's speaking, be loosed from a much greater grievance than that which the cattle undergo when they are kept a day without water? For consider," (1.) "She is a daughter of Abraham, in a relation to whom you all pride yourselves; she is your sister, and shall she be denied a favour that you grant to an ox or an ass, dispensing a little with the supposed strictness of the sabbath day? She is a daughter of Abraham, and therefore is entitled to the Messiah's blessings, to the bread which belongs to the children." (2.) "She is one whom Satan has bound. He had a hand in the affliction, and therefore it was not only an act of charity to the poor woman, but of piety to God, to break the power of the devil, and baffle him." (3.) "She has been in this deplorable condition, lo, these eighteen years, and therefore, now that there is an opportunity of delivering her, it ought not to be deferred a day longer, as you would have it, for any of you would have thought eighteen years' affliction full long enough."
IV. The different effect that this had upon those that heard him. He had sufficiently made it out, not only that it was lawful, but that it was highly fit and proper, to heal this poor woman on the sabbath day, and thus publicly in the synagogue, that they might all be witnesses of the miracle. And now observe,
1. What a confusion this was to the malice of his persecutors: When he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed (Luk 13:17); they were put to silence, and were vexed that they were so, that they had not a word to say for themselves. It was not a shame that worked repentance, but rather indignation. Note, Sooner or later, all the adversaries of Christ, and his doctrine and miracles, will be made ashamed.
2. What a confirmation this was to the faith of his friends: All the people, who had a better sense of things, and judged more impartially than their rulers, rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him. The shame of his foes was the joy of his followers; the increase of his interest was what the one fretted at, and the other triumphed in. The things Christ did were glorious things; they were all so, and, though now clouded, perhaps will appear to, and we ought to rejoice in them. Every thing that is the honour of Christ is the comfort of Christians.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv10–17 And he was teaching in one of the synagogues,....…
And he was teaching in one of the synagogues,.... That is Jesus, as the Syriac and Persic versions express it; which was his work, he being a teacher sent from God, and who took all opportunities of instructing men in the truths of the Gospel; this was done either in Galilee, or in Judea, in one of the synagogues of some city there, for in their larger cities there were more synagogues than one. In Jerusalem, we are told (o), there were three hundred and ninety four synagogues; and other writers (p) increase their number, and say, there were four hundred and eighty: and it was
on the sabbath; which was now in force, and was religiously observed by Christ.
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(o) T. Bab. Cetubot, fol. 105. 1. (p) Pesikta in Jarchi in Isa. i. 21. Shirhashirim Rabba, fol. 20. 3. Ecka Rabbati, fol. 37. 4.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv11, 15, 16 She was bowed together, and utterly unable to lift…
She was bowed together, and utterly unable to lift up herself - The evil spirit which possessed her afflicted her in this manner. To many doubtless it appeared a natural distemper. Would not a modern physician have termed it a nervous case?
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v11 Verse 11. A woman which had a spirit of…
Verse 11. A woman which had a spirit of infirmity] Relative to this subject three things may be considered: -
I. The woman's infirmity.
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II. Her cure. And
III. The conduct of the ruler of the synagogue on the occasion.
I. The woman's infirmity.
1. What was its origin? SIN. Had this never entered into the world, there had not been either pain, distortion, or death.
2. Who was the agent in it? Satan; Lu 13:16. God has often permitted demons to act on and in the bodies of men and women; and it is not improbable that the principal part of unaccountable and inexplicable disorders still come from the same source.
3. What was the nature of this infirmity? She was bowed together, bent down to the earth, a situation equally painful and humiliating; the violence of which she could not support, and the shame of which she could not conceal.
4. What was the duration of this infirmity? Eighteen years. A long time to be under the constant and peculiar influence of the devil.
What was the effect of this infirmity? The woman was so bowed together that she could in no case stand straight, or look toward heaven.
II. The woman's cure.
1. Jesus saw her, Lu 13:12. Notwithstanding her infirmity was great, painful, and shameful, she took care to attend the synagogue. While she hoped for help from God, she saw it was her duty to wait in the appointed way, in order to receive it. Jesus saw her distress, and the desire she had both to worship her Maker and to get her health restored, and his eye affected his heart.
2. He called her to him. Her heart and her distress spoke loudly, though her lips were silent; and, as she was thus calling for help, Jesus calls her to himself that she may receive help.
3. Jesus laid his hands on her. The hand of his holiness terrifies, and the hand of his power expels, the demon. Ordinances, however excellent, will be of no avail to a sinner, unless he apprehend Christ in them.
4. Immediately she was made straight, Lu 13:13. This cure was -
1. A speedy one - it was done in an instant.
2. It was a perfect one - she was made completely whole.
3. It was a public one - there were many to attest and render it credible.
4. It was a stable and permanent one - she was loosed, for ever loosed from her infirmity.
5. Her soul partook of the good done to her body - she glorified God. As she knew before that it was Satan who had bound her, she knew also that it was God only that could loose her; and now, feeling that she is loosed, she gives God that honour which is due to his name.
III. The conduct of the ruler of the synagogue on the occasion.
1. He answered with indignation, Lu 13:14. It would seem as if the demon who had left the woman's body had got into his heart. It is not an infrequent case to find a person filled with rage and madness, while beholding the effects of Christ's power upon others. Perhaps, like this ruler, he pretends zeal and concern for the honour of religion: "These preachings, prayer meetings, convictions, conversions, c., are not carried on in his way, and therefore they cannot be of God." Let such take care, lest, while denying the operation of God's hand, they be given up to demonic influence.
2. He endeavours to prevent others from receiving the kind help of the blessed Jesus - He said unto the people, c., Lu 13:14. Men of this character who have extensive influence over the poor, &c., do immense harm: they often hinder them from hearing that word which is able to save their souls. But for this also they must stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Reader, hast thou ever acted in this way?
3. Jesus retorts his condemnation with peculiar force Lu 13:15-16. Thou hypocrite to pretend zeal for God's glory, when it is only the workings of thy malicious, unfeeling, and uncharitable heart. Wouldst thou not even take thy ass to water upon the Sabbath day? And wouldst thou deprive a daughter of Abraham (one of thy own nation and religion) of the mercy and goodness of God upon the Sabbath? Was not the Sabbath instituted for the benefit of man?
4. His adversaries were ashamed, Lu 13:17. The mask of their hypocrisy, the only covering they had, is taken away; and now they are exposed to the just censure of that multitude whom they deceived, and from whom they expected continual applause.
5. His indignation and uncharitable censure, not only turn to his own confusion, but are made the instruments of the edification of the multitude - they rejoiced at all the glorious things which he did. Thus, O Lord! the wrath of man shall praise thee, and the remainder thereof thou shalt restrain.
A preacher will know how to apply this subject to general edification.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv10, 14 Luk 13:10-13. He was teaching in one of the…
Luk 13:10-13. He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath — Our Lord Jesus spent his sabbaths in the synagogues, and we should make conscience of doing so; that is, of attending places of worship, as we have opportunity, and not think that we can spend our sabbaths as well at home, in praying and reading good books; for public worship is a divine institution, to which we must bear our testimony, though the congregation may consist but of two or three. And generally, when Jesus was in the synagogues, ην διδασκων, he was teaching there, knowing that the people were perishing for lack of instruction. On this occasion, to confirm the doctrine which he preached, and recommend it as important, faithful, and worthy of all acceptation, he wrought a signal miracle of mercy. For, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity — Ασθενειας, of weakness; eighteen years — During which she had been bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself — Or stand straight. The evil spirit, which possessed her, afflicted her in this manner. To many doubtless, it appeared a natural distemper. Would not a modern physician have termed it a nervous case? That by a spirit of infirmity we are to understand an infirmity produced by an evil spirit, we learn from our Lord’s own explanation of the phrase, Luk 13:16, where he says, Satan had bound this woman eighteen years. When Jesus saw her — Knowing perfectly all the sad circumstances of her affliction, and the difficulty with which she was now come to attend the solemnity of divine worship there; he called her to him — It does not appear that she had made any application to him, or had any expectation of relief from him; but, though she did not call, he answered. She came to him to be taught, and to receive spiritual benefit, and he gave her deliverance from her bodily infirmity. Thus, those whose first and principal care is for their souls, do best promote the true interests of their bodies likewise; because they seek the kingdom of God, other things are added to them. He said, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity — Thou hast long been labouring under it, but thou art now at length released from it. Let not those despair, therefore, whose disease has been of long continuance, and is inveterate. God can relieve them, and has he not encouraged them to apply to him, and wait for him? Reader, remember, he is a present help, a help at hand in trouble, and hath said, Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee; and thou shalt glorify me. So this woman did; immediately upon Christ’s laying his hands on her, and healing her, she glorified God — Praised him before the whole assembly, for the signal and unexpected favour, declaring, doubtless, how long her affliction had continued, and how desperate and incurable it had been thought to be.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv11–17 There was a woman which had a spirit of…
There was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity - Was infirm, or was weak and afflicted. This was produced by Satan, Luk 13:16.
Eighteen years - This affliction had continued a long time. This shows that the miracle was real; that the disease was not feigned. Though thus afflicted, yet it seems she was regular in attending the worship of God in the synagogue. There in the sanctuary, is the place where the afflicted find consolation; and there it was that the Saviour met her and restored her to health. It is in the sanctuary and on the Sabbath, also, that he commonly meets his people, and gives them the joys of his salvation.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v14 The president of the synagogue, when he saw the…
The president of the synagogue, when he saw the woman, who before crept on the ground, now raised by the touch of Christ, and hearing the mandate of God, was filled with envy, and decried the miracle, apparently through solicitude for keeping the sabbath. But the truth is, he would rather see the poor woman bent to the earth like a beast, than see Christ glorified by healing her. (St. Cyril in St. Thomas Aquinas)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv11, 12, 14, 15, 16 WOMAN OF EIGHTEEN YEAR'S INFIRMITY HEALED ON THE SABBATH.…
WOMAN OF EIGHTEEN YEAR'S INFIRMITY HEALED ON THE SABBATH. (Luk 13:10-17)
spirit of infirmity--Compare Luk 13:17, "whom Satan hath bound." From this it is probable, though not certain, that her protracted infirmity was the effect of some milder form of possession; yet she was "a daughter of Abraham," in the same gracious sense, no doubt, as Zaccheus, after his conversion, was "a son of Abraham" (Luk 19:9).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17 § 88.—THE WOMAN LOOSED FROM THE SPIRIT OF INFIRMITY…
§ 88.—THE WOMAN LOOSED FROM THE SPIRIT OF INFIRMITY OF EIGHTEEN YEARS, Luk_13:10-21.
10. Teaching in one of the synagogues—The last great discourse was in the open air. But the synagogue on the Sabbath is still open to our Lord’s preaching in south-eastern Palestine; although the ruler of the synagogue would, if he dare, exclude him.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17 10-17. The Sabbatical Hypocrite and the Suffering Woman.
10-17. The Sabbatical Hypocrite and the Suffering Woman.
10. in one of the synagogues] The mention of synagogue-teaching becomes much rarer at this later stage of Christ’s ministry. It is most probable that from some at least of the synagogues of Galilee he was excluded by the ‘lesser excommunication.’ See Joh_16:2.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv10–16 (10) And he was teaching in one of the…
(10) And he was teaching in one of the synagogues.—The narrative that follows is peculiar to St. Luke. The indefiniteness as to time and place indicate that it was probably one of the previously unrecorded traditions which he met with when he entered on his personal search for materials. This is in part con firmed by the use of “the Lord” in Luk_13:15. (See Note on Luk_7:13.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv10, 11, 14, 15 Vers. 10-17. A miracle of mercy. The Lords teaching…
Vers. 10-17. A miracle of mercy. The Lords teaching on certain strict observances of the sabbath day then practised by the more rigid Jews.
And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. We hear little of our Lord"s public teaching in the synagogues of the towns and villages through which he was then passing in this his last long journey. In the earlier months of the ministry of Jesus he seems to have taught frequently in these houses of prayer, very possibly every sabbath day. It has been suggested, with considerable probability, that owing to the persistent enmity of the hierarchy and dominant class at Jerusalem, he was excluded from some at least of the synagogues by what was termed the "lesser excommunication.
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Vers. 11-13. The opportunity of love.
Jesus found himself, on the sabbath day, in the synagogue; and being in the right place, he found something more than he presumably went to seek (see next homily). We have our minds directed to
I OUR LORD"S OPPORTUNITY, and the use he made of it.
1. He found this in the presence of human infirmity. There he saw a woman who had been afflicted in body for eighteen years; she was "bowed together," etc. Not only was she subject to very considerable privation, but, as one whose figure was uncomely, she was exposed to the ridicule of the flippant and the heartless; and this without break for a very large proportion of human life. Here was a most fitting object of tender pity and, if the way were clear, of Divine help.
2. We mark the ready manifestation of his sympathy. lie instantly spoke to her words of cheer and kindliness, awakening such hopes as she had not cherished for many a long year; and then he laid upon her a healing touch: "he laid his hands on her." It means much when God "lays his hand upon us." It meant everything to this woman with the new hope in her heart, that this kind, strong Prophet laid his hand of love and power upon her person; then she felt how near he had come to her, how close at hand was the delivering hour.
3. Then came the exercise of his benignant power. A great as well as a good work was wrought.
(1) The injury by long disease was undone in a single moment; the rigidity of eighteen years was "immediately" relaxed. (see Act_4:22)
(2) The great Healer raised to the full stature and to the dignity and capacity of perfect womanhood one who had been helplessly and hopelessly disfigured and crippled.
(3) And he called forth from her, and from all who witnessed his work, reverent and grateful joy; she and they rejoiced and glorified God.
II OUR OWN OPPORTUNITY.
1. The presence of human wrong, and its manifold consequences. Around us are ignorance, unbelief, vice, crime, sin; around us, therefore, are poverty, want, suffering, shame, degradation, death. No man who has an open eye for the condition of his kind can fail to see, day by day, some pitiful object that may well excite his deepest and tenderest compassion men and women, all too many, whom sin has "bowed down," and who can "in no wise lift themselves up.
2. The manifestation of our sympathy. And how shall we show our feeling of regret and of desire?
(1) By our voice; by speaking the kind, true, enlightening, hope-giving word.
(2) By our touch; we shall not succeed without this. To take a man by the hand, or to lay a brotherly hand upon his shoulder, is to come into healing contact with him. It is to "come near" to the one we are seeking to bless; it is to give him the sense that, instead of "standing aloof," we feel and own and claim our brotherhood with him; it is to stand on the same level with him the level of our common humanity, our erring, striving, suffering, aspiring humanity; it is to be where the healing and restoring power can be exercised and received.
3. The result of our healing touch. We exert the influence that elevates. The first result is enlightenment concerning himself; then faith in a Divine Saviour; then uprightness of character and erectness of spirit. The man is "made straight." He is no longer bowed down in spiritual bondage, with eyes directed to the earth; he stands erect in spiritual freedom, in purity of heart, in a large and blessed hopefulness; he has attained, through the influence of Christian love, a noble elevation; henceforth he will walk in the way of life, with all true dignity, in all gladness of soul, giving glory to the great Healer. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v10 A woman, which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen…
Luk_13:10-17
A woman, which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen yearn--
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Two pulpits
I.
Observe one thing at the outset: HOW MANY ANONYMOUS BELIEVERS THERE ARE IN THE BIBLE RECORD WHO GIVE HELP ALL ALONG THE AGES. Put alongside of this story the account previously given of the man healed of leprosy, and the other man at the same time cured of palsy. Of this last we have precisely the same record--And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. In close connection with these cases there are mentioned multitudes, but no personal particulars are furnished. The pages of Gods Word are crowded with such incidents. The woman of Samaria, the man of God that came to Eli, the lad who gave his bread and fishes at Tiberias--all these have had a mention, but nothing more to identify them in the inspired annals. It is really of little consequence who we are; it matters more what we are.
II. Observe, in the second place, THAT EVEN IN EXTREME HOPELESSNESS OF DISEASE ONE MAY EXHIBIT A SUPREME AND ILLUSTRIOUS FAITH. This woman was evidently in a most deplorable condition; she was actually doubled up with deformity. When a believer is smitten terribly, he is not always just in the mood to be reasonable. Every nerve is quivering with agony; he cannot see the wisdom nor the fairness of its infliction. The more common danger for a Christian under trial is that he shall sink into a state of stupor, of listlessness, or despair. A great numbness settles upon the soul. There are pains which lie a great distance lower than the bottom of the grave. The poet Cowper, tearing out a leaf from his own awful experience, says, There are as truly things which it is not lawful for man to utter as those were which Paul heard and saw in the third heaven; if the ladder of Christian life reaches, as I suppose it does, to the very presence of God, it nevertheless has its foot in the very abyss. Now against both of these baleful postures of mind, the passionate and the listless, does this thought of preaching the gospel from a pulpit of patient suffering for the great glory of God array itself. It is wise to keep in mind the fact that souls may be won to the Cross by a life on a sick-bed just as well as by a life in a cathedral desk. Pure submission is as good as going on a foreign mission.
III. Right here, therefore, observe, in the third place, AN EXPLANATION IS OFFERED OF THE MYSTERY AND THE PURPOSE OF SUFFERING. Pain is a sort of ordination to the Christian ministry. It furnishes a true believer with a new pulpit to preach from. A wise man will do better to learn this lesson early. I am anxious now to bring this thought close to our own minds and hearts at once. In the rooms of the American Tract Society, in New York, were until lately standing two objects which I studied for some meditative years, once a month, at a committee meeting. One is a slight framework of tough wood, a few feet high, so bound together with hasps and hinges as to be taken down and folded in the hand. This was Whitefields travelling-pulpit; the one he used when, denied access to the churches, he harangued the thousands in the open air, on the moors of England. You will think of this modern apostle, lifted up upon the small platform, with the throngs of eager people around him; or hurrying from one field to another, bearing his Bible in his arms; ever on the move, toiling with herculean energy, and a force like that of a giant. There, in that rude pulpit, is the symbol of all which is active and fiery in dauntless Christian zeal. But now look-again: in the centre of this framework, resting upon the slender platform where the living preacher used to stand, you will see a chair--a plain, straight-backed, armed, cottage-chair; rough, simple, meagrely cushioned, unvarnished, and stiff. It was the seat in which Elizabeth Wallbridge, the dairymans daughter, sat and coughed and whispered, and from which she went only at her last hour to the couch on which she died. Here again is a pulpit; and it is the symbol of a life quiet and unromantic and hard in all Christian endurance. Every word that invalid woman uttered--every patient night she suffered--was a gospel sermon. In a hundred languages the life of that servant of God has preached to millions of souls the riches of Christs glory and grace. And of these two pulpits, which is the most honourable is known only to God, who undoubtedly accepted and consecrated them both. The one is suggestive of the ministry of speech, the other of the ministry of submission.
IV. Hence, WE MAY EASILY LEARN WHAT MIGHT BE ONE OF THE MOST PROFITABLE OCCUPATIONS OF A CHRONIC INVALID. NO one can preach from any pulpit without the proper measure of study. Sick people are always in danger of becoming egotistic and selfish, and the best relief from that is for each child of God to busy himself in labouring for others salvation. Said the intelligent Doddridge, even while he was lingering in the last hours of his life, My soul is vigorous and healthy, notwithstanding the hastening decay of- this frail and tottering body; it is not for the love of sunshine or the variety of meats that I desire life, but, if it please God, that I may render Him a little more service. Such a purpose as this will lead a Christian to thoughtful examination of what will make his efforts most pertinent. He will study doctrine. He will study experience too.
V. SOME PEOPLE RECOVER FROM LONG ILLNESS; CHRIST HEALS THEM, AS HE DID THESE MEN IN THE STORY. SO there is one more lesson for convalescents--what are they going to do with their lives hereafter? (C. S.Robinson, D. D.)
The lifting up of the bowed down
I. Our first subject for consideration is, THE BOWING DOWN OF THE AFFLICTED. We read of this woman that she had a spirit of infirmity and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.
1. Upon which we remark--first, that she had lost all her natural brightness. Alas, we know certain of the children of God who are at this moment in much the same condition. They are perpetually bowed down, and though they recollect happier days the memory only serves to deepen their present gloom.
2. This poor woman was bowed towards herself and towards that which was depressing. She seemed to grow downwards; her life was stooping; she bent lower and lower, as the weight of years pressed upon her. Her looks were all earthward, nothing heavenly, nothing bright could come before her eyes; her views were narrowed to the dust, and to the grave. So are there some of Gods people whose thoughts sink evermore like lead, and their feelings run in a deep groove, cutting evermore a lower channel. You cannot give them delight, but you can readily cause them alarm. All these things are against me, say they, for they can see nothing but the earth, and can imagine nothing but fear and distress. We have known certain prudent, but somewhat unfeeling, persons blame these people, and chide them for being low-spirited; and that brings us to notice next-3. That she could not lift up herself. There was no use in blaming her. Of what use is it to advise a blind person to see, or to tell one who cannot lift up herself that she ought to be upright, and should not look so much upon the earth? This is a needless increase of misery. Some persons who pretend to be comforters might more fitly be classed with tormentors, h spiritual infirmity is as real as a physical one.
4. Note further about this poor woman, that bowed down as she was both in mind and body, she yet frequented the house of prayer. Our Lord was in the synagogue, and there was she.
II. I invite you, secondly, to notice THE HAND OF SATAN IS THIS BONDAGE. We should not have known it if our Lord had not told us, that it was Satan who had bound this poor woman for eighteen years.
1. He must have bound her very cunningly to make the knot hold all that time, for he does not appear to have possessed her. You notice in reading the evangelists that our Lord never laid his hand on a person possessed with a devil. Satan had not possessed her, but he had fallen upon her once upon a time eighteen years before, and bound her up as men tie a beast in its stable, and she had not been able to get free all that while. The devil can tie in a moment a knot which you and I cannot unloose in eighteen years.
2. Satan had bound the woman to herself and to the earth. There is a cruel way of tying a beast which is somewhat after the same fashion. I have seen a poor animals head fastened to its knee or foot, and somewhat after that fashion Satan had bound the woman downward to herself. So there are some children of God whose thoughts are all about themselves; they have turned their eyes so that they look inside and see only the transactions of the little world within themselves. They are always lamenting their own infirmities, always mourning their own corruptions, always watching their own emotions. The one and only subject of their thoughts is their own condition. If they ever change the scene and turn to another subject it is only to gaze upon the earth beneath them, to groan over this poor world with its sorrows, its miseries, its sins, and its disappointments. Thus they are tied to themselves and to the earth, and cannot look up to Christ as they should, nor let the sunlight of His love shine full upon them.
3. This poor woman was restrained from what her soul needed. She was like an ass or an ox which cannot get to the trough to drink. She knew the promises, she heard them read every Sabbath day; she went to the synagogue and heard of Him who comes to loose the captives; but she could not rejoice in the promise or enter into liberty. So are there multitudes of Gods people who are fastened to themselves and cannot get to watering, cannot drink from the river of life, nor find consolation in the Scriptures. They know how precious the gospel is, and how consolatory are the blessings of the covenant, but they cannot enjoy the consolations or the blessings. Oh that they could! They sigh and cry, but they feel themselves to be bound.
4. There is a saving clause here. Satan had done a good deal to the poor woman, but he had done all he could do. He can smite, but he cannot slay. The devil may bind you fast, but Christ has bound you faster still with cords of everlasting love, which must and shall hold you to the end. That poor woman was being prepared, even by the agency of the devil, to glorify God.
III. I want you to notice in the third place THE LIBERATOR AT HIS WORK. We have seen the woman bound by the devil, but here comes the Liberator, and the first thing we read of Him is that--
1. He saw her. His eyes looked round, reading every heart as He glanced from one to another. At last He saw the woman. Yes, that was the very one He was seeking. We are not to think that He saw her in the same common way as I see one of you, but He read every line of her character and history, every thought of her heart, every desire of her soul.
2. When He had gazed upon her, He called her to Him. Did He know her name? Oh, yes, He knows all our names, and His calling is therefore personal and unmistakable.
3. When the woman came, the great Liberator said to her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. How could that be true? She was still as bent as she was before. He meant that the spell of Satan was taken off from her, that the power which had made her thus to bow herself was broken.
4. Our Lord proceeded to give her full enlargement in His own way: He laid His hands on her. She suffered from want of strength, and by putting His hands upon her, I conceive that the Lord poured His life into her. The warm stream of His own infinite power and vitality came into contact with the lethargic stream of her painful existence, and so quickened it that she lifted up herself. The deed of love was done: Jesus Himself had done it.
IV. I will not linger there, but invite you now to notice THE LOOSING OF THE BOUND.
1. She was made straight we are told, and that at once. Now, what I want you to notice is this, that she must have lifted herself up--that was her own act and deed. No pressure or force was put upon her, she lifted up herself; and yet she was made straight. She was passive in so much as a miracle was wrought upon her, but she was active too, and, being enabled, she lifted up herself. What a wonderful meeting there is here of the active and the passive in the salvation of men.
2. The most remarkable fact is that she was made straight immediately; for there was something beyond her infirmity to be overcome. Suppose that any person had been diseased of the spine, or of the nerves and muscles for eighteen years, even if the disease which occasioned his being deformed could be entirely removed, what would be the effect? Why, that the result of the disease would still remain, for the body would have become set through long continuance in one posture. But this woman was cured entirely, instantaneously, by the power of the Lord.
3. The cure being thus perfect, up rose the woman to glorify God. What did she say? It is not recorded, but we can well imagine. It was something like this: I have been eighteen years in and out among you; you have seen me, and know what a poor, miserable, wretched object I was; but God has lifted me up all in a moment. Blessed be His name, I have been made straight. What she spoke with her mouth was not half of what she expressed. No reporter could have taken it down; she spoke with her eyes, she spoke with her hands, she spoke with every limb of her body.
V. Fifthly, let us reflect upon our REASON FOR EXPECTING THE LORD JESUS TO DO THE SAME THING TO-DAY as he did eighteen hundred years and more ago. What was His reason for setting this woman free?
1. According to His own statement it was, first of all, human kindness. Tried soul, wouldst thou not loose an ox or an ass if thou sawest it suffering? Ay, sayest thou. And dost thou think the Lord will not loose thee? Hast thou more bowels of mercy than the Christ of God?
2. More than that, there was special relationship. He tells this master of the synagogue that a man would loose his ox or his ass. Perhaps he might not think it his business to go and loose that which belonged to another man, but it is his own ass, his own ox, and he will loose him, And dost thou think, dear heart, that the Lord Jesus will not loose thee He bought thee with His blood, His Father gave thee to Him, He has loved thee with an everlasting love: will He not loose thee?
3. Next, there was a point of antagonism which moved the Saviour to act promptly. He says, This woman being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound. Now, if I knew the devil had tied anything up I am sure I would try to unloose it, would not you? We may be sure some mischief is brewing when the devil is working, and, therefore, it must be a good deed to undo his work. But Jesus Christ came into the world on purpose to destroy the works of the devil; and so, when He saw the woman like a tied-up ox, He said, I will unloose her if for nothing else that I may undo what the devil has done.
4. Then think of her sorrowful condition. An ox or an ass tied up to the manger without water would soon be in a very sad plight. Pity it, poor thing. Hear the lowing of the ox, as hour after hour its thirst tells upon it. Would you not pity it? And do you think the Lord does not pity his poor, tried, tempted, afflicted children? Those tears, shall they fall for nothing? Those sleepless nights, shall they be disregarded? That broken heart which fain would but cannot believe the promise, shall that for ever be denied a hearing? Hath she Lord forgotten to be gracious? Hath He in anger shut up the bowels of His mercy? Ah, no, He will remember thy sorrowful estate and hear thy groanings, for He puts thy tears into His bottle. (C. H.Spurgeon.)
The infirm woman in the synagogue
I. Our first reflection, as we look at this brief narrative, is that it furnishes us, on the part of the woman, with an illustration of ATTACHMENT TO THE PUBLIC WORSHIP OF GOD. A characteristic of devout and earnest religion in all ages. Public worship bears on it the stamp of Divine approval. See you neglect it not.
II. Our second reflection is, that the text supplies an illustration of THE COMPASSION AND POWER OF JESUS CHRIST. Not only was the woman in the synagogue with her ailments; the Lord was there also with His wondrous grace. He did not neglect external ordinances. Jesus, then, was in this synagogue, and as usual He was on the look-out for some good work to do. He had a quick eye for suffering and sorrow. No sooner did He see this woman, than He healed her. What power, and what compassion! He exercises the same today. Earth has no sorrow that He cannot heal. And besides curing diseases, He can heal sins.
III. I observe, next, that the text supplies an illustration of THE BLESSED ADVANTAGES OF BEING FOUND IN THE WAY OF DUTY. TO the synagogue, at the time of worship, this woman went. Likely enough she was tempted to absent herself for one reason or another, just as we are tempted now; but she refused to listen to the temptation. She chose the better part of obeying Gods law, and in doing so she was blessed beyond all expectation or hope. Little did she think, when she left home, what mercy was in store for her. Had she stayed in the house, or gone to see her friends, or been anywhere but where she was, she would have missed it all. So may we always, when in the way of duty, expect a blessing.
IV. I remark, once more, that the text supplies an illustration of THE GRATITUDE OF A HEART ALIVE TO THE BLESSING BESTOWED ON IT. As soon as the woman was made straight, she glorified God. Even if she had never spoken a word, she would have been a monument to the Divine praise. Sun and moon and stars, as they shine in the heavens, declare the glory of God. All great productions glorify their author. So this healed woman glorified her Healer. And not only so, but also audibly, there and then, before all. (W. Walters.)
An infirm woman cured on the Sabbath
I. THE STATE OF THE WOMAN. Diseased in an extraordinary degree, and for a very long period.
II. THE CHANGE PRODUCED BY THE POWER OF JESUS. This case presented no difficulty to Him. Yet, to new-model the diseased frame, to make straight what was crooked, to relax what had been rigid for many years, required a power as great as that of creation.
III. THE MEANS EMPLOYED. He used no resources of art, no remedies whatever; He even employed no means to astonish or surprise; He made no display of His power. He said nothing of the violence or inveteracy of the disorder; nothing to influence the imagination either of the woman herself or of the spectators. Conscious of possessing the power of curing all diseases, He exercised it by merely declaring the simple fact that her disorder was removed; while she exhibited the most undeniable proofs of complete restoration, by standing in a firm and erect position.
IV. We have next to observe THE IMPRESSION PRODUCED BY THIS MIRACLE, first, on the woman, and then upon the ruler of the synagogue.
1. The effect on the woman was highly pleasing. She was delighted with the change which she instantly experienced; and her heart rose in gratitude to God, who alone, she was convinced, could have effected so wonderful a cure.
2. How different was the effect of this miracle on the mind of the ruler of the synagogue! Instead of directing his attention to the display of power, such as he had never witnessed before; instead of thinking of the goodness which had voluntarily removed so distressing a disease from a person so helpless; instead of sympathizing with the unexpected and rapturous happiness of the woman, he thought only of the captious objections which an enemy might raise.
V. We have, lastly, to inquire, WHY THIS MIRACLE WAS DOSE ON THE SABBATH? Our Saviour graciously condescended to reason, and He reasoned, as upon all other occasions, in the clearest and most conclusive manner. His mode of reasoning is always best adapted to the object which He had in view. Here it was sufficient to show, that the ruler of the synagogue, and all other Jews, did actions every Sabbath deliberately and intentionally, which, though humane and unavoidable, were not more so than the relief which He had just conferred upon the unfortunate woman. Hypocrites; said He, who is there among you, that doth not on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And must not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath kept bound these eighteen years, be released from this bond on the Sabbath-day? Thus our Saviour argues from the practice which they themselves sanctioned, which led to the conclusion that the action He had done was still more laudable, because an act of greater humanity. (J. Thomson, D. D.)
The crooked woman made straight
I. THE AFFLICTED WOMAN.
1. The nature of her complaint. Probably her spine was affected, so that she could not stand erect. Such a deformity, while humiliating to all, would be particularly trying to a female.
2. Its duration. A sharp affliction, if short, is much easier borne than a lighter one that is long continued, as in this instance.
II. THE UNEXPECTED CURE SHE RECEIVED.
1. Where she was cured. In the synagogue. In spite of her deformity, she did not absent herself from the sanctuary. Well for her that she did not!
2. The manner in which she was cured. Two things are mentioned.
(1) The gracious words which our Saviour uttered. As in the case of the ten lepers, she is declared to be cured before the act was performed. But with Christ, purpose anal accomplishment, willing and doing, are identical. When He speaks, the thing is as good as done; when He commands it is sure to stand fast.
(2) The condescending act He performed.
3. How she felt when cured. It is said that she glorified God, by which is meant that she adored and magnified His holy name for the wonderful deliverance she had experienced. There are many ways in which we are to glorify Him, and this is one of the most important. It might have been supposed that all present would have joined with her in praising God; such, however, was not the case. Other feelings than those of grateful homage and adoration were called forth, which leads us to the next particular, namely--
III. THE REFLECTIONS WHICH HER CURE OCCASIONED. In this, the concluding part of the narrative, we have--
1. The charge.
2. The defence.
3. The result. It is shown in regard to two classes.
(1) The ruler and his party. And when He had said these things all His adversaries were ashamed. They felt that no answer could be given to what Jesus had been saying; they were therefore speechless and confounded.
(2) The multitude. All the people rejoiced. The miracle had been so signal, and the subsequent vindication had been so complete, that they gave unequivocal demonstrations of their gladness and delight. In applying this subject there are three classes to which it more especially speaks.
1. The wretched vassals of sin and Satan. The condition of this poor sufferer may be regarded as emblematic of every individual who is tied and bound with the chains of his iniquities. Let the sinners cry therefore be, Lord, loose this miserable soul of mine, which Satan hath so long bound in his slavish fetters.
2. Those whose minds are too much enthralled by earthly affections. It was the misfortune of this woman that her eyes were bent downward, but what was her unavoidable calamity is our wilful sin. Our souls cleave to the dust, and we seek, not the things above, but the vain and perishable objects of time and sense. O how important is it that we Should be lifted up from such a grovelling condition, and be liberated, in order thereto, from the thraldom of this present evil world!
3. The downcast and sorrowful. (Expository Outlines.)
A daughter of Abraham
Set me to look at a downright extraordinary creature, not merely plain but positively ugly--like the woman whom Christ healed, who had been plagued with a devil of infirmity eighteen years, and was now doubled up, hideous--and tell me whether if you look at that woman long enough you will see her beauty. No! The more I look at her, the less I like her--the longer I behold her, the faster I run away from her. But I am called back to her by one little touch. Christ claims for her no beauty, invests her with no fancied fairness. She, too, is a daughter of Abraham. This is all. But this was enough; for Christ knew that by this appeal He lifted the poor, stricken, bowed creature of infirmity, and gave her a place with the rest of Abrahams children. He called upon the patriotism of the Jews--and they had a patriotism, though but a narrow one. Their cavilling was put an end to at once. This is the secret. The only way to conquer natural disgust at ugliness and sickness and disease, is to set these unsightly objects in the light of Divine Love. One is your Master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren. Bring these poor degraded wretches, and ask us to love them individually, and we fail to do it. To lift them out of the misery in which they rest, and to make them lovable, you must set them in the light of the great Fatherhood of God and His passionate love of humanity. A man goes into a sickroom, and there poor humanity is at its worst; there you may find the bottom of all mans meanness, his cowardice, his want, and his weakness; there you may see nature in decay, as ugly as the working of a continual want and weakness can make it, But as you cross the threshold of the sickroom, the great need of the patient is more than all; and if you come as the angel of healing, as the angel of true service, the heart is too full and the hand too busy for you to stop to look either for beauty or for ugliness, and that love which prompts to the duty makes labour light. The poor sick person is not less tiresome, or less offensive, or less tedious, but the feeling which prompted disgust has gone. When men declared the possibility of walking on hot iron if the heart were pure and the conscience unstained, they did but figure the great power of Innocence. Una with her lion is but weak, but Una in her innocence is strong. And that which Innocence is thus so truly fabled to do, Divine Love surely does, overleaping difficulty and overcoming disgust. Christianity does not ask us to believe that ugly things are lovely; but, filling man with true love and holy enthusiasm, makes him able to endure the sight of foulness and meanness, that he may cleanse and raise the foul and mean. Thus one touch of nature makes the whole world kin. Is not this poor woman a daughter of Abraham? Is not this poor degraded wretch a brother? I remember that before England got rid of her great disgrace of slavery, the abolition people used to distribute handbills, headed with a picture of a chained negro; the poor thick-lipped black asking, Am I not a man and a brother? We all acknowledged the claim. But if he had said, Am I not a beauty? I should have answered, No, my brother; you are certainly not a beauty. I decline to admire you. Should he reply, This is all a matter of taste, I should answer in turn, I dont believe a word of it. To my eyes you are very particularly ugly. But when he kneels there before me, and lifts up his poor chained wrists, and puts up that plea for his own humanity--Am I not a man and a brother? then, poor, scourged, broken, jaded as he is, I own him. He has a spark of true manhood in him, and shall be scourged, reviled, and sold in bondage no longer. Thus the scheme of the Christian religion completes itself. It has the manliest scorn for meanness, and the manliest pity for weakness. (G. Dawson, M. A.)
Freedom realized through believing
Once the Emperor of Russia had a plan by which he was to liberate the serfs of that country. There were forty millions of them. Of some of them, their whole time was sold; of others, only a part. The emperor called around him his council, and wanted to have them devise some way to set the slaves at liberty. After they had conferred about it for six months, one night the council sent in their decision, sealed, that they thought it was not expedient. The emperor went down to the Greek Church that night and partook of the Lords Supper, and he set his house in order, and the next morning you could hear the tramp of soldiers in the streets of St. Petersburg. The emperor summoned his guard, and before noon sixty-five thousand men were surrounding that palace. Just at midnight there came out a proclamation that every slave in Russia was for ever set free. The proclamation had gone forth, and all the slaves of the realm-believed it. They have been free ever since. Suppose they had not believed it? They never then would have got the benefit of it.
The highest emancipation
A very old Greek myth represents Prometheus chained to a rock by command of Jupiter, who then sent an eagle to feed upon his liver in the daytime, which the god caused to grow again at night. Hercules, however, it was said, killed the eagle, and set suffering Prometheus at liberty. Let this fable, or the narrative in your lesson, remind you that naturally you and all are bound by Satan to his slavery and drudgery, by evil tempers and passions, by bad habits, and in other ways. How the drunkard is enthralled by his craving for drink; the miser by his thirst for gold; and others by their minding of earthly things! And how disappointments and anguish, like evil birds, prey upon their spirits. But Christ looses from every infirmity of the soul caused by sin or Satan. And just as a freed bird warbles its joy-throb in the note of thrilling gladness, so we should praise God with joyful lips, as well as glorify Him by our life and best service. Massa, me will be your slave for ever, said a negro to the kind Englishman who, at great cost, had emancipated him. What shall we do for Jesus, who delivers us from such greater evils? (Henry R. Burton.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On v10 10–17. Behold, a woman who had a spirit of…
10–17. Behold, a woman who had a spirit of infirmity. This case of healing in the synagogue on the Sabbath is only given by Luke. We do not know when or where it occurred. In Matt. 12:10–13 and Mark 3:1–5, is recorded a similar case. The disease of the woman was probably paralysis.
The ruler of the synagogue. The president of the body of elders. Moved with indignation. Because he thought Jesus had broken the Sabbath. The Mosaic law did not forbid healing on the Sabbath, but the “Tradition of the Elders” did. There are six days. He argues that the woman could have been healed on a week day.
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Thou hypocrite. Because he would help his ox or ass out of trouble on the Sabbath, but would not so help a human being.
Whom Satan hath bound. All disease is the offspring of sin, but from Satan came sin.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v10 Luk_13:10. In one of the synagogues.—Time and place are…
CRITICAL NOTES
Luk_13:10. In one of the synagogues.—Time and place are indefinite; probably in Peræa.
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Luk_13:11 A spirit of infirmity.—(Cf. Act_16:6, “a spirit of Python”). I.e., an evil spirit (cf. Luk_5:16)) who had the power of producing bodily weakness.
Luk_13:12. When Jesus saw her.—She does not seem to have asked to be cured; but the language of the ruler of the synagogue implies that she expected or hoped for cure, and therefore she may be credited with a measure of faith. Thou art loosed.—The negative part of the cure—the relief from the evil spirit that had bound her.
Luk_13:13. Laid His hands on her.—The positive part of the cure—the imparting of strength.
Luk_13:14. Said to the multitude.—It is noticeable that he did not address his rebuke to Christ directly, but covertly spoke against Him in his words to the people. Ought to work.—His folly is shown in his implied statement that the bestowal of Divine grace and help is a kind of working by which the Sabbath is profaned.
Luk_13:15. Thou hypocrite.—Rather, “ye hypocrites” (R.V.)—i.e., the ruler and those about him, or those of the Pharisaic sect to which he belonged, and which favoured such criticism. The hypocrisy or insincerity consisted in pretending a zeal for the Sabbath, when the real motive of the speech was to stir up enmity against Jesus. Doth not each one of you?—I.e., they themselves broke their own rule about the Sabbath, in order to show mercy to their cattle. The instance is an apt one: the woman bound down by her infirmity is as helpless as the beast tied to the manger.
Luk_13:16. Ought not this woman?—“Ought”—a repetition of the ruler’s phrase in Luk_13:14. The contrast is very strongly put—it is between a dumb animal and, not merely a human being, but one of the chosen people—“a daughter of Abraham” (by blood and by faith); the few hours of deprivation which a beast might be forced to endure by delay in watering are contrasted with her eighteen years’ servitude.
Luk_13:17. And when He had said.—Rather, “and as He said these things” (R.V.). All His adversaries.—Which implies that a number of them were present. All the people rejoiced.—Though He had abandoned Galilee, and Jerusalem had been hostile to Him, He still seems to have enjoyed a measure of popularity in Peræa (cf. Mat_19:1-2).
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Luk_13:10-17
Work which Hallows the Sabbath.—This incident took place as Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath-day. This reminds us of the comparative prominence and frequency of these Sabbath-day cures. It is quite plain that nothing but the blindest Pharisaism, in its design to misinterpret Jesus and His work, could have led men to suppose that there was anything in these deeds of His inconsistent with the true observance of the day, or with the spirit of the Divine law. It is as obvious, on the other hand, that only a secularism equally blind and a similar misconstruction of His acts, could find in these Sabbath miracles any intention to abolish the day, to take away aught of its sacredness, or loose a jot of its Divine obligation. It was a reward for the faithfulness and diligence of these diseased folks, who, in spite of their ailments, were found in God’s house on the sacred day, that they should there meet with their gracious Deliverer.
I. The miracle.—The sufferer made no application to Jesus for healing. She had come to the synagogue because it was her wont, and because the effort to reach it and share in its blessing was one of the ways in which she fought against the advance of her malady. Jesus saw her and singled her out for a signal instance of His mercy. The expression afterwards used when He turned the attention of the ruler and all the congregation to her case, shows how deeply and tenderly He had looked into it. “Lo!” he said, “see how long she has suffered.” Her bent form and furrowed face were to Him as a book in which He read the story of her eighteen years’ bondage and of her patient struggle to sustain her infirmity. Her faithful attendance on Divine worship, and perhaps other features, to which we have no clue in the narrative, lighted up to Him her genuine, religious, spiritual character. For by the title He gives her hardly anything so commonplace can be meant as merely that she was a Jewess. In all probability it was intended to point her out as one of that inner circle of pious, believing Israelites—the class to which belonged His own mother, the parents of the Baptist, Simeon and Anna—those, namely, “who were looking for the consolation of Israel.” He called her to Him; He spoke the word of liberation; then He laid His hands upon her, and immediately she was cured. There were apparently two elements in the case to be dealt with; one physical—dorsal paralysis; the other nervous or mental—some infirmity which paralysed the will. With His word and touch together the cure was done. The word, majestic and commanding, proclaimed her free from the subtle bond, the root of the mischief, which chained her will. Then His hand laid on her, a sensible act to her faith, gave strength and suppleness to the disused muscles. As the woman rose erect from her long, sad bondage, her grateful piety broke forth in the instant into an irrepressible thanksgiving, a voluntary act of praise before all the people.
II. The indignation of the ruler of the synagogue.—The scene had become very offensive to the narrow mind of the presiding elder. The reputation of Jesus for piety and wisdom was by this time so universally acknowledged, that it was no doubt practically impossible for the most prejudiced synagogue ruler to prevent His taking part in the service. Even the president of a Peræan country synagogue had not been able to do so. Jesus was already noted for having set aside Pharisaic opinion as to Sabbath work. This particular Pharisee had probably hoped that no conflict of opinion would arise on the occasion. But that in open congregation, in the place of worship where he ruled, the daring innovator should perform one of His Sabbath-breaking cures was too much for him. It quite overcame any little sense and proper feeling he possessed. He broke out into angry vituperation. Not daring to attack the Lord directly, nor even the thankful woman, in a covert and cowardly manner, he spoke at them both.
III. Christ’s defence of Himself.—The Saviour answered him with a pungent and well-merited rebuke. “You reproach the people, but your quarrel is really with Me. You pretend to be zealous for the law, but you are only jealous of My work. You Pharisees deserve no credit for even conscientiously mistaken views about the sanctity of the seventh day. Your ideas of its observance are quite sane and sensible so soon as a question arises affecting your own material interests. You would have no scruples in relieving the wants of a suffering animal on that day by a certain amount of Sabbath labour. But when I loose from long years of Satanic bondage one of your human sisters, a daughter of the chosen family, and do it with no labour at all, you are filled with horror at the breach of the Sabbatic law.” Such hypocrisy is its own complete self-exposure. But this trenchant reply of Jesus completely shuts the mouths of His adversaries, and brings the admiration of the hearers to a height; for not only the words He had spoken, but the glorious things He had done, filled them with joy. Let us note the spiritual lesson of the woman’s story. She had come to her accustomed place in the synagogue in spite of all weariness and difficulty; and a blessed piece of work it was for her. Had she not gone that day to the place of worship, it is next to certain she had never met with Jesus. In the way of her usual waiting upon God—a troublesome routine it might have seemed to many—she got the blessing; not merely relief from her bodily chain, but, if we have read her character aright, the glorious liberty of those who saw in Christ Jesus the Lord’s salvation. What good cheer is in the story for those who, amid bodily infirmities, mental oppression, or household burdens and afflictions—tempting them to defer their duty to God’s house—find their way statedly thither! Every minister knows that these are often the most blest of all the company that gathers in God’s house. For the Master of the house sees them and calls them to Him To the drooping spirit, to the burdened heart of those who come there just because He bids them, He oft comes, as it were, all unbidden, and makes them glad with an unexpected visitation.—Laidlaw.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Luk_13:10-17
Luk_13:10-17. The Infirm Woman in the Synagogue.—The third time our Lord, by a miracle of healing, stirred up the wrath of the ecclesiastical rulers at His supposed violation of the Sabbath-day.
I. The danger of falling, all unconsciously, into formalism.
II. Often seeming zealous championship for the truth is really zeal for the promotion of our own theories and ideas.
III. Our Lord’s five actions.—He sees, calls, heals, touches, and lifts up this infirm woman. He does so still with infirm souls.—Dover.
A Scene in the Sanctuary.—
I. An exemplary worshipper.
II. An unlooked-for reward.
III. Pretended zeal for the Sabbath.
IV. Unanswerable rebuke.—W. Taylor.
Christ’s Treatment of Women.—There is great beauty in the behaviour of Christ to women, whether it be the woman of Samaria, whose deep wound He probes so faithfully, yet with so light a touch; or the child of Jairus, to whom He speaks in her own dialect, holding her hand; or the widow of Nain, whom He bids not to weep; or she whose many sins were forgiven her, loving much; or Mary, for whose lavish gift He found so pathetic an apology—“She hath done it unto My burial.” This woman He would not heal from a distance, as though an alms was being flung to her; but neither was it for Him to attend upon her needlessly—such efforts that she can yet put forth must be made, and so He calls her to Him, lays His hand upon her, speaks kind words that name not the humiliating cause of her complaint; and even when the adverse criticism of the ruler requires Him to say all, His only thought of her is sympathetic—to Him she is honourable, as one of the holy race, and pitiful, as, to its owner, a helpless creature that needs drink on the Sabbath day. He will not refuse release and refreshment to His own. Satan had bound one who belonged by formal covenant to another, and Jesus dwelt with lingering pity on the long period of her thirst, whom He had led away to the watering.—Chadwick.
Luk_13:11. A Noble Character.—The noble character of this woman is plainly indicated by a number of particulars stated concerning her:—
I. Her faith—for she is a daughter of Abraham—i.e., not merely a Jewess, like the other women in the synagogue, but one of kindred spirit with her great ancestor.
II. Her steadfast resistance to the encroachments of her malady.
III. Her zeal in attending upon Divine worship.
IV. Her devout thankfulness, openly expressed, on being healed.
“Spirit of infirmity.”—Her sickness, having its first place in her spirit, had brought her into a moody, melancholic state, of which the outward contraction of the muscles of her body, the inability to lift herself, was but the sign and the consequence.—Trench.
“Bowed together.”—Probably she did not perceive that Jesus was present; but Jesus saw her.
Luk_13:12. “Loosed.”—This expresses the setting free of her muscles from the power which bowed them down, and then (Luk_13:13) the laying on of the Divine hands confers upon her strength to rise and stand upright. It would be, in such a case, one thing to be loosed from the stiffening of years, and another to have strength at once conferred to stand upright.—Alford.
Luk_13:13. “He laid his hands on her.”—The miracle is
(1) a representation of the gracious work of Christ on the soul.
2. It is an illustration of the kindness of the Saviour to afflicted, weak, and contrite disciples.
Five Kindly Actions.—In the healing of this woman our Lord did five things: He compassionately saw her; He called her; He healed her; He touched her; and He lifted her up. Thus does He also perfectly cure a sinful soul. He sees it, in His compassion; He calls it, by His internal inspiration; He heals it, by remitting its sin; He touches it, by the afflictive chastenings of His hand. He raises it up to things above, in the warmth of Divine love.—Ludolphus.
Luk_13:14. “Answered with indignation.”—The ruler of the synagogue is restrained, by some measure of awe, from openly attacking Jesus; He abstains also from directly rebuking the woman who had been healed, but most ridiculously reproves the innocent multitude. It is very significant that he admits the fact of healing.
Luk_13:15. “Loose his ox or his ass.”—Our Lord varied, from time to time, the arguments with which He abolished the fanatical formalism of the Pharisees respecting the Sabbath. Sometimes He appealed to His own inherent authority (Joh_5:17-19); sometimes to Scriptural precedents (chap. Luk_6:3-5), or to common-sense and eternal principles (ibid., Luk_6:9). Here, as in chap. Luk_14:5, He uses an argumentum ad hominem: they allowed men to loose and water their cattle on the Sabbath, to abridge a few hours’ thirst; was, then, this suffering woman not to be touched, not to be spoken to, to end eighteen years of suffering?—Farrar.
Luk_13:16. “Ought not.”—To the “ought” of ceremonial obligation (Luk_13:14) Christ opposes the “ought” of moral obligation—the Divine necessity of love.
There is here a Threefold Contrast:—
I. “Ox or ass” and “daughter of Abraham.”
II. Fastened to the stall, and “bound by Satan.”
III. A few hours of thirst and eighteen years of suffering.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On v10 Luk 13:10-17. “And He was teaching in one of…
THE RHEUMATISM OF EIGHTEEN YEARS HEALED
Luk 13:10-17. “And He was teaching in one of their synagogues on the Sabbath. Behold, a woman having a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over, and not able perfectly to straighten up; and Jesus seeing her, called to her and said, Woman, thou art loosed from thy infirmity, and put His hands on her; and immediately she straightened up, and continued to glorify God. And the chief ruler of the synagogue, being angry because Jesus healed her on the Sabbath, continued to say to the multitude that there are six days in which it behooveth to work; therefore during these, coming, be healed, and not on the Sabbath-day. But the Lord responded to him and said, Ye hypocrites, does not each one of you loose his donkey or ox from the stall, and leading it away, give it water on the Sabbath? But did it not behoove this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan bound, lo, these eighteen years, to be loosed from this bondage on the Sabbath- day? And He, thus speaking, all those opposed to Him became ashamed; and the whole multitude continued to rejoice over the glorious things done by Him.” In this case, when this poor woman, bent down in the shape of a curve, suffering from muscular rheumatism eighteen years, hobbled out to see and hear the wonderful Prophet of Galilee, whose fame had gone to the ends of the earth and raised the nations on tiptoe, thrilling all with burning enthusiasm, and stood before the sympathetic Savior in the crowd, the very sight arousing the sympathies of His pure, unfallen humanity, so that He immediately, to her joyful surprise, calls aloud, thus commanding the attention of the entire multitude, “Woman, thou art loosed from thy infirmity;” simultaneously, forgetting her spinal curvature and incurable rheumatism, she leaps into the air with shouts of victory, — again His old enemies raised the Sabbath question. You see, Jesus calls them hypocrites, and why? Because the people who are so overzealous for mere forms and ceremonies, as a rule, are destitute of the inward reality, taking the form for the substance, which is a literal definition of hypocrite. They are numerous this day as the locusts of Egypt, devouring the heritage of the Lord; and, like the vampire, sucking away the life-blood of the Church, while they fan her into lethean slumber. The argument of Jesus in reference to the man loosing his ox or donkey, and leading him to water on the Sabbath, was an irrefutable stunner; consequently the whole multitude turn on the scribes and Pharisees, who thus assaulted him, such an uproarious laughter that they dropped their heads, and retreated crestfallen from the controversy. You see here that Jesus imputes this chronic rheumatism to Satan, who is equally the author of sin and sickness, both alike having emanated from the fall, besides being manipulated by demons in their universal prevalence to the destruction of soul and body. The responses and arguments of Jesus are a constant and an irrefutable confirmation of His Divinity. His enemies were the men of highest learning, and official position in the Church of His day. They studied, day and night, to fix up hard questions and dilemmas, in hopes that they might entangle Him in His speech; but all in vain. His unanswerable arguments everywhere literally swept controversy from the field, utterly dumbfounding all of His enemies. “You loose your ox and donkey on the Sabbath, lest he should be bound in the stall two days. Here is a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound, lo, these eighteen years; shall I not loose her on the Sabbath?” What a knock-down argument! No wonder the multitude laugh the priests out of countenance.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v10 Luk 13:10 - Luk 13:17.
Luke
TRUE SABBATH OBSERVANCE
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Luk 13:10 - Luk 13:17.
This miracle was wrought, unasked, on a woman, in a synagogue, and by all these characteristics was specially interesting to Luke. He alone records it. The narrative falls into two parts-the miracle, and the covert attack of the ruler of the synagogue, with our Lord’s defence.
What better place than the synagogue could there be for a miracle of mercy? The service of man is best built on the service of God, and the service of God is as truly accomplished in deeds of human kindness done for His sake as in oral worship. The religious basis of beneficence and the beneficent manifestation of religion are commonplaces of Christian practice and thought from the beginning, and are both set forth in our Lord’s life. He did not substitute doing good to men for worshipping God, as a once much-belauded but now all-but-forgotten anti-Christian writer has done; but He showed us both in their true relations. We have Christ’s authority for regarding the woman’s infirmity as the result of demoniacal possession, but the case presents some singular features. There seems to have been no other consequence than her incapacity to stand straight. Apparently the evil power had not touched her moral nature, for she had somehow managed to drag herself to the synagogue to pray; she ‘glorified God’ for her cure, and Christ called her ‘a daughter of Abraham,’ which surely means more than simply that she was a Jewess. It would seem to have been a case of physical infirmity only, and perhaps rather of evil inflicted eighteen years before than of continuous demoniacal possession.
But be that as it may, there is surely no getting over our Lord’s express testimony here, that purely physical ills, not distinguishable from natural infirmity, were then, in some instances, the work of a malignant, personal power. Jesus knew the duration of the woman’s ‘bond’ and the cause of it, by the same supernatural knowledge. That sad, bowed figure, with eyes fixed on the ground, and unable to look into His face, which yet had crawled to the synagogue, may teach us lessons of patience and of devout submission. She might have found good excuses for staying at home, but she, no doubt, found solace in worship; and she would not have so swiftly ‘glorified God’ for her cure, if she had not often sought Him in her infirmity. They who wait on Him often find more than they expect in His house.
Note the flow of Christ’s unasked sympathy and help. We have already seen several instances of the same thing in this Gospel. The sight of misery ever set the chords of that gentle, unselfish heart vibrating, as surely as the wind draws music from the Aeolian harp strings. So it should be with us, and so would it be, if we had in us ‘the law of the Spirit of life in Christ’ making us ‘free from the law of’ self. But His spontaneous sympathy is not merely the perfection of manhood; it is the revelation of God. Unasked, the divine love pours itself on men, and gives all that it can give to those who do not seek, that they may be drawn to seek the better gifts which cannot be given unasked. God ‘tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men,’ in giving His greatest gift. No prayers besought Heaven for a Saviour. God’s love is its own motive, and wells up by its inherent diffusiveness. Before we call, He answers.
Note the manner of the cure. It is twofold-a word and a touch. The former is remarkable, as not being, like most of the cures of demoniacs, a command to the evil spirit to go forth, but an assurance to the sufferer, fitted to inspire her with hope, and to encourage her to throw off the alien tyranny. The touch was the symbol to her of communicated power-not that Jesus needed a vehicle for His delivering strength, but that the poor victim, crushed in spirit, needed the outward sign to help her in realising the new energy that ran in her veins, and strengthened her muscles. Unquestionably the cure was miraculous, and its cause was Christ’s will.
But apparently the manner of cure gave more place to the faith of the sufferer, and to the effort which her faith in Christ’s word and touch heartened her to put forth, than we find in other miracles. She ‘could in no wise lift herself up,’ not because of any malformation or deficiency in physical power, but because that malign influence laid a heavy hand on her will and body, and crushed her down. Only supernatural power could deliver from supernatural evil, but that power wrought through as well us OB her; and when she believed that she was loosed from her infirmity, and had received strength from Jesus, she was loosed.
This makes the miracle no less, but it makes it a mirror in which the manner of our deliverance from a worse dominion of Satan is shadowed. Christ is come to loose us all from the yoke of bondage, which bows our faces to the ground, and makes us unfit to look up. He only can loose us, and His way of doing it is to assure us that we are free, and to give us power to fling off the oppression in the strength of faith in Him.
Note the immediate cure and its immediate result. The ‘back bowed down always’ for eighteen weary years is not too stiff to be made straight at once. The Christ-given power obliterates all traces of the past evil. Where He is the physician, there is no period of gradual convalescence, but ‘the thing is done suddenly’; and, though in the spiritual realm, there still hang about pardoned men remains of forgiven sin, they are ‘sanctified’ in their inward selves, and have but to see to it that they work out in character and conduct that ‘righteousness and holiness of truth’ which they have received in the new nature given them through faith.
How rapturous was the gratitude from the woman’s lips, which broke in upon the formal, proper, and heartless worship of the synagogue! The immediate hallowing of her joy into praise surely augurs a previously devout heart. Thanksgiving generally comes thus swiftly after mercies, when prayer has habitually preceded them. The sweetest sweetness of all our blessings is only enjoyed when we glorify God for them. Incense must be kindled, to be fragrant, and our joys must be fired by devotion, to give their rarest perfume.
The cavils of the ruler and Christ’s defence are the second part of this incident. Note the blindness and cold-heartedness born of religious formalism. This synagogue official has no eye for the beauty of Christ’s pity, no heart to rejoice in the woman’s deliverance, no ear for the music of her praise. All that he sees is a violation of ecclesiastical order. That is the sin of sins in his eyes. He admits the reality of Christ’s healing power, but that does not lead him to recognition of His mission. What a strange state of mind it was that acknowledged the miracle, and then took offence at its being done on the Sabbath!
Note, too, his disingenuous cowardice in attacking the people when he meant Christ. He blunders, too, in his scolding; for nobody had come to be healed. They had come to worship; and even if they had come for healing, the coming was no breach of Sabbath regulations, whatever the healing might be. There are plenty of people like this stickler for propriety and form, and if you want to find men blind as bats to the manifest tokens of a divine hand, and hard as millstones towards misery, and utterly incapable of glowing with enthusiasm or of recognising it, you will find them among ecclesiastical martinets, who are all for having ‘things done decently and in order,’ and would rather that a hundred poor sufferers should continue bowed down than that one of their regulations should be broken in lifting them up. The more men are filled with the spirit of worship, the less importance will they attach to the pedantic adherence to its forms, which is the most part of some people’s religion.
Mark the severity, which is loving severity, of Christ’s answer. He speaks to all who shared the ruler’s thoughts, of whom there were several present {Luk 5:17, ‘adversaries’}. Piercing words which disclose hidden and probably unconscious sins, are quite in place on the lips into which grace was poured. Well for those who let Him tell them their faults now, and do not wait for the light of judgment to show themselves to themselves for the first time.
Wherein lay these men’s hypocrisy? They were pretending zeal for the Sabbath, while they were really moved by anger at the miracle, which would have been equally unwelcome on any day of the week. They were pretending that their zeal for the Sabbath was the result of their zeal for God, while it was only zeal for their Rabbinical niceties, and had no religious element in it at all. They wished to make the Sabbath law tight enough to restrain Jesus from miracles, while they made it loose enough to allow them to look after their own interests.
Men may be unconscious hypocrites, and these are the most hopeless. We are all in danger of fancying that we are displaying our zeal for the Lord, when we are only contending for our own additions to, or interpretations of, His will. There is no religion necessarily implied in enforcing forms of belief or conduct.
Our Lord’s defence is, first of all, a conclusive argumentum ad hominem, which shuts the mouths of the objectors; but it is much more. The Talmud has minute rules for leading out animals on the Sabbath: An ass may go out with his pack saddle if it was tied on before the Sabbath, but not with a bell or a yoke; a camel may go out with a halter, but not with a rag tied to his tail; a string of camels may be led if the driver takes all the halters in his hand, and does not twist them, but they must not be tied to one another-and so on for pages. If, then, these sticklers for rigid observance of the Sabbath admitted that a beast’s thirst was reason enough for work to relieve it, it did not lie in their mouths to find fault with the relief of a far greater human need.
But the words hold a wider truth, applicable to our conduct. The relief of human sorrow is always in season. It is a sacred duty which hallows any hour. ‘Is not this the fast [and the feast too] that I have chosen . . . to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?’ The spirit of the words is to put the exercise of beneficence high above the formalities of worship.
Note, too, the implied assertion of the dignity of humanity, the pitying tone of the ‘lo, these eighteen years,’ the sympathy of the Lord with the poor woman, and the implication of the terrible tragedy of Satan’s bondage. If we have His Spirit in us, and look at the solemn facts of life as He did, all these pathetic considerations will be present to our minds as we behold the misery of men, and, moved by the thoughts of their lofty place in God’s scheme of things, of their long and dreary bondage, of the evil power that holds them fast, and of what they may become, even sons and daughters of the Highest, we shall be fired with the same longing to help which filled Christ’s heart, and shall count that hour consecrated, and not profaned, in which we are able to bring liberty to the captives, and an upward gaze of hope to them that have been bowed down.
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On v10 J. W. McGarvey's The Fourfold Gospel [LXXVII. Sabbath Healing].
J. W. McGarvey's The Fourfold Gospel [LXXVII. Sabbath Healing].
LXXXVII. SABBATH HEALING. MUSTARD SEED AND LEAVEN. (Probably Peræa.) cLUKE XIII. 10-21.
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c10 And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath day. [Our Lord's habit of teaching in the synagogue, which had been for some time interrupted by his retirement, had probably been revived during the mission of the seventy.] 11 And behold, a woman that had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years; and she was bowed together, and could in no wise lift herself up. [The use of the word "spirit" in this verse indicates that the curvature of the spine which afflicted this woman was attributed to demoniacal agency.] 12 And when Jesus saw her, he called her, and said to her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. 13 And he laid his hands upon her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. 14 And the ruler of the synagogue, being moved with indignation because Jesus had healed on the sabbath, answered and said to the multitude, There are six days [quite enough] in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the day of the sabbath. [There is not evidence that the woman came with any intention of being healed, nor was the ruler angry at her, but at Jesus. Too cowardly to openly rebuke Jesus, the ruler fell to reprimanding the people, and thus indirectly censuring the Lord.] 15 But the Lord answered him, and said, Ye hypocrites, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? [The word "hypocrite" was among the strongest ever used by our Lord. He here applies it to the whole class [482] to whom the ruler belonged and for whom he was the spokesman--the class who are mentioned as "adversaries" in Luk_13:17. Their hypocrisy appears in two ways: 1. They were disguising their hatred toward Christ under a pretended zeal for the Sabbath. 2. Their zeal for the Sabbath was at no time sincere, for they favored indulgence where their own interests were involved, but applied their Sabbath rules sharply where others were concerned. It was their tradition and not the Sabbath which Jesus had broken, and he here attempts no other justification of himself than to show that he is guiltless under a fair application of their own precedents.] 16 And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan had bound, lo, i these eighteen years, to have been loosed from this bond on the day of the sabbath? [Taking their own conduct on the Sabbath day as the basis for his justification, Jesus presents three contrasts, each of which made his action better than theirs: 1. He had blessed the woman instead of an ox. 2. He had loosed from a disease instead of from a comfortable stall. 3. He had relieved a waiting of eighteen years' standing instead of one of some few hours' duration--the brief time since the watering of the morning. He mentions the woman's descent from Abraham because, according to their ideas, it made her worthy of every consideration. In attributing the infirmity to Satan he acknowledges the action of the demon as Satan's agent. Disease were not infrequently ascribed to Satan and the demons-- Act_10:38, 2Co_12:7.] 17 And as he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame: and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him. [The people rejoiced not only in the miracle, but in that wisdom which silenced the narrow-minded rulers. The triumph which they rejoiced in was but a slight foretaste of the victories to come, and to point out the nature of those victories the Lord spoke the two parables which follow.] 18 He said therefore, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I liken it? 19 It is like unto a grain of [483] mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his own garden; and it grew, and became a tree; and the birds of the heaven lodged in the branches thereof. 20 And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? 21 It is like unto leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened. [For comment, see pp. 337, 338.]
[FFG 482-484]
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv10, 14 The Crippled Woman Healed.
The Crippled Woman Healed.
The healing on the Sabbath:
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v. 10. And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.
v. 11. 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.
v. 12. And when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.
v. 13. And He laid His hands on her; and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.
Jesus, in accordance with the purpose indicated in the parable, did not cease His efforts to win the Jews to the Word of salvation. He continued His custom of teaching in the synagogues on the Sabbath-days. And so it happened on one occasion that there was a woman present who was suffering with a sickness which contracted her whole body, bending the upper part forward upon the lower and thus altogether preventing her from straightening up. She was in bondage to a foreign spirit, the spirit of her sickness, whose chains kept her from raising her head. Jesus, ever sympathetic where the woes of others are concerned, called her to Him as soon as His eye lit upon her bent figure. And even while she was approaching Him, He spoke to her as though the cure were already an accomplished fact, stating that she was delivered from her infirmity. And no sooner had He laid His hands on her than she became erect and burst into words of praise. It was a manifestation of the glory of the Savior in full accord with His usual healing ministry.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv10, 12, 15, 17 General Information:
General Information:
These verses give background information about the setting of this part of the story and about a crippled woman who is introduced into the story. (See: Background Information)
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Now
The author uses this word to mark the beginning of a new event. (See: Introduction of a New Event)
during the Sabbath
"on a Sabbath day." Some languages would say "a Sabbath" because we do not know which particular Sabbath day it was.
Behold, a woman was there
The word "behold" here alerts us to a new person in the story. (See: Introduction of New and Old Participants)
eighteen years
"18 years" (See: Numbers)
a spirit of weakness
"an evil spirit that made her weak"
translationWords
teach
synagogue
Sabbath
demon
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv10, 11, 14, 15, 17 13:10 as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue (see…
13:10 as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue (see 4:14-30): In the synagogue, visiting rabbis were often asked to teach after the Law and the Prophets were read.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.