Luke 13:10-17 — Foul! Legalism!

READ THIS: Luke 13:10-17

10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. 

14 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.” 15 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? 16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” 

17 When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?

Have you ever seen someone more dedicated to the rules of the game than the spirit of the game? Someone who will call every single little foul to the point the game can't really be played? That's the synagogue leader here. He's more dedicated to the law of God than the spirit of God. He's busy pointing out lawbreakers to the point that God can't even really be seen through all the finger pointing and shaming. 

Jesus responds to the synagogue leader by pointing out that even for animals, the leader would be willing to put in work to free them up and get them to water, but meanwhile he wants to keep actual humans from being freed and led to the Living Water, Jesus. 

The whole point of the Sabbath is to hang out with God. That's why there's no work. Yet, a leader of a house of God wants people who are praising God because of healing to be silenced because it took work to get to that point. 

THINK ABOUT IT:

1. When's a time that you forgot the real reason why you were doing something? Why did you forget the real reason?

2. What do you think, in your own words, is the whole point of taking a Sabbath day? Do you do it? Why or why not?

TRY THIS:

Take thirty minutes at some point today or tomorrow to Sabbath in a way that lines up with what you said in question 2!

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