Luke 13:10-17

Well, I want us to look at Luke 30 verses 10-17.

And I suppose the question that I've been asking myself this week,

! What is the biggest barrier in my Christian life?

! What's the biggest barrier to my growth?

What's the biggest barrier to my witness?

In speaking to people that I love?

Speaking to people who are my friends,

some people who are in my family.

What's the biggest barrier I have to kind of living the gospel out before them

and speaking to them about the gospel?

Many people think it's an issue of confidence.

Confidence in knowing the message.

I don't think that.

I expect most of you here today, not all of you, but most of you,

have been Christians long enough that you can simply explain

the good news of the Lord Jesus in your own words.

You can do that.

You can say what he's done.

You can say that he died for me.

And for most of us, that is not the issue.

We can explain it.

I have found the biggest barrier in my Christian life is my character.

It's my character.

But what has happened to us as Christians?

God has called us, hasn't he, to be his children.

He's called us to be in Christ.

He's called us to declare his praises to the world around us.

To show his unconditional, unchangeable, faithful love to the people I live amongst.

And yet so often I find in my life, I don't know about yours,

it is littered with examples of how I fail to do that.

Sometimes it's the moment of madness, isn't it?

Losing my rag.

And blowing your top.

And you do it in front of people.

In front of family or friends or work colleagues that you've been praying for.

And it's pretty embarrassing.

But often it's not a moment of madness.

Most of the time it's not, is it?

But I don't know about you, but I look at my non-Christian friends

and I often find that they are more loyal,

they are more generous,

and they seem more loving.

And the main problem with my Christian life,

and I suppose if you want to call it my evangelism,

is my self-centred life.

Now I think as we look at this section in Luke's Gospel,

particularly as we go through chapter 13 over the next few weeks,

we're going to see the Lord Jesus,

who is wonderfully loving,

and wonderfully other-person-centred,

longing to bring people into his kingdom.

And yet we're also going to see a dark side.

We're going to see the religious hypocrites.

And too often, as you read Luke 13,

I find myself siding with them,

and not with the Lord Jesus.

Now the context of where we are,

is we are in the longest section of Luke.

And it started in chapter 9, verse 51.

Can you see that?

He sets off, resolutely,

he set his face to go to Jerusalem.

And it goes right away through to chapter 19,

that's the section, the journey section.

He's setting off, resolutely,

to the place where he knows he's going to die.

And it seems like suicidal madness.

But we know, don't we, those of us who know Luke's Gospel,

actually that is the heart of his mission.

And the context of this journey,

the context of him setting off to Jerusalem,

he teaches his disciples what his kingdom,

what it's going to be like to live under the reign of King Jesus.

What it's going to be like to follow him down through the ages.

It's a kingdom where people are accepted,

as they accept Jesus as King.

As people say that Jesus Christ is Lord,

they come under his lordship,

they take on his yoke.

As they humbly repent of living for themselves,

and they accept the forgiveness

that Jesus unconditionally offers,

they come into the kingdom.

But it's also a kingdom

that we've not yet fully experienced yet.

Jesus is teaching us

that there's going to be a perfection

of the kingdom

when he returns.

The now and the not yet.

We live in the now.

We've just sung a bit, haven't we?

Today is the Lord's day.

It is the Sabbath rest.

It is a picture of the rest of God

in Genesis 1.

It is a picture of the freedom,

the rest that the people of Israel enjoyed in Exodus.

It is a picture of the rest that we know in Christ.

But we're not perfectly at rest, are we?

We look forward, Hebrews 4,

to the rest of God in eternity.

We're not there yet.

The kingdom has come.

It is here.

It is among us.

And yet it is still to come.

When he comes,

he will come to judge the world.

Look at verse 49 of chapter 12.

He is the fire starter.

And Jesus' teaching brings him into contact,

conflict with the Jewish rulers of his day,

the Bible experts,

which is who the Pharisees were.

They were the experts in the scriptures.

The synagogue rulers,

the pastors of the day,

the elders.

And you see with them,

they don't see the need

of an attitude of humble repentance.

Because they think

they are already

on the right side of God.

And as we go through this section,

this chapter in the next few weeks,

we're going to see

that it's very easy for you and I

to be self-righteous like them.

Rather than humble like the Lord Jesus.

So I want to do those two things this morning.

I want to draw that contrast.

First of all,

I want us to see Jesus

the compassionate freedom giver.

Jesus the compassionate freedom giver.

That's what Jesus is doing.

Giving freedom.

Look at verse 10.

Of Luke 13.

Now he was teaching

in one of the synagogues

on the Sabbath day.

And behold,

there was a woman

who had had a disabling spirit

for 18 years.

She was bent over

and could not

straighten herself.

The Sabbath was the day,

of course,

when people gathered to hear

the Bible,

the scriptures,

taught

and discussed them

in the synagogue.

And this woman

had been coming week by week

and she was doubled up

in pain.

We can think of people like that,

can't we?

We can think of people

maybe in our family

or on our street.

They struggle to stand up

and they struggle to sit down

and their back bows,

they're hunched over

and their shoulders

are permanently hunched.

And it's painful

getting up in the morning.

It's painful getting dressed.

It's painful to get down

the stairs.

It's painful to get

the breakfast.

It's painful to sit down

on a seat.

And that is with

modern medicine,

isn't it?

That is with old people

popping loads of pills.

That's with modern medicine.

I cannot imagine

the agonies

of this woman's life.

It was John Chapman

that used to say,

growing old is the pits.

And it is,

isn't it?

When you're really old

and when you're struggling

with health

and when there's pain,

here's the agony

of this woman's life.

But she's at the synagogue.

And Luke tells us

it is a spirit,

a disabling spirit

that is afflicting her.

It's not a normal ailment.

Look at verse 12.

When Jesus saw her,

he called her over

and said to her,

woman,

you are free

from your disability.

It's so simple, isn't it?

Jesus sees her suffering.

She doesn't come to him

for healing.

In grace,

the Lord Jesus,

he takes the initiative.

In tenderness and love,

he calls her over.

There's no great struggle,

is there?

There's no all-night praying,

prayer meeting.

There is no prolonged appeal.

Begging the Lord,

twisting the Lord's back

behind his arm

for healing.

His arm behind his back

for healing.

It is just the unstoppable

power of Jesus Christ,

isn't it?

He simply declares her free.

Sat free from the daily struggle

against spiritual bondage.

Look at verse 13.

He laid his hands on her

and immediately

she was made straight.

And she glorified God.

You bet she did.

Imagine the relief.

The joy from being bent

double with pain.

Pain filled

to standing upright,

upright,

pain free

in a touch.

You see,

Jesus is the compassionate

freedom giver.

He is the one who sees

the brokenness and the pain.

He sees the suffering of people

and he acts to save them.

In Luke's gospel,

Jesus is most commonly

called the saviour.

But it's a word that can

equally be translated

as the healer.

So while King Jesus

is on earth,

he shows that

his kingdom

is going to be one

in which all the products

of sin

are destroyed.

Sickness,

suffering,

and eventually

death.

King Jesus

can set us free

from the war.

And he will

one day

fully

and finally

when he returns.

Then we will enjoy

fully the benefits

of being his people.

But at the heart

of the freedom

King Jesus'

offering

is the freedom

from the punishment

that our sin deserves.

Freedom from

the enslavement

to the devil

as those who

follow the devil's lies.

That life

lived in rebellion,

that is the best life,

isn't it?

That's the great devil's lie.

That life

lived in rebellion

from God

is one of true

fulfilment.

And that is the lie

that we see time

and again and again.

Our non-Christian

friends and family

following

a life

where they believe

that being in rebellion

against God

is the one of

true fulfilment.

That's what I think.

And that is the true

slavery

that this woman's

physical suffering

points you to.

For slavery

to sin.

Now because some of you

are thinking it,

let me just say

the Bible does not

directly link

sickness to sin,

does it?

If you've got a cold

this morning like I have,

it's not because you

gossiped about your

neighbour last week.

The Bible does say

that sickness

and suffering

are in the world

because of sin.

We learnt that

last week,

didn't we?

You see that

in verses 1-9.

That suffering

is part of God's

curse

on a rebellious world.

It is not his laser

beam on certain people,

but suffering is

as a result of sin.

But it's a curse

that Jesus deals with.

A curse that will

finally be removed

when Jesus judges

the world.

And to prove that

in Luke's Gospel,

as Jesus

strides the earth,

he shows his

total authority

to restore people

to health completely.

Jesus is the

compassionate

freedom giver.

He says towards

the end of the

section,

just come to

Luke chapter 19

Luke 19:10

verse 10.

Luke 19

Luke 19:12

verse 12.

For the Son of Man

came to seek

and save

the lost.

That's what Jesus

continues to do

by his Spirit.

as the Gospel

is preached

Sunday by Sunday

and during the week.

He has come to

seek and to

save the lost.

In compassion,

Jesus is setting

people free.

He's setting people

from the lies

of Satan

and the punishment

that their sin

deserves.

And finally,

one day,

we will all be free

from all the

products of sin

in our lives.

And that is what

Jesus is doing.

He's doing it in

London,

now in this city.

He's doing it in

Ealing.

He's doing it in

Sussex,

in Surrey,

in Swansea,

in Brighton,

in Birmingham,

in Beverly.

He's setting

people free.

Because of his

compassion.

And the question

is, are we on

board with his

mission?

Do we rejoice

as he does that?

Because as we

look at this

passage,

the one who

should have been

most overjoyed

in what Jesus

has done for

this poor woman,

is far from

happy,

is he?

In fact,

he's angered

by her freedom.

So let me give

you three reasons

why the synagogue

ruler reacts

like that.

So let's

secondly look at

the synagogue

ruler.

Here's the

first thing we

need to ask

ourselves as a

result of the

synagogue ruler.

Do you love

being right more

than you love

the lost?

Do you love

being right more

than you love

the lost?

It's such a

great picture,

isn't it?

Verse 13.

And he

laid his

hands on

her and

immediately

she was

made

straight.

Imagine it.

And she

glorified God.

Verse 14.

But the ruler

of the synagogue

indignant.

It's a very

strong word,

isn't it?

It's an angry

snorting horse.

That's what the

word is used for.

This man is

angry with Jesus.

He's not a

little bit

perturbed.

This man is

totally hacked

off.

Not that he's

got the

courage to

face up to

Jesus.

Do you see

what he

says?

It says,

it doesn't

bring it out

that clearly

in the ESV,

but the ruler

of the synagogue

indignant with

Jesus that

Jesus has

healed on the

Sabbath said

to the people.

He said it

very loudly to

the people around

him.

Have you ever

used that

technique?

You know

what it's

like when

Noah and I

are in the

supermarket and

people say,

somebody says,

in a very loud

voice of the

king,

don't they?

It is dreadful

the way parents

let their

children behave

in shops like

this,

isn't it?

In our

day that

never happens.

They don't

say it to

you.

They say it

very loudly

to other

people.

Well,

look what

this man

does.

He says

it to the

people,

isn't it?

He says,

there are

six days in

which work

ought to be

done.

Come on

those days

and be

healed,

and not on

the Sabbath

day.

But this

woman,

she didn't

come for

healing,

did she?

She just

came to

the synagogue

as usual.

It was a

usual Saturday

thing.

And Jesus

seeing her

need,

his heart

goes out

to her,

and he

frees her

from her

agony.

Where is

the compassion

of this

bloke?

He's the

synagogue

ruler after all.

He is the

pastor.

He is one

of the

elders.

That's what

it's like.

He must

have seen

her suffering

for the

last 18

years.

He must

have seen

her struggle

to live

day by

day.

He's seen

how loyally

she's

come to

the

synagogue

each

week.

This

man must

have

known

her

well.

The

synagogue

ruler,

the

synagogue

is like

the local

Bible

study

centre.

This

is like

her

house

group

leader.

But the

problem

is that

he's got

his head

so far

shoved

up his

own

Bible

study,

he's

totally

lost

sight of

the

Bible,

hasn't

he?

What is

the purpose

of the

Bible?

To bring

people into

a

relationship

with

God?

He's

lost

sight of

the

Sabbath.

What is

the

Sabbath

meant

to

represent?

What is

the

Sabbath

meant

to

represent?

It is

meant

to

represent

a

day

of

freedom.

It was

the day

that they

were to

remember

that God

rested in

Genesis 1.

And it was

the day

that was

to remind

them that

freedom

had been

given to

them as

the people.

That God

had freed

them from

Egypt.

And God

had freed

them to

live in

the

promised

land.

It was

the day

that they

were to

remember

perfect

freedom

is still

to come.

When all

those

were to

do

on the

Sabbath

than to

free

someone

from

bondage

to

Satan

and

physical

suffering.

It is

a

totally

Sabbath

activity.

But this

cynical

ruler is

so obsessed

with his

own way

of doing

things,

so obsessed

with his

spin,

his take

on God's

law,

that when a

woman he

administered

to for as

long as

some of

you have

been

alive,

is

wonderfully

released

from her

suffering,

he's

furious.

And it's

actually easy

to love

being right

more than

we love

the lost.

Don't get

me wrong,

I think

there is

a right

and I

think there

is a

wrong way

to follow

the Lord

Jesus.

I believe

in doctrine,

I believe

that for a

number of

years we

didn't teach

doctrine enough

in this

church.

It's one

of the

joys of

adult Sunday

school.

It's why

I want

you all

to go to

adult Sunday

school if

you possibly

can on a

Sunday

morning because

of teaching

doctrine.

We need

to weigh

everything we

do against

the Bible.

There are

right and

wrong things

we need to

teach and

we need to

avoid.

We need to

know when

it's the

wrong way to

follow the

Lord Jesus.

We do

honour to

God by

spirit-empowered

obedience.

I believe in

duty in the

Christian life.

We can

sniff a

bit of

heresy a

mile off

can't

we?

But when

that means

that we

cannot

rejoice in

people being

set free

we've got a

serious problem.

Especially

when like

the synagogue

ruler it's

our own

little spin

our own

little extra

law the

thing we've

added to

God's word

and we're

particularly

worried about

that.

One of my

problems is I

just love

being right.

When I

think of some

of the churches

in this

city I

really

struggle

with them.

I really

struggle with

them.

Some of the

churches in

Ealing actually.

I don't

think they're

right.

I think

there are

certain

biblical

things I've

got massive

issues with

them.

I profoundly

disagree with

them.

I have to

say there's

a card

carrying

Westminster

Confession

Three

Forms of

Unity

Loving

Man.

But I've

got to

say this.

Many of

these churches

introduce people

to Jesus.

And God

is using

them to set

people free.

They're not

perfect.

But neither

am I.

And here I

think there are

areas where

they are

really seriously

mistaken.

But my

emotional

reaction

sometimes

is as if

I'd rather

that they

didn't see

people come

to Jesus.

When that

is the

case,

that is

loving

being right

more than

loving the

lost.

Christ.

It happens

when we

get irritated

by God

for working

outside our

carefully run

programme.

It happens

when God

uses another

church to

save people.

When he

doesn't use

my ministry

that I'm

involved with.

it happens

when other

things in

church life

that I'm

not involved

with are

going really

well.

And the

things that

I'm involved

with are

not going

really well.

And if

truth be

told, I'm

pretty angry

about it.

I find it

hard this

week.

I'm doing

four weeks

at the

Morgate

Talks.

They do

question and

answer after

it.

There is

a very

annoying

atheist

who sits

right in

the front

row.

Closes

his eyes

during my

talks.

And there

was question

and answer.

And he

asked a

very, very

good question

that I

couldn't

really

answer.

I

wanted to

be

right.

And I

wanted him

to be

shown to

be wrong.

And I

think that's

one of the

dangers,

isn't it?

The danger

of so

wanting to

be right

that we're

not

compassionate

about the

lost.

And don't

think we're

free of

it.

We don't

pity them

like Jesus.

But it's

not just

self-righteousness

in this

guy.

It's

self-interest

as well.

Here's the

second question.

Do you

love

convenience

more than

you love

the lost?

Do you

love

convenience

more than

you love

the lost?

Because this

man's

religion was

actually

centred around

himself.

Look at

verse 15.

Then the

Lord

answered,

you hypocrites,

does not

each of you

on the

Sabbath

and tie

his ox

or his

donkey

from the

manger

and lead

it away

to water

it?

The word

hypocrisy

comes from

the Greek

theatre.

They didn't

have great

actors in

those days

like Sandra

Bullock

and John

Thorne

or any

of those

kind of

people.

They were

terrible

actors.

They had

a mask

that they

put over

their face.

That was

what they

did in

the Greek

theatre.

It was

an act.

And when

they were

on stage

they wore

it.

And they

wore a mask

to show

what mood

they were

in.

And to

be hypocrite

was to

have a

mask

in front

of you.

It is

to behave

one way

outwardly

but inwardly

to have

another set

of attitudes.

And do you

know what

the problem

is?

The problem

is we

just can't

keep up

the full

performance

can we?

All the

time.

So the

synagogue

ruler is

very keen

on rigid

Sabbath

keeping

as long

as it

doesn't

affect him.

He's

very keen

on rigid

Sabbath

keeping

as long

as he

can keep

his

animal

healthy.

That is

the way

that he's

rewritten

the rules.

His

ox

or his

donkey

was

better

treated

on the

Sabbath

than the

crippled

woman

in his

congregation.

His

religion

is just

a matter

of personal

convenience.

He's got

two sets

of rules

one set

that applies

to him

and another

set that

applies to

everyone else.

He cares

more for the

convenience

of his

life

than for

the

plight

of this

crippled

woman.

It's

the opposite

of compassion

isn't it?

It's the

opposite

of the

Lord

Jesus.

Whatever

is easiest

for us

orders our

lives.

We live in

that sort of

culture don't

we?

It's a

self-indulgent

culture.

It's one that

seeks our own

pleasure above

all else.

It starts in

sixth form doesn't

it?

You know

when sixth form

is a great

time of life

but you begin

to be released

from some of the

rules of school

your school

might start

to experiment

with drink

and drugs

and sex

and then you

get to student

days and it

really kicks

in living for

pleasure.

But then you

go into the

workplace and

you're told

you've got to

think about

yourself.

You've got to

keep moving up

the career ladder

keep earning

the money so

you can enjoy

it and then

you retire and

retirement is

all about a

life of leisure.

And it's a

huge temptation

for all of us

that we opt

for our own

comfort.

And putting

ourselves out

for others.

I've had lots

of students

prepared this

week so I

made the

fitness thing

I'm googling

comfort and

convenience.

I was hoping

to find some

clever illustrations.

What is odd

when you google

comfort,

convenience and

sacrifice the

three of them

together.

There are a

worrying number

of sites for

weddings and

shoes for

weddings particularly.

There's even a

site about buying

a bed for your

dog.

It's no help

at all on the

illustration and

there it is

isn't it?

Those are the

things we worry

about.

So what really

matters is not

having the right

shoes for the

wedding.

Or we're more

interested that our

dog has got back

pain than our

neighbours have

salvation.

We get more

excited about our

favourite TV programme

than we do about

the Lord's Day.

Or I'm more

worried that what I'm

having for my tea

than I am with my

sister as a

Christian.

I mostly engage

with my own

convenience.

I order my

day for my

own convenience.

Or do I

order it for the

lost people around

me?

That God in

his sovereignty

has brought

around you.

The people who

you might be the

only Christian that

they know.

You see if you

love them you'll

spend time loving

them.

Putting emotional

energy into them.

The synagogue

ruler is more

interested in his

livestock than he

is by this crippled

woman.

It's all about

his convenience.

And the reason

we need to spend

our lives for the

sake of others is

that they desperately

need to be set

free.

Here's the last

thing.

Do we see lost

people as they

are?

Do we see how

lost people are?

Look at verse

16.

And ought not

this woman, a

daughter of

Abraham, who

was Satan

bound for 18

years, be

loosed from

this bond on

the Sabbath

day?

In other

ways Jesus

says, listen

if you're

willing to

feed your

dog on

a Sunday

shouldn't

this woman

be given

her freedom

on a

Sunday?

Freedom from

Satan?

Because that

is the state

of all people

without the

Lord Jesus

isn't it?

They are

followers of

the devil.

He is

the prince of

the air.

He has them

in his power.

They live

life for his

lies.

They don't

even know

it.

They don't

even know

that God

cares.

they live

lives for

that lie

that God

doesn't

care even

if he

exists.

They live

life for

that lie

that Jesus

doesn't

matter and

the world

is a much

better place

if we run

it for

ourselves.

And those

are the

lives that

the world

lives for

and it's

slavery.

The problem

is, isn't

it, is that

bondage to

Satan is

not always so

clearly

distressing.

we can

clearly see

this woman's

needs, can't

we, even

reading about

it.

If this

woman walked

in here this

morning we

would all

look over,

sigh, and

think, oh

poor dad.

If we were

near her we'd

get up, we'd

help her into

her seat.

We'd have

leapt up and

we'd have

helped her

because her

physical needs

were visible

on the outside

but you

cannot see

most people's

spiritual needs.

Your friends,

family,

neighbours,

work colleagues,

they don't

come in,

together with

creaking chains.

It would be

easy if our

non-Christian

friends came

swathed in

chains.

The devil is

far, far more

subtle, isn't

he?

He enslaves

people very

often in the

things that

they want.

And often

they seem to

have better

lives than

us.

They seem

more successful,

more popular,

more happy,

more secure.

They seemingly

seem to enjoy

more freedom

but they're

enslaved to

see.

The devil

often uses

very good

things to

grab people

into his

grip.

With Eve

it was

fruit.

Fruit is

good for

you, so

I'm told.

And Eve

saw that the

fruit was

good for

food and

it was

pleasing for

the eye and

it was

desirable for

gaining wisdom

and she

took some

and she

ate it.

you see

we will

never

truly

rejoice

in the

freedom of

Jesus

until we

see the

lostness of

the lost.

And Luke

emphasizes that

you see

Jesus says

bound,

bound for

18 long

years.

Life in the

world without

Jesus can

never be what

God wanted

it to be.

Life in

eternity without

Christ is a

punishment more

awful than

words can

describe.

Philip

Jensen says

you can

photograph

terrible

suffering but

you cannot

photograph a

person in

hell.

I wonder

whether we

could.

Or if we

could see the

anguish in

our friends

eyes on the

day of

judgment.

If only we

could accept

the warnings

of the

Bible that

slavery to

sin and

Satan is

worse than

being bent

double in

agony every

day of

your life.

You see

to have true

compassion is

to see how

lost people

are.

How bound

they are

without

Christ.

I don't

want to

guilt trip

you this

morning.

I really

don't.

Preaching

Revelation on

Sunday nights

has done me

the world

of good in

seeing the

final judgment

and how it

must motivate

us.

But as I

come to this

passage my

prayer for

myself and

for us as a

church family

is that by

God's spirit

I might love

people more

than I love

my own

convenience.

that I

might long

for their

freedom more

than I

long to

be right.

And I

might be a

little bit

more like

the Lord

Jesus because

Jesus didn't

put his

righteousness

first did

he.

Jesus

actually

suffered

silently

the injustice

and he took

my unrighteousness

upon himself

and he didn't

live for his

convenience and

he didn't live

for his

comfort and

he gave up

the perfection

of heaven

to walk on

this squalid

earth.

And he

then experienced

what it was

to be lost

for us.

And maybe

as I spend

a bit more

time thinking

on the

compassion

and the

love of

the Lord

Jesus

I would

find myself

a little bit

more like

him and a

little bit

less like

those nitpicking

religious leaders.

And I'd

probably be

rejoicing at

all the

glorious things

that God

is doing.

Let's pray.