Religious Rejection of the Kingdom: A Sabbath Healing (Luke 13:10-17)

We arrive now at the central section of this “Journey to Jerusalem” portion of Luke… itself the central part of the Gospel. Some commentators have arranged the journey into a chiastic structure, and this part of the journey forms a clear chiasm with this story, a sabbath healing and the story beginning in chapter 14, another sabbath healing, sandwiching a couple parables and a lament. The lament is over Israel’s rejection of the Messiah. So that is a key aspect to keep in mind in chapter 13.

Jesus is again teaching in the synagogue. A woman who, due to demonic oppression, had been bent over for eighteen years(!) is there. Jesus heals her by freeing her from the oppressive demon. Think how wonderful that would have been for her and her household!

The local leader of the synagogue, presumably connected to the community of the oppressed lady, does not consider how wonderful this was for her. Instead, he charges the people to not seek healing on the sabbath! “Hey people, do not come here on the sabbath seeking healing or freedom from spiritual oppression! There are six other days of the week for that!” He does not have the courage to confront the perceived threat to his authority that Jesus presents. He attacks his sheep!

Jesus shames him for his hypocrisy. Work is forbidden on the sabbath, but people are allowed to help animals and do a level of work required in dire circumstances. It could even be argued that Jesus didn’t do any work merely proclaiming the woman’s freedom.

The problem that the religious leaders have with Jesus is not that He is doing good. They are jealous that He is able to do good in ways that they can’t. He is a threat to their authority and power in the community. This is a clear warning for the people of God today. Anytime our doctrine, tradition, or practice stops being about what God wants and becomes a way of supporting what we want, we need to reconsider what we are teaching.