Luke 13:10-17

Tom, not his real name, but a real story, was having a recurring nightmare that kept waking him up with black thoughts about his future. He’d lost his parents in a car crash several months earlier, and having lost his job and despite his efforts was still out of work. His wife had given up, taken his young child, and left him. He was behind in rent and was being threatened with eviction. It seemed hopeless and early that morning his thoughts turned seriously to suicide. But a beautiful sunny summers day dawned and he was moved to take one last walk through the streets he loved before returning to his home and ending it all. While on this walk he was drawn to a flag that said ‘Healing’ where members of the ‘Healing on The Streets’ team invited him to receive healing prayer. There he met with Jesus and gave his life to him instead. He departed filled with joy and no longer suicidal. A few weeks later he visited the team to witness that he now had accepted a new job; had retained his home and was in talks with his wife who he hoped would rejoin him soon. We can’t escape it. Neither can we avoid it. At some time or another, we’ll all get hurt. When you make a commitment to follow Christ, you don’t receive an exemption from getting hurt.

Even though all of us will experience hurts, sometimes very deep hurts, in life, we do not have to lose hope. It appears to me that there a number of people in our church who are experiencing hurt at present, whatever the cause, whether physical, mental or emotional. Are you, or do you know someone who is one of the those? Maybe you or they have been seeking relief or healing for some-time and have almost given up hope. Do not give up on hope because Jesus offers hope to the hurting. Why is there hope for the hurting? Why can you be encouraged even if you are currently enduring a seemingly hopeless situation? Lets read Luke 13: 10-17. ‘On the Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 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. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman you are free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman a daughter of Abraham whom satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on a Sabbath day from what bound her?”

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

What was this woman’s condition? The narrative tells us that she was crippled, bent over and could not straighten up at all and that she had been this way for eighteen years. Medically, this disease is probably what physician’s today would call Marie-Strümpell Disease, also known as Ankylosing Spondylitus, a fusion of the spinal bones. Early in the course of the disease, sufferers often find that the pain is relieved somewhat when they lean forward. So they often go through the day leaning slightly forward, and gradually their spine begins to fuse. The more they lean in order to relieve the pain, the greater the angle, until a patient might be bent almost double, as the lady in our story.

What a terrible disease! Wreaking havoc on every aspect of her life: physically, emotionally, financially, spiritually, etc. Her hurts and bondage is symbolic of all of our hurts and needs. The way Jesus responded to her hurts is the way we can expect Him to respond to our hurts today.

There is hope because:

I. Jesus Notices And Cares for Hurting People.

One of the first things I want you to observe in these verses is that Jesus was not indifferent to the hurt, pain and despair this woman was going through. She did not go unnoticed by Jesus. He has an eye for the hurting. He noticed and called to her even though there is no record that she ever approached him. In all of the other stories of Jesus healing he was asked to do so. He reached out to her in the midst of her pain because He is aware and concerned with her hurts and all of our hurts.

This was not a typical way to conduct the synagogue service! Jesus response to her was not socially expected or even accepted. Women in that culture were generally thought little of and usually ignored. Why then did Jesus take notice of her and make a point to respond to her need immediately and publicly? Because Jesus notices and cares for hurting people! He has great compassion on those who are burdened, depressed, overwhelmed, and often ignored by people in general.

Yes, Jesus cares for all people but those who were hurting always seemed to receive special attention and responses from Him. In New Testament times women, lepers, prostitutes, tax collectors, and widows were the most oppressed, ignored, hurting, and hopeless of people yet these are the very people to whom Jesus ministered most often and most powerfully.

You do not ever need to think that Jesus is not aware of your situation or unmoved by your tears. Jesus is not indifferent to or willing to ignore your pain. It is wrong to think that God does not take personal and emotional interest in us petty humans. This just isn’t the truth. Jesus expressed compassion for the hurting on numerous occasions and He is the perfect expression of God the Father. Through His life we know that God cares deeply for hurting people. You may not understand many things that you are going through or why your prayers go unanswered but you can be confident that God notices and cares about your pain.

We have a Lord who notices the hurting and has compassion on the burdened. As His followers we have the responsibility to do the same!

Jesus expects us to have the same attitude of compassion toward the hurting as He does. In these two verses we see that Jesus rebuked those who ignored hurting people. This religious leader was more focused on religious rules and maintaining the order of service than in ministering to hurting people. He had no joy, no praise, and no relief at this woman’s healing. Jesus was greatly angered by this uncaring, indifferent response.

There is a message for us, especially church leaders, in this text. Jesus is saying, you can have your praise and worship and teachings, and communion but never forget that hurting people matter to God. Make sure you reach out to them. This religious leader basically said to this woman and to the crowd that now is not the time or the place for healing but to comeback at another time. What hypocrisy! She has been this way for eighteen years! You wouldn’t let your animal go without water one day because of religious tradition or scruples why should this “daughter of Abraham”, an Israelite, wait another moment? Jesus expects hurting people to be the priority. Jesus cares for the hurting and He insists that we do so also.

We are to have the same attitude to those who may be hurting in life. We need to stop and help, not proceed with everyday life in hypocritical indifference.

There is hope for you if you are hurting today because God does not forget you and He is not in different to your pain.

2. With Jesus Nothing is Impossible, He Is all Powerful To Heal Hurting People.

Jesus compassion would be nice but of limited comfort and encouragement if that is all that He can offer us. If the only thing Jesus can do is sympathize with us then we are still hopeless. The good news is that Jesus is not only compassionate but He is also powerful! He can heal your hurts; He can loose your bondage, and He can change your situation.

As we see in this story, there is no situation, no matter how bad that is too great for Jesus. This was the worst kind of medical condition. A medical condition that to this day does not have a cure. Yet this did not pose a problem for Jesus. She had also been in this situation a long, long time but again that was not a problem for Jesus. I want you to understand that nothing you are going through or ever will go through is beyond the power of Jesus Christ to heal and restore. Nothing absolutely nothing is impossible with God.

You may have suffered for many years as this woman did but you can still be hopeful. There is hope because there is Jesus. He set this woman free from her infirmity and He can set you free from yours also. Never ever give up hope! No matter what type of problem, hurt, or bondage you may be facing you can be hopeful because…Jesus wants to use his Power through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to Heal Hurting People.

If you are physically sick – He can heal you. For Example, I fell down the stairs and was in a lot of pain from my rib-cage. The x-ray had shown I had broken at least one rib. People were praying and pain seemed to get less. The CT scan showed no broken ribs. No pain. A miracle! If your marriage is troubled – He can restore it. If your ministry is a mess – He can repair it. There is nothing beyond the power of Jesus Christ. I know some of you may have been hurting for a long time and you have lost hope. I know some of you no longer really expect Jesus to supernaturally intervene in your situation or need. I can relate to that discouragement because I’ve been there. I know many of you have questions of God and I cannot answer every question you may have, nevertheless I do encourage you to look at this story and renew your faith and expectations. Let your faith be strengthened by God’s word. Keep your hopes up because, as I have seen, Jesus still heals the hurting today.

Psalm 40:1-3 “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.”

There are Christians today who no longer pray for healing because they have lost their faith and don’t think God will heal them. There are Christians today whose marriages are failing yet they have no real expectation for Jesus to restore their marriage because they think it is too late. There are people , I know of one, who have quit serving in ministry out of discouragement because they think their situation is beyond God’s help. Our thinking needs to change if it is like this. We should never lose hope because…

Jesus Is all Powerful To Heal Hurting People. But if you no longer believe he can heal your hurt or have a belief system that excludes God’s power from working in your life, then you need to change your belief system–because it’s based on something other than his Word. ‘See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.'[Heb.3;12,13]. God wants to work miracles in your life. It’s not by our power or might or prayers but by the resurrection power of Jesus through the ministrations of the Holy Spirit that we are healed.

Jesus Explains That Satan, Not God, Is The Cause of Hurting People.

Listen to some of the typical questions I often hear when making myself available to pray for people in Healing Rooms and elsewhere who are going through hard times: Why is God putting me through this? Why did God give me cancer? Why did God take my child? Why is God breaking apart my family? Many times people assume that God must be behind all of our hurting and that there must be some mysterious divine plan in all of this. How can you have hope and believe that God is the cause of our hurting? You can’t!

Fortunately there is hope for their hurting because Jesus explains that our hurting is not God’s doing! He clearly says, “Satan (not God) has kept (this women) bound for eighteen long years.” Luke also explicitly notes in this story that an evil spirit caused this woman’s physical infirmity.

It is wrong to blame God for all of the bad things in life. The Bible teaches us that satan is the one who brought pain, suffering and sorrow into the world through sin. God created the world good!

Look at the ministry of Jesus. Much of his ministry was spent healing and easing the suffering of people. Jesus looked upon death and diseases as intruders and aliens in God’s world.

The next time something really bad happens to you, don’t be so sure to blame God for that. It might be worth asking “Could this be the work of Satan against me?”

I say this to point out that while a genuine Christian cannot be possessed by a demon, they can be attacked by Satan, or his angels, in their bodies, marriages, ministries, finances etc. When these attacks come we need to recognize the source of them and go to Jesus for healing and strength in His mighty power.There are avenues through which demonic influence can work and which could prevent or delay your healing. Satan loves to send his demons to put obstacles in our way to destroy our hope. Among these would be unforgiveness and bitterness, unconfessed sin, ‘He who conceals his sin does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.’ Prov.28:13. Any previous or present occult involvement, would be a serious obstacle to healing hurts and could even increase the hurt as would being involved with false healing practises like Reiki, and false god’s such as freemasonary. These could have a generational aspect to them. These anchors of present or past trauma’s and unhealthy soul ties need to be broken by Jesus.

Satan is directly or indirectly the explanation for the troubles, pains, and hurts of this world.

The good news and reason for those who are hurting to have hope is because it means that God is not against us rather He is for us. There is reason to hope because Jesus is greater than Satan. Jesus defeated him when He rose again after his death on the cross. When I pray for people who are hurting I ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to them any fundemental obstacles that need to be dealt with first as a preperation for healing pray.

A couple of things should be noted here to prevent misunderstandings. First, I do believe, as the Bible teaches, that God uses the hurts and pains of in life for good purposes. Satan may be behind the hurting but God can take and transform what Satan intended for evil and use it for good; and this thwarting of satan’s purposes may be one of the reasons why healing is delayed or not given.

In the narrative it says that all Jesus opponents were humiliated but that the people were delighted with all the wonderful things He was doing. They were rejoicing because finally they had hope even though they were hurting. You also can rejoice because…

I. Jesus Notices And Cares for Hurting People.

II. Jesus Is Powerful Enough To Heal Hurting People.

III. Jesus Explains That Satan, Not God, Is The Cause of Hurting People.

Of course Jesus is not with us today in the flesh but has sent the Holy Spirit to minister to us in His Name and His power. Through the sacrificial death of Jesus we are freed from the curse of sin and death [John 14}. If we love Jesus and have asked him and the Holy Spirit to dwell our hearts then we have his mind, his love, and his healing to draw upon and use in our every day life.

Therefore, each and everyone of us is a disciple of Jesus with the authority to wield his power in praying for healing of those who hurt. ‘When Jesus had called the the Twelve (his disciples) together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure all diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.’ [Luke 9:1-2]. So If someone asks you for healing prayer don’t be iffy, remember, as a disciple of Jesus, you have been given authority to drive out demons and heal the sick by the power of the Holy Spirit for the Glory of Jesus.

Amen

RAS : 26/07/23