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 had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” 13 And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God. 14 But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said 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.” 15 Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? 16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” 17 As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.
Questions:
ReplyDelete1. Why was Jesus' adversaries put to shame? Weren't they, at least by their own law, in the right?
https://hartmangroupdevotionsmark.blogspot.com/2017/05/mark-31-12-another-time-jesus-went-into.html says:
ReplyDelete- whether Jesus was breaking the Sabbath Laws (He was not breaking God's Law, but was the Mishna - the traditions of the elders).
https://hartmangroupdevotions.blogspot.com/2015/07/matthew-121-14-at-that-time-jesus-went.html?zx=c6f3f82c98b5572b says:
To understand what is at issue in these accounts, it is helpful to understand something of the rabbinical tradition that lay behind the Sabbath-breaking charges leveled against Jesus and His disciples. The Pharisaic tradition, by Jesus' day, had developed into an array of petty rules having to do with the minutiae of the law. It focused on physical works that had little to do with the spirit and intent of the law—and which, in fact, often violated the law (Matthew 15:1-9; Mark 7:1-13; John 7:19; Galatians 6:13).
The body of traditional law that they formulated, called the Halakah (preserved in the Mishnah), is extra-biblical. Although authoritative for Jews who follow Pharisaic tradition, much of the Halakah is not directly supported by Scripture, but is intended as a "hedge" about the law, to prevent any possibility of its being broken.
Ironically, in an attempt to ensure their law-keeping by putting a "hedge" about the law, the Pharisees were breaking the law, for God had said: "You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take anything from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you" (Deuteronomy 4:2; also 12:32). By adding the weight of their tradition to the law of God, they bound "heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders" (Matthew 23:4).
The Pharisees placed the authority of their traditions above that of Scripture itself, thus going against the word of God. Scripture scholar Joachim Jeremias affirms that for the Pharisees, the oral tradition was "above the Torah," and that the esoteric writings containing scribal teachings were regarded as inspired and surpassing the canonical books "in value and sanctity"
The sometimes absurd contradictions within Pharisaic law are especially apparent in the rules of Sabbath observance. Edersheim writes: "On no other subject is Rabbinic teaching more painfully minute and more manifestly incongruous to its professed object." Edersheim charges the scribes with "terribly exaggerated views on the Sabbath" and "endless burdensome rules with which they encumbered everything connected with its sanctity" (ibid., Book II, 2.52, 2.53). "In not less than twenty-four chapters [of the Mishna], matters are seriously discussed [regarding Sabbath observance] as of vital religious importance, which one would scarcely imagine a sane intellect would seriously entertain." Yet "in all these wearisome details there is not a single trace of anything spiritual—not a word even to suggest higher thoughts on God's holy day and its observance"
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-13-commentary says:
ReplyDeleteBarclay notes that "This is the last time we ever hear of Jesus being in a synagogue. It is clear that by this time the authorities were watching his every action and waiting to pounce upon him whenever they got the chance."
The Sabbath, the seventh day, was to be a day of complete rest. Israel was to keep it throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. But after the captivity arose the school of the Pharisees, and by them the attractive (positive) character of the Sabbatical observances was destroyed. In place of the joy, they imposed upon the people the yoke of a scrupulous, slavish sabbatarianism which made the Sabbath an END instead of a MEANS, hampered the spirit of true worship, and laid greater stress upon a punctilious obedience to mere human regulations than upon God's commands in the Law. Some of their ridiculous Sabbath prohibitions included: walking in the grass on the Sabbath because its bruising effect would constitute a kind of threshing; wearing nailed shoes because they would be viewed as carrying a burden. It was against this absurd perversion of the commandment that the Lord Jesus protested. He refused to sanction Pharisaical legalism and vigorously defended His Sabbath miracles.
And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit - More accurately caused by a spirit reads a "spirit of infirmity" or of weakness. This links her physical malady with a spiritual condition. However it does allow us to state with certainty that she was possessed by Satan (who clearly is named by Jesus as the cause in Lk 13:16). There was certainly no statement by Luke that a demon was cast out when her infirmity was corrected. How was Satan involved? We do not know specifically.
Guzik cautions "We are foolish to think that spiritual issues cause all physical problems, but we are also foolish to think spiritual issues can never cause physical problems."
Steven Cole - Note how Jesus took the initiative in this healing. The woman exhibited no faith. She did not appeal to Him. But Jesus noticed her need and did everything necessary to heal her.
Began glorifying God - It is interesting that the woman’s gratitude is shown in her praising of God, not Jesus. She praised God because she recognized the connection between Jesus and the act of God’s power in healing her.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-13-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteSteven Cole observes "One of the most effective tools that Satan has used to keep people away from a relationship with the living God is dead religion. When our Lord was on this earth, His main battles were not with raw pagans. His main conflicts were with the religious crowd. Down through the centuries, Satan, the master counterfeiter, has smuggled religious people into churches in order to keep the others from a genuine, heart-transforming experience with God.
MacArthur makes the excellent point that "The synagogue ruler’s continued unbelief despite the undeniable miracle he had seen confirms the reality that miracles do not produce faith (Matt. 11:20; Luke 16:31; John 12:37). Saving faith is produced by the Holy Spirit in the hearts of the penitent."
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-13-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteADVERSARIES PUT TO SHAME
Alford - They were not ashamed because they had been convinced, but because they were confounded.
There I will cause the horn of David to spring forth; I have prepared a lamp for Mine anointed. His enemies I will clothe with shame; But upon himself his crown shall shine. (Psalm 132:17-18)
CROWD KEPT REJOICING
Guzik - The woman was so obviously healed and the ruler of the synagogue was so obviously wrong that all rejoiced in Jesus’ victory.
Steven Cole - As we saw before, Jesus and His teaching draw a line that divides. This miracle isn’t recorded here so that we can come to church, sit and say, “That’s interesting,” and go home the same way we were. It’s here to make us ask ourselves, “Which side am I on? Am I just going through the motions of dead religion, or do I have reality with the living Lord Jesus Christ?” Think through these seven contrasts:
(1) Dead religion is marked by bondage to Satan, but reality with the Lord frees people from long-term problems.
(2) Dead religion is impotent for lasting change, but reality with the Lord is powerful.
(3) Dead religion lacks compassion for hurting people, but reality with the Lord results in compassion.
(4) Dead religion is joyless and angry, but reality with the Lord is full of joy.
(5) Dead religion is hypocritical, but reality with the Lord is truthful and genuine.
(6) Dead religion promotes the wrong priorities, but reality with the Lord keeps the right priorities.
(7) Dead religion brings glory to men, but reality with the Lord brings glory to Him.
Questions and findings:
ReplyDelete1. Why was Jesus' adversaries put to shame? Weren't they, at least by their own law, in the right?
Jesus proved that "their" law was not God's Law. They so tightly hung on to their law, that it became their god, their idol. In a certain (perverse) way, they were intending to do something good - put up a bunch of laws as a fence so that they wouldn't get close to breaking God's Law. Unfortunately, this creates legalism, which is death to the freedom that God provides.
Jesus just clearly showed to the people that the ruler's law was not of God. They lost any credibility with the people and were put to shame. They lost face, which in the end was the only thing that mattered to them.
2. (Unasked question): What does it mean that a spirit was causing this ailment?
I didn't ask this, because no one has a satisfactory answer. But, explaining the difficulties can be enlightening. These days, most physical ailments have a scientific reason (so we suppose) and cure. They didn't have the tools of science back then. The spiritual world was much more "real" to them than it is to us.
So, what's the answer? Do we stop relying on pure science and start becoming "in tune" to the spiritual world when dealing with disease and sickness? Or, do we ignore the spiritual world and turn to pure science to solve our issues? I think the answer is to take the middle road: Recognize that there is a spiritual world, one in which God reigns supreme. We can feel free to ask Him for supernatural solutions to our problems. We also need to use the scientific tools that God has made available to us.
As to any conjecture that there is no spiritual world, and that the Bible is just speaking to the ancient world (which it is) in the way it understands - I think we can reject that conjecture (the there is no spiritual world part). There is a rich spiritual world in which a universe-wide battle is taking place. To reject that reality stunts us as soldiers in that battle. If we refuse to see the enemy, we aren't going to fight as soldiers.