Lessons from the Disabled Lady
Read: Luke 13:1-17
There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” 6 And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ 8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’” 10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” 13 And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God. 14 But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” 15 Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? 16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” 17 As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.
Can I admit something? When I come to passages in the gospels about demon possession I often skim over them. I think, “That’s great, and Jesus is powerful, but I am not sure how it applies to me.” If I am being totally transparent, I was doing the same thing to this passage in Luke. Yet, as I was reading this passage through (again and again), one word struck me: Disabling.
10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself.
This prompted me to think about whether this was a normal “demon possession” passage or if there was something else going on here. As I did a little research, I found that the Greek word used here is defined by Strong’s as “ feebleness (of mind or body); by implication, malady; morally, frailty:—disease, infirmity, sickness, weakness.” Maybe this is more than what I was thinking at first glance, deserving a little deeper consideration.
I started thinking about what feelings and thoughts the word disabling invokes within me. For I think there are often times we feel disabled. The definition says “feebleness of mind or body.” I dare say there have been times when we have all felt feeble. We have all had times that we couldn’t stand up straight on our own. Maybe your body was physically sick and your strength was gone. But haven’t there also been times that your heart has been so heavy with thoughts and worries and stressors that you felt bent over, unable to stand under the weight of your own thoughts.
The weight is so heavy and the spirit is so disabling that we have no hope on our own. This woman was the same way, but then Jesus comes onto the scene, and her life is never the same again.
12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability. And he laid his hands on her,
The interaction with Jesus here is precious. The first words show that Jesus saw her. He was teaching in the synagogue on a Sabbath. I am betting the place was packed, but yet He sees her. She was not lost in the crowd; she was not forgotten or overlooked or passed by. He saw her. He sees the hurting, the sick, and the weary. He saw her, and He sees you and me.
When He saw her, He called her to come. He invites her to come to Him, but at this time there are no further words recorded. Did He promise to heal her if she came? Did He promise to change her life? We don’t know, but we do know she accepted the invitation. She came, and she came close, and He spoke to her, and then laid His hands on her.
and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God.
Her body was immediately made straight, but so was her life. There was a change, a difference that was permanent. Her life would never be the same again. She had been touched by Jesus.
What about you and me? Have we been touched? Has your life been made straight? Has the weight of the world been lifted from your body, mind, and heart? Be honest: has the weight been lifted, but you picked it back up again?
I see myself in this woman. I have felt physical struggles, but when I look back at the hardest times in my life, it isn’t the physical things that kept me bent. It is my soul and mind: the lies, the worries, the uncertainties. Those plagued me to the point I felt crushed beneath them. What about you? What keeps you bent? What makes you unable to stand straight? What if you let Jesus touch those things? How would that change your life?
I know I have thrown a lot of questions in here, but these are questions that need contemplation. Jesus came to call, touch, and heal. But, like the lady in the story, we have to accept the invitation.
Too often I think we want Jesus to touch and heal us, but we don’t want to put down whatever it is that has us bent. Maybe we don’t trust Him enough to handle it. Maybe it feels like such a deep part of our identity that we don’t know who we would be without it. Whatever the reason, is it worth staying out of the reach of Jesus? Or could you let Him touch you and touch that part of your life?
Jesus came to heal the sick and call the lost. Because we are foolish and forgetful, He is still at work on our behalf. He intercedes for us to His father. He sent the Spirit to teach us so we aren’t alone. He placed us in a church body to have other believers support us when the world is making it hard to stand upright. He never leaves nor forsakes. He is faithful even if we are not.
I pray that we will trust Him to touch us and that we will trust Him with the thing that has us bent. I pray also that we will remember that He is so kind, so loving, and so compassionate that nothing can turn Him away from seeing us, inviting us, and laying His hands on us.
4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, -Titus 3:4-5
