Jesus was teaching in a synagogue (a place Jewish people gather for worship and learning). It was the sabbath, the day each week aside for rest. Each sabbath is a day to honor God, remember God delivered their ancestors from slavery in Egypt and gave them special instructions about how to live. These instructions indicate God’s close connection to them as a people and also let them live their faithfulness to God. Not working on the sabbath was one of the clear differences between the Jewish people and their neighbors. It was (and still is) one of the core elements of Jewish identity.
There in the synagogue, Jesus saw a woman who had been crippled for 18 years and he healed her. After being unable to stand up straight so long, Jesus returned her to wholeness. He ended the suffering and the limits her condition had imposed on her life. While the healed woman began praising God, the leader of the synagogue was upset – indignant because Jesus had done work by healing on the sabbath. The leader insisted that there are six days for work and people ought not seek healing on the sabbath. Jesus named the hypocrisy, pointing out that everyone there did the work of untying their ox or donkey and leading them to water on the sabbath. Jesus argued that this woman, bound by her condition for long years, ought to also be set free on the sabbath. His reasoning, put his opponent to shame.
In a way, he healed the woman Jesus broke the rules. While the leader of the synagogue was right, the situation was not as simple as it seemed. Though Jesus broke the letter of the law by doing “work,” he was certainly acting in line with the spirit of the law. By healing the woman, Jesus honored God and dramatically highlighted God’s connection with the people. By doing work and healing on the sabbath, Jesus freed the woman from her suffering, which is certainly an expression of God’s compassion and love.
The leader of the synagogue took seriously his task of reminding the people about their connection to God and of helping them follow the law. He’s focused on one of the core elements of their identity. These are probably good things to do, but his understanding God was too narrow. God is sometimes unpredictable. God sometimes works in ways we don’t expect. Sometimes God is in circumstances and people that shock or surprise us, moving through things that seem to be outside what is appropriate. Jesus broke the rules and brought new life to the woman.
Peace,