Jesus engages in another Sabbath Showdown and uses it both to illustrate the dangers of hypocrisy and to make a statement about why He came to earth.  Ultimately, the healing of the woman with the demonic disease, while glorious and loving, is about more than her and more than the Jewish religious leaders.  It’s about Jesus’ mission and what the kingdom He inaugurates will accomplish.

10-17
Regular readers of the gospels will have their antennae up when they read that Jesus is doing something on the Sabbath.  Whenever the gospel writers describe an event taking place on the holy day, it means a conflict with the Jewish religious leaders is imminent.  What’s interesting is that Jesus seems to welcome and even provoke these confrontations.  It allows Him to show in stark relief what it means to be religious without faith and to be law-abiding without love.  Nothing shows the hypocrisy and spiritual blindness of the religious elite more than their views and practices regarding the Sabbath.

On one particular Sabbath, Jesus teaches in the synagogue in a town or city Luke doesn’t identify (it’s interesting that with His history Jesus continues to find synagogues where He’s asked to teach).  As He teaches, a woman enters who is afflicted with a condition that doubles her over and doesn’t allow her to stand up straight.  The condition is caused by a disabling spirit – no more explanation than this is in the text – and she’s had it for eighteen years.

It pays to stop and consider what this woman’s life is like.  She can’t stand up straight and hasn’t been able to for EIGHTEEN YEARS (there is some thought that since the 18 years correspond to the 18 people who were killed by the tower of Siloam, that Luke uses the number to tie the stories together rather than designate a specific time – while this is certainly possible, there doesn’t seem to be a clear reason for Luke to do so and therefore it makes more sense to simply accept the number at face value).  With her disability in a time where manual labor is a fact of life for everyone, it must be a huge obstacle to simply surviving every day.  Also, remember that in the last chapter the discussion regarding the twin tragedies of the Galileans and the people killed by the tower, everyone assumed both were signs of judgment.  We also know that on another occasion the disciples assume that a blind man or his parents sinned for him to be blind (Jn 9:2).  With that in mind, it’s not hard to imagine that the people in the town assume the woman is the way she is because of her own sin.   Also, note that Luke says the condition is caused by a spirit.  It’s hard to know what this means exactly, but if that aspect of her condition is known (does Luke describe it as supernatural in his role as a Spirit-inspired narrator or because her condition was known to be from an evil spirit?), we can probably assume it leads to her being avoided (although it’s notable that she’s able to come into the synagogue).  If it’s not known, then it probably just furthers the belief that she’s being judged.  There’s no way to know everything for certain, but it’s likely that she has an excruciating life that’s been excruciating for 18 years and she’s socially and culturally invisible. 

Jesus sees her when she enters the synagogue and calls her to Him.  If we’re right about her social status, Jesus calling her to Him (while He sits at the front of the synagogue teaching) and bringing attention to her may horrify her.  It also means that her healing will be very public – everyone in the synagogue will see it.  Note that she doesn’t instigate this; Jesus sees her and responds without her asking Him anything (and it’s not hard to imagine that He does this out of compassion and love but also to trigger the religious leaders).  There’s no reason to think she comes to the synagogue with the hope or expectation of getting healed.  She comes in and Jesus acts.

When she comes to Jesus, He says something very interesting.  He doesn’t say, “You are healed from your disability,” He says, “Woman, you are FREED from your disability.”  The condition she has is from some kind of evil spirit, so Jesus frees her from it.  He then touches her and she’s able to stand up.  Most commentators point out that Jesus never casts out demons by touch and since He touches her to heal her, He must not cast anything out of her.  It’s notable, however, that He tells her she’s freed before touching her.  So it seems possible that He first casts out the spirit that’s been plaguing her when He declares her freed, then heals her years of physical disability and the attendant muscle and bone deformities when He touches her and allows her to straighten out.

Regardless of the exact explanation, the woman stands up straight for the first time in 18 years and glorifies God.  Notice that she doesn’t glorify Jesus, she glorifies God.  She understands what’s happened and whose power healed her (Col 3:17).  It’s impossible to know what her theological background or education is, but in this one act she shows herself to be much more perceptive about who Jesus is and whose power He wields than the religious leaders who professionally do this full time.

Just as night follows day, a religious leader gets indignant after Jesus heals on the Sabbath.  The ruler of the synagogue (presumably the man who oversees everything that occurs in the synagogue and probably the one who asked Jesus to teach) rebukes the people in a very passive-aggressive attack on Jesus.  He doesn’t address Jesus directly but instead says 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.”

The magnitude of the blindness and absurdity of this statement is hard to overstate.  He treats miraculous healing like it’s a common service.  “Get your lifelong debilitating illnesses miraculously healed on your OWN time – not on the SABBATH!”  It’s laughably asinine.  And remember, he lives in this town so it’s likely he knows her history (or at least has seen her in the synagogue), so the fact that he can watch her stand up, watch her rejoice and glorify God, and think nothing more than, “How dare He heal her on the Sabbath?” is a testament to the blinding effects of sin and self-righteousness.  He’s not impressed with a woman freed from 18 years of suffering; he simply sees a threat to his authority (Jesus is a guest in HIS synagogue and healed this woman without consulting him) and a violation of the law.

One last thing to consider about the ruler’s rebuke.  The woman didn’t request anything of Jesus.  So to use her as an example and tell the people not to come for healing on the Sabbath makes no sense at all.  It shows clearly that his words are meant for Jesus, not the people.  And it also shows he’s too cowardly to take Jesus on directly.

The synagogue ruler may not have addressed Jesus, but Jesus addresses him along with the other religious authorities who think like he does (and who presumably are present in the synagogue).  He calls them hypocrites because they’re willing to untie their animals (note the action Jesus references – they ‘release’ their animals) and get them water on the Sabbath but aren’t willing to allow Jesus to heal a fellow Jew (a daughter of Abraham) who’s been in bondage to Satan for 18 years.  They’ll release animals on the Sabbath but not humans.

The crowd understands what they’ve just seen.  They begin to rejoice over not only what Jesus has done with the woman but also the other things they’ve witnessed (all the glorious things).  While they rejoice they apparently criticize the religious leaders because the text says the leaders are humiliated.  Popular sentiment – always fickle – is clearly on Jesus’ side and against the hypocritical and hyper critical religious authorities.  Public humiliation for guys who build much of their lives around public respect and deference must be excruciating.  It’s not hard to imagine that it’s another instance that makes them hate Jesus and long to eliminate Him from public ministry.

Something to notice about Jesus’ words in verse 16.  The original Greek emphasizes the word eighteen such that it means ‘eighteen long years’ (how it’s translated in NASB and NIV but not ESV).  What this means is that Jesus – who ultimately is omnipresent and eternal and for whom a thousand years is as one day and one day as a thousand years – is still very cognizant of how time is for us.  He sympathizes completely with this woman and the horrific condition she’s suffered for a LONG time.  Our God understands.  He’s not distant, He’s not unaware, He’s not dismissive of periods of suffering in our lives.  We might think that an eternal God has a hard time sympathizing with our weaknesses and trials when they’re ultimately just a blip in eternity.  But that’s not the God we serve.  Our God LOVES us and fully understands our hardships and their effect on our lives.

18-21
Jesus uses the healing of the woman to begin a discussion about the kingdom of God.  Healing her and releasing her from the power of evil is kingdom work so He now wants to explain how that kingdom will be realized.  He compares the kingdom to two things – a mustard seed that starts small but grows into a plant large enough for birds to nest in; and leaven that in very small amounts can penetrate and change dough many times its volume (the amount of dough Jesus references in His illustration could feed over 100 people).

Two things seem to be in view here.  First, the kingdom of God starts small – right now it’s just Jesus and His followers (both the 12 and other disciples) – but it will grow into a worldwide movement and ultimately a glorious and eternal kingdom.  Second, the kingdom of God arrives through acts like what the people just witnessed – the healing of an insignificant woman – but it will eventually change the world.  The kingdom of God does not arrive with political might or military triumph (which is what the Jews expected) or even with the endorsement of the elites.  It arrives through the humble and lowly (Lk 10:21) who will transform this world and usher in the next one.

Thoughts
The healing of the woman prompts a discussion of God’s kingdom because it is a perfect example of kingdom work.  As we noted above, Jesus didn’t heal her so much as release her from evil.  She was the way she was because of Satan, and Jesus overpowered Satan and set her free.  That’s the mission of the kingdom.

The view of the synagogue ruler aside, it was the perfect thing to do on the Sabbath.  When God established the Sabbath, He originally tied it to the creation account where God rested on the seventh day.  However, after He brought Israel out of Egypt, God also tied it to the people’s release from slavery (Deut 5:12-15).  They were to set apart a day to commemorate the rest they weren’t allowed as slaves in Egypt.  The rest, therefore, became a symbol of freedom.  In that light, Jesus releasing the woman on the Sabbath was as Sabbath-like an act as any act could be. 

The healing also, however, defines Jesus’ purpose.  He was born into this world to set captives free.  The captives He saves are those living under the tyranny of sin – just like the woman.  Thus she becomes a picture of what His mission on earth is and what the kingdom He inaugurates will accomplish.  THIS is what He came to do.

That will become evident when Jesus goes to the cross, but we understand it at this point in the story because of Jesus’ own words when He read about Himself in the synagogue in Nazareth.  There – when His ministry was very new – He read the following passage out of Isaiah and said it was about Him: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor (Lk 4:18-19).  He’s here to set the captives free from the power of sin and Satan.

If the woman’s healing is a picture of Jesus’ mission and of what the kingdom will accomplish, the synagogue ruler is a picture of all who will reject the kingdom throughout the coming age.  He watched a kingdom act and called it evil and threatening.  There was nothing in it for him because he needed no release; it was something to be stamped out or ignored.  Those are the conclusions of all who will reject the kingdom.  As the kingdom grows and attracts more and more nests to its branches, the number who reject it will grow as well.  That means that as long as there’s a kingdom of God on this version of earth, there will be those who are blind to their captivity and thus resistant to its offer of release.

For those who understand and shudder when they consider their captivity, the mission of Jesus is the most wonderful news of all.  We are just like the woman; and just as He did with her, Jesus looks at us, has compassion on us, and calls us to Him.  When we go to Him, we’re set free from the tyranny of sin and the power of Satan.  We glorify God because of His wonderful work in our lives and thank Him for a Savior who identifies with us and loves us and longs to save us.