Jesus Changes Everything: For a Disabled Woman

Welcome back to a short time of worship with us here in Becluse.

We continue to look through Luke's Gospel, see Jesus meeting a variety of different women

and considering how Jesus, by his grace, changes everything.

So we'll be there in just a couple of minutes, but let's begin hearing from Psalm 130,

a couple of verses there, verses 6 and 7.

Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly.

Though lofty, he sees them from afar.

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life.

You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes.

With your right hand, you save me.

Let's pray to the God who sees us now.

Lord, we praise you that you are the high and the exalted one, the glorious one,

the God who deserves all praise and honour.

We thank you too that you are so full of kindness,

that you look down on those who are low, those who are struggling, those who are weary.

We thank you that you are the God who sees us.

Just as Hagar, way back in the book of Genesis, when she was struggling and feeling alone,

and you came to help her.

She could confess, truly, you are the God who sees me.

Lord, we thank you for that reality.

We thank you that in your mercy, as you saw the misery that sin would bring,

you established that plan to save us in and through the sending of your son, Jesus.

We thank you that you have stretched out your hand to save us.

And so we pray that we would take comfort and hope that we would look to you as the one who sees us.

That we would recognise more of your character and more of your love,

that we might be drawn to you.

And so we pray that you would work through your word today to soften our hearts,

to cause us to praise and worship you.

We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

Now, let's read together a short reading from Luke chapter 13.

Luke 13 · chapter mention

We're going to read from verse 10 to verse 17.

Let's hear God's word together.

On a Sabbath, Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues,

and a woman was there who'd been crippled by a spirit for 18 years.

She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.

When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said,

To her, woman, you are set free from your infirmity.

Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath,

the synagogue leader said to the people,

There are six days for work.

So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.

The Lord answered him,

You hypocrites!

Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?

Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham,

whom Satan has kept bound for 18 long years,

be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?

When he said this,

all his opponents were humiliated,

but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

So today, let's see how Jesus changes everything for a disabled woman.

One of the highlights, I guess, for me during lockdown

was the chance that I had to talk about the church

and to talk about Christianity with our school's primary fours.

As they were doing their religion topic,

I got to be part of a rather chaotic Zoom call

across three different classes to about 100 P4s.

And they were so enthusiastic and they had so many questions.

Questions about what I did,

questions about what was the church like,

what do we do in church,

do we have a holy book.

It was really interesting to talk with the P4s.

There was a sense that they were understanding

that faith has a set of beliefs

and that those beliefs then influence practice

on how a person lives,

in our case, Christianity.

Those practices, those beliefs should shape how we live.

The focus of today's encounter for us

is on the one hand,

that this synagogue ruler who we meet,

who should have known

what God and his word is all about,

but he didn't.

And as a result, he was cold and he was indifferent

to the needs of this woman

and no doubt other sufferers do.

But then there's Jesus,

whose actions and words stand as a reminder

that God is merciful.

He is the son of God

and he is expressing the mercy of God.

He shows mercy and he cares

and he heals the woman who was crippled,

who was disabled.

I was thinking about this,

strangely enough,

this Wednesday morning.

I don't know, boys and girls,

if you remember walking to school

on Wednesday morning,

but I was absolutely chucking it down,

wasn't it?

And so I'd done the drop-off

and I was walking,

I was almost home

and I was soaked to the skin.

And then I realised,

I actually had an umbrella with me.

I just never thought to use it.

In a sense, it's a picture of the religious life

with no heart.

The synagogue ruler,

he had what he needed.

He had God's day, the Sabbath.

He had God's word being taught to him,

but he wasn't using it.

He did not have God's love

and God's mercy.

And so in these two figures,

Jesus and the synagogue ruler,

we get portraits,

we get the beauty of mercy

as we see it in Christ.

And we see sort of the ugliness

of indifference,

of a loveless religion,

of loveless Christianity on the other.

And so my prayer for each one of us

is that we would be drawn to Jesus

to find mercy from him

and that having been drawn in to receive mercy,

we would then be merciful as people.

That we would see the warning of the synagogue ruler,

that we might repent of our coldness,

of our lack of mercy,

and that we would together celebrate the power,

the power of transforming grace

that we see occur in this disabled woman.

Let's begin, first of all,

with our setting.

Now, setting matters.

We know that certain settings

go with particular qualities in a story.

So if you're, for example,

if you're watching a war movie,

some certain themes will be courage and brotherhood.

If a story is set on the sports field,

you are going to almost certainly encounter

the determination of the underdogs.

If your setting is a galaxy far, far away,

you're going to be dealing with good versus evil

and the saving of the universe.

So what's our setting?

What's our context here?

On a Sabbath,

Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues.

Okay, so two things to notice.

One, it's on the Sabbath.

Two, it's in the synagogue

and the word of God is being taught

and taught by none other than Jesus.

So the question then is,

what should we expect?

If that's the setting,

what should we expect of this story?

Well, for the synagogue ruler,

Sabbath and synagogue mean laws and rules.

For Jesus,

Sabbath and synagogue mean the promise of rest,

the hope of rescue

and the reality of rejoicing.

And even just in that,

we can see, can't we,

good news.

Good news that Jesus would save you and me

from dull, lifeless, loveless religion.

He brings the beating heart of God's love and mercy

to bear in this situation

and for this woman.

And it's wonderful to see.

So let's think about setting just again.

Sabbath, what was that about?

There's, I think, at least two truths

that we need to recognise

when we think about the Sabbath.

First, we can go to Exodus 20,

where we read the Ten Commandments.

Exodus 20 at verse 8.

Remember the Sabbath day

by keeping it holy.

Six days you shall labour

and do all your work,

but the seventh day

is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.

On it you shall not do any work.

For in six days the Lord

made the heavens and the earth,

the sea and all that's in them,

but he rested on the seventh day.

Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day

and made it holy.

So Sabbath is a chance for us

to enjoy the gift of rest,

to rest from work,

to remember one's creator

and to worship.

But then again,

in Deuteronomy chapter 5,

Deuteronomy 5 · chapter mention

as Moses again,

he rehearses the Ten Commandments

before the people,

there's a different emphasis.

As he says in verse 12,

observe the Sabbath day

by keeping it holy.

Six days you shall labour

and do all your work,

but the seventh day

is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.

And so there's the emphasis

on resting.

But then in verse 15,

remember that you were slaves in Egypt

and that the Lord your God

brought you out of there

with a mighty hand

and an outstretched arm.

Therefore the Lord your God

has commanded you

to observe the Sabbath day.

So what's new there?

Not just the gift of rest,

but the gift of rescue.

Every Sabbath they were to remember

that God their creator

was also God their saviour.

And so that's what should have been happening

on this Sabbath.

And then what about the synagogue?

You went to a first century,

what happened there in the synagogue?

Well, there was worship.

The people of God would gather

to worship before God.

God's word would be read.

The Old Testament was what they had.

God's word was read and taught

and there would be prayers being made.

The intention was, therefore,

that there would be a reminder

of their creator.

A reminder of the God

who had entered into covenant with them,

who had made promises to them.

A reminder that God

had been and would be

their redeemer.

Of course,

the synagogue,

and as the word of God

was read,

would also be a reminder to them

of God's holiness,

that he is perfect

and he is without sin

and he is holy.

It would also be a reminder,

therefore,

of human sin.

But then also,

they'd be reminded

of God's mercy

in his forgiveness

and in making a way.

In the Old Testament,

it was through the sacrifices

that would come to be,

seem to be,

about Jesus

and his perfect sacrifice.

But there's our setting,

Sabbath and synagogue.

And when you think about that,

it's perfect

for Jesus then to,

as it were,

to recreate

this woman,

to give her rest

from her suffering,

to bring rescue

from her spiritual bondage

so that she might rejoice

in God's salvation

and God's mercy.

Just before we move on,

I think this matters

for our Sunday,

the Lord's Day

for the people of God,

changing from a Saturday

to a Sunday

because on the Sunday,

Jesus rose from the dead

and everything became new.

So God, in his kindness,

gives us this weekly rhythm,

a weekly rhythm,

to rest,

to say,

do you know what,

I'm going to trust God.

I'm going to rest.

It's a chance for us

to remember

the gospel.

As we gather

every week

in the name

of the Lord Jesus

who died for us

and rose again,

we remember

God's gift of salvation.

And this weekly rhythm

is a chance for us

to refocus

on our God,

to be drawn back to him

as we recognise

how quickly we're drawn away

from him

and can grow cold

to his love.

It also matters

for our Sunday,

for our Lord's Day

and for every day,

really,

when we think about

our Bible teaching.

Now, remember,

in this story,

Jesus was the teacher

and we get indications

through the Gospels

of how Jesus read

and taught

the Old Testament.

He would say,

all of these

testify about me.

He would say,

these are fulfilled

in me.

All those great promises,

they are about me.

So as we read

the big story

of God

creating a world

to know and enjoy

his love,

but of people

turning to sin

and falling

and things becoming

broken,

and as we read

of God's

redeeming love

and his covenant

and his commitment

to save a people

for himself

by his grace,

and as we see

that fulfilled

in the sending

of Jesus

to come into

our world,

to die in our place

and to rise

for our salvation,

and with the promise

that Jesus will

one day return

from heaven

to make everything new,

to bring his people

to be with him,

we recognise

in the big story

of the Bible,

Jesus stands

at the centre.

And we are drawn

into

that story.

There is

to,

and we'll see it

throughout,

I think this

conversation

that Jesus has

with the synagogue

leader,

there's a warning

about what

Michael Wilcock

calls fossilised

worship,

that it's

very possible

to have

our Lord's

Day

or our

reading of

God's Word

made

lifeless

by burying

it under

layers of

rules and

traditions.

It's what the

Pharisees did.

it's what

man-made

religion

would

seek

to do.

We want

to hear

God

and allow

him to

speak

in his

word.

That we

would ask

God

to make

Sunday

in a very

real sense

the highlight

of our

week.

To know

that he

would meet

us

in our

gathering,

that he

would meet

us by

the Spirit

in his

word and

that he

would give

us fresh

mercy and

grace for

our journey

of faith

for our

coming week.

So that's

our setting.

Now the

woman is

introduced in

verse 11 and

I want us to

notice the

response of

Jesus.

Just read

verse 11

again.

A woman

was there

who'd been

crippled by

a spirit

for 18

years.

She was

bent over

and could

not straighten

up at

all.

Can we

picture this

woman?

Life

being

agonising,

this crippling

illness.

Imagine the

effort it

would have

taken her,

hunched as

she was,

to get to

the synagogue.

She obviously

wanted to

worship with

the people

of God.

18 years

of suffering,

feeling

most likely

like an

outsider,

perhaps with

nothing much

to offer.

I came

across a

writer this

week by

the name

of Stephanie

Hubach.

I don't

know if

that's how

you say

her second

name.

So she's

an author

but she's

also the

mother of

a child

with Down

syndrome.

And she

said this

as she was

thinking about

the impact

of the fall

into sin

from Adam

and Eve

back in

Genesis

18.

because of

sin,

our world

became an

abnormal

world.

This world

is not the

way it was

meant to

be.

Disability

is simply

a more

noticeable

form of

the brokenness

that is

common to

human

experience.

A normal

part of

life in

an abnormal

world.

Now what

will Jesus

do as

he, the

perfectly

holy one,

comes into

this now

abnormal

world because

of sin?

As he

comes to

establish his

kingdom, as

he comes to

go to war

against Satan

and the

forces of

evil to

defeat sin

and to

give signposts

of what his

future kingdom

will be like,

what will

Jesus do?

Verse 12.

Jesus saw

her.

Jesus is

the God

who sees.

Isn't that

beautiful?

This lady

stooped so

low as she

suffers, she's

not overlooked.

And it's

noticeable that

Jesus is the

one who takes

the initiative.

He sees and

he calls.

Here is

Jesus' heart

of compassion

and mercy

going out

again.

So Jesus

sees her

and then

Jesus spoke

to her.

So again

Jesus called

her forward.

It's as if

he wants his

power and

mercy to be

on full

display and

neon lights

highlighted.

And again

knowing the

heart of the

synagogue ruler

and his

legalising

tendencies,

you'll be

about mercy

like God

is.

And then

verse 12.

As he

speaks,

women,

you are set

free from

your infirmity.

He uses

freedom,

language.

And of course

what we see

is that her

healing,

her cure,

her freedom

isn't just

physical,

though it

is physical

because immediately

she's

straightened

up.

But it's

also spiritual

because in

verse 11

she's crippled

by a spirit.

In verse 16

we discover

Satan has

kept her

bound.

So Jesus

sees her,

Jesus spoke

to her and

Jesus in a

very real

sense saved

her.

Here is one

of the themes

of Luke

in this section

of particular.

Jesus is going

into battle

against Satan,

against the

forces of evil

and here in

this woman's

life he wins

a victory.

A victory

that anticipates

the cross.

There Jesus

will strike

at the very

heart of

darkness

as he takes

sin on himself

and as he

defeats the

power of sin.

As he conquers

it in his

rising from

the dead.

So her cure

is both

physical and

spiritual.

And the woman's

response,

immediately

she straightened

up.

She praised

God.

She's rejoicing.

That rest

promised in

God's day,

that rescue

promised in

God's day

and in God's

word has

now become

real in

her life

and so her

instinct is

to praise

God.

By way of

applying this

to ourselves,

let's take

this first of

all as a

message of

hope for

us today.

Maybe we're

feeling small,

feeling weak,

feeling weak,

feeling weak,

feeling weak,

feeling weak,

feeling weak,

in the middle of

struggling and

suffering,

and perhaps that's

long term,

maybe overlooked

by others,

feeling like an

outsider,

recognise

Jesus

sees you.

And who is

Jesus?

He is the

Son of God,

the one who

is all

powerful and

also full of

love and

mercy.

This is the

Jesus who

invites us,

come to me

all you who

are weary and

burdened and I

will give you

rest.

Jesus sees

and he knows

and he can

help and he

will be with

you if we

trust him.

It's also a

picture of the

gospel for us,

that's part of the

hope I think,

Jesus who

sees,

who saw

the misery

that sin

would bring,

recognising that

we would be

hopeless and

helpless without

him,

came to be

one of us,

to live in our

place and to

die for our

sin,

so that we

might be

forgiven,

so that we

might have

peace with

God,

that we

might have

eternal life.

He extends

mercy to

you and to

me and for

us.

Our response

is to hear

that call,

is to be

obedient to

the Lord

Jesus,

to put our

trust in

him and

then as we

come to

him and

find forgiveness

and we

come to

find life

from him

and healing

then we

praise him.

So it's a

message of

hope but it's

also I think

a call to

action in a

couple of

ways.

So some of

the primary

four, their

questions,

what is the

church like?

What is it

that you do

in the

church?

Well, here

are two

answers from

this text.

We as the

church, we

should be

merciful,

shouldn't

we?

Jesus sees

the unseen,

the overlooked,

Jesus sees

us and extends

mercy to us

in the gospel

and so

should we.

Churches then

should be the

most inclusive

of places.

That we

should be

eager to

open our

door and

open our

hearts and

open our

lives to

share with

others the

mercy that

God shows

us in

the gospel.

So we

should be

merciful in

light of the

mercy that

we have

received and

we should

worship.

Romans 12

Romans 12:1

verse 1,

in view of

God's

mercies,

present your

bodies as

living

sacrifices.

So we

can let

God's

day and

let God's

word keep

calling us

back to

that reminder

that we

are called

to live

every day

in every

situation to

the glory

of God.

To present

our bodies as

living sacrifice,

to deny

ourselves, to

say Jesus is

Lord and to

live for him

to be

somebody who

would pass

that mercy

forward.

God.

So that's

the response

of Jesus

but we

also need

to look

in verse

14 to

17 at

the rebuke

of Jesus.

Now, for

those of us

who are

listening who

are parents

and for

you, if

you're

children, I

wonder how

often have

you said

or have

you heard

you really

should know

better.

You really

should know

better by

now.

Jesus

would be

very

entitled

to say

this to

the

synagogue

ruler.

So, so

Jesus has

just healed

the woman

and he's

rescued her,

given her

rest.

What do we

find from

verse 14?

Intignant.

He's so

annoyed because

Jesus had

healed on the

Sabbath.

The synagogue

leader said

to the people

there are six

days for work

so come and be

healed on those

days, not on the

Sabbath.

So he

interrupts

Jesus, totally

changes the

mood to

rebuke the

women who

actually didn't

come for

healing in the

first place.

Jesus took

the initiative

and he's

certainly

rebuking

Jesus.

Why are you

working?

This is a

day for

resting.

We shouldn't

do any

work.

Jesus

responds with

rebuke.

He calls

out his

hypocrisy.

Verses 15

and 16.

Listen, you

care for an

animal if it's

thirsty, you

give it a

drink.

How much

more should

you want

mercy for

this woman?

This person

made in the

image of

God with

dignity and

value, you

should know

better.

As a leader

of the

synagogue, you

should be a

leader in

extending mercy

as a

representative.

God, you

should know

better.

It's the

Sabbath.

It's a day

of remembering

God's mercy

and giving

rest from

work, and

giving rescue

from slavery.

mercy.

It's not

a

lot, it's

a

mercy.

And you're

in the

synagogue.

You're

listening to

God's word,

you're

listening to

Jesus, the

word made

flesh, who's

now teaching

that word, and

it's all about

salvation and

renewal.

This guy, he's

big on law, but

he's not big on

mercy.

And Jesus

rebukes him.

Verse 17, we

discover that this

synagogue ruler, he

failed to read the

room, didn't he?

When he said

this, all his

opponents were

humiliated, but

the people were

delighted with all

wonderful things

Jesus was doing.

Public opinion is

with Jesus, because

they can recognise

cold, loveless

religion is ugly, but

mercy and love in

Jesus, they're

beautiful, and

they see it, and

they're drawn to

that.

Here again is a

warning to

religious folks.

we can be in

God's word, on

God's day, doing

all kinds of

religious duties

and activities, and

yet still be

hard-hearted, still

be missing the

point, making it

about us, or

making it about

rule-keeping, rather

than celebrating

God's grace and

mercy and his

salvation.

salvation.

It's a reminder

that we must be

both hearers and

doers.

There's also

here, though, the

promise of the

gospel.

Look at verse

16.

Should not this

woman, a

daughter of

Abraham, whom

Satan has kept

bound for 18

long years, be set

free on the

Sabbath day from

what bound

her?

What does

faith in Jesus

bring?

It brings

freedom.

Just as this

woman was set

free, faith in

Jesus sets us

free from the

power of sin, from

the reality of

guilt and

condemnation, from

the certainty of

eternal separation

from God in

hell.

Freedom to

become a

child of God, to

enjoy life and

peace with God, to

have the hope of

eternity with God.

So faith brings

freedom and faith

brings family.

She's a daughter

of Abraham.

She's part of the

people of God.

And that's all,

again, because of

God's mercy to

us in sending

Jesus our

Saviour.

And so, as we

leave this story,

let's leave it in

that sense with a

call to us as the

church.

If you belong to

Becluia, it's a

call to Becluia if

you're from another

church, that we

would be a place

of mercy for

those who are

suffering, for

those who are

needy, for those

who are lost and

helpless, and that

we would each play

our part in

extending that

mercy.

That we would

take heed of

the needs of

others and the

needs of one

another.

That we wouldn't

let laws and

traditions come

ahead of mercy

and showing

the love of

God to

others.

And that

positively we

would enjoy

what God's

day and what

God's word

calls us to.

To enjoy

rest.

Resting from

our work

whenever that's

possible and

resting in

Christ.

Not working

for our own

salvation but

recognising he

has accomplished

our salvation so

we're resting and

we're trusting in

him alone for

salvation.

that we would

enjoy that

rescue that we

have received.

That we would

celebrate the

gospel and that

we would share

the good news

that God has

loved us and

sent his son

Jesus to pay

the price and

the penalty for

our sin.

And that we

would rejoice.

That if we have

received mercy

that we would

praise him today

and every day.

That that would

be our story.

That would be the

tone of our

story that that's

what we would

be about as a

church.

What is it that

we're about as a

church?

What is it that

you do?

If someone asked

us that question

a P4 or anyone

else we'd be

about worship.

We'd be about

mercy.

We'd be about

enjoying God's

rescue.

God's kindness

and passing that

on to others.

Let's pray

about that

now.

Let's pray.

Lord,

thank you so

much for the

freedom that

Jesus came to

secure.

That he gave

his life on

the cross.

That we might

be set free.

Thank you that

Jesus, the

son of God,

loved us and

gave himself

for us.

That we might

become children

of God.

thank you that

we can rest in

knowing Jesus.

That we can

rest and take

our burdens to

Jesus.

Thank you that

we can receive

and enjoy

rescue,

redemption,

deliverance.

Lord, make us a

people who rejoice

in those realities.

and that we

would share that

mercy.

That we would be a

place and a

people marked by

mercy towards

one another and

towards those who

are not part of

the church.

We pray it for the

glory of Jesus,

our Saviour.

Amen.

Now, as we

close, we

will sing.

First of all,

Glorious Things of

Thee Are Spoken

and then the

first seven

verses of

Psalm 46.

Glorious Things of

Thee Are Spoken

Zion, city of our

God, He whose

word cannot be broken,

form thee for His

own abode.

On the rock of

ages founded,

what can shake

thy sure repose?

With salvation's

walls surrounded,

thou may smile at

all thy foes.

See the streams

of living waters,

springing from

eternal love.

Well, supply thy

sons and daughters,

and all fear of

want remove.

Who can faint while

such a river ever

flows?

Their thirst to

swage grace,

which, like the

Lord the Giver,

never fails from

age to age.

round each habitation

hovering, see the cloud

and fire appear, for a glory

and a covering, showing that the Lord is near.

thus deriving from their banner,

light by night and shade by day.

safe they feed upon the manna,

which He gives them when they pray.

Savior of Zion's city, I, through grace,

remember, I'll let the world

deride our pity.

I will glory in thy name.

Fading is the worldlings' pleasure,

all his boasted palm-baths show,

solid joys and lasting treasure,

none but Zion's children know.

God is our refuge and our strength,

our ever-present aid,

and therefore, though the earth gives way,

we will not be afraid.

Though mountains fall into the sea,

though waters foam and roar,

we will not fear, though mountains quake,

as waves engulf the shore.

A river flows through streams delight

the city of our God,

the holy place in which the Lord

most high has his abode.

God is within his holy place,

the city will not yield,

for God will come at break of day

to be her help and shield.

The nations are in disarray,

the kingdoms disappear.

God speaks, and at his mighty voice

the whole earth melts with fear.

The Lord Almighty is with us

to strengthen and sustain,

for Jacob's God,

our strong defense and fortress

will remain.

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