As Jesus is teaching, he sees a woman bent almost double. She’s been this way for 18 years. We would recognize her as suffering from osteoporosis. Luke says she has a “spirit of infirmity” but this is no exorcism, no demonic force comes babbling out of her. Instead, Jesus simply looks at her and tells her: “You are free.” Laying His hands on her, He demonstrates this fact by helping her to stand up straight for the first time in nearly two decades. She can do nothing but rejoice and praise God loudly for such deliverance. Her friends, family and neighbors are equally electrified.
The leader of the synagogue (a nameless man) is
annoyed. His OCD is showing because it’s clear he does not like interruptions,
and this is definitely an interruption. We are no longer on schedule!
“No, no, no!” shouts the leader. “Work is done
Sunday through Friday! If you want healing, come then! NOT on a Sabbath!”
What’s unspoken here is the leader’s
powerlessness. Were he and the rabbis able to provide this woman with healing,
it would surely have taken place by now. His love of ritual for ritual’s sake –
and his need to hide behind it – is also showing. He is not open to spontaneity
not least when it serves to glorify God. His attitude toward the woman also is showing. He regards ministering to her obvious needs as work. Plus, in his mind, the woman has not
yet been healed because she is steeped in sin. To him, she has what she
deserves.
Jesus, who has heard this tired song before,
defends the woman. “You hypocrites! This morning, didn’t you untie your ox and
donkey – the engines of your weekly work – and lead them to water? Didn’t you
show them mercy and provide them with refreshment on this Sabbath day of rest?
You did – and rightly so! How much more then is it right to release this
daughter of Abraham from her
infirmity – not bound for an evening but for 18 long years – and refresh her with healing and release on this Sabbath day?”
Jesus’ use of the oh-so-rabbinical (and
contemporary) “how much more” serves to humiliate the Pharisees and synagogue
leaders (so much so that they now openly take the name of adversaries and opponents).
The people, for their part, take delight in it (“You been served!”). This is
yet another grudge the Jews will hold against Jesus and another motivation to
turn this same crowd against Him.
Jesus uses this opportunity to speak truth into
the situation. “None of you know what the Kingdom of God is really like. It’s
indescribable. But if I had to compare it to something, I’d say it’s like a
mustard seed that grows into a mighty tree for all to enjoy or a bit of yeast
that leavens a whole batch of dough.”
Now they’re all stumped. Just when they think
they’ve got Him pinned down on something (“Pharisees bad, people good”), Jesus
counters with something that’s best described as inexplicable. Jesus’ point
here is that the Kingdom of God belongs to God – not an exclusive club of men.
It takes shape and grows according to God’s design and His will.
Therefore, man’s understanding of it (which is often wrong) matters little in
the grand scheme of things.
“Use right vision,” Jesus tells us yet again. “Look
at things from God’s point of view and ask yourself: is there something that
needs to change?”
As Jesus and the disciples pack up and head back
out on the road the next day, a man from the crowd has been pondering these
things. He has a question: “Will those who are saved be few?”
It’s an odd question, oddly asked. The short
answer, Jesus says, is yes, only a few will be saved. He goes on to urge the
man not to take entering the Kingdom lightly nor for granted. It is not
something “to get around to.” The man’s Jewishness will not grant him automatic
entrance, nor will his broadmindedness in listening to Jesus preach, nor will
his socializing and sharing a meal with Him.
In fact, says Jesus, once the door closes, those
outside will be categorically rejected – because they did not find it important
to enter in while the door was open. Lateness will not be tolerated, says
Jesus, and if you did not feel a need to enter when the door was open, the
homeowner will feel no need to let you in when it is closed. You may think it’s
a gamble – put off entering until the last possible moment – but it’s really a
choice. Do you care enough to save your own soul?
