Luke 13:10-17

¹⁰ Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. ¹¹ And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. ¹² But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.” ¹³ And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. ¹⁴ But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, “There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.” ¹⁵ The Lord then answered him and said, “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? ¹⁶ So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?” ¹⁷ And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.

Commentary

Vs. 10-12 ¹⁰ Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. ¹¹ And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. ¹² But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.”

Luke now recalls one of the many merciful and wonderful deeds of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who while teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath encounters a woman who was terribly afflicted with a spirit of infirmity that had kept her bent over so that she could in no way raise herself. And so, it was when Jesus saw her, He called her to Himself and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.” Now there are several things to note. First is that Jesus was not just a “street preacher”, but He was also an established and respected rabbi who often taught and preached in the synagogues as He went about ministering the Gospel. Second Jesus initiated this merciful act, for the woman did not approach Him, but rather He observed her in that terribly afflicted state while ministering in the Synagogue, and when He saw her, He called her to Himself so that He might heal her. Third the Lord Jesus Christ knowingly and willingly healed her on the Sabbath. Finally, regarding the woman herself, this affliction was not a biological disease or condition, rather her being bent over like that was from a “spirit of infirmity.”

Vs. 13 “And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.”

Now in healing her, the Lord Jesus simply laid His hands on her and she was immediately made well. And so, when she was made well, she glorified God, which itself would’ve been quite a testimony to the grace and mercy of God that only comes through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Vs. 14 But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, “There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.”

However, when the ruler of the Synagogue saw what Jesus did and heard the woman’s response, He was not filled with joy like her and those who observed this, rather he was only filled with indignation, because Jesus had healed her on the Sabbath. His response then only reflects a heart reared on legalism and or ritualism, and not on the love and mercy of God.

Vs. 15-16 ¹⁵ The Lord then answered him and said, “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? ¹⁶ So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?”

Now when the Lord heard what the ruler of the Synagogue said He immediately rebuked him, calling him a hypocrite because in criticizing Jesus for healing a woman on the Sabbath, who had been bound by Satan for eighteen years, who was as Jesus said a daughter of Abraham, and thus she was under the covenant umbrella of God, and thus belonging to God she should’ve been healed, even on the Sabbath, because the Sabbath was given by God as day of rest for Him and His people, and Jesus’ healing her on the Sabbath was no better representation of His and her observing this day of rest by His bringing her fully into it, by bringing rest to her soul! Therefore Jesus in refuting the ruler of the Synagogue was justified in calling him a hypocrite, because if he would loose his ox or donkey on the Sabbath to go and water it, how much more should Jesus loose a daughter of Abraham from her affliction on the Sabbath.

Vs. 17 And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.

And so, it was when Jesus had done these things, not only was the ruler of the Synagogue rebuked for his own hardness of heart, but all of Jesus’ adversaries were to put to shame, because who can justly find fault with His or even our doing good on the Sabbath (consider 1 Peter 2:15). Therefore, when the multitude saw and heard these things, they rejoiced for all the glorious things done by Him, because they’re hearts and minds had not been poisoned by those evil people who always oppose the goodness and greatness of God by finding fault with it, or worse attributing evil motives to it.

Scripture Quotations

New King James Version (1982): Thomas Nelson