Luke 13:10-17 · A Crippled Woman Healed on the Sabbath

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 ruler 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 his 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.

The Bent-over Woman
Luke 13:10-17
Sermon
by R. Robert Cueni
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As was his custom, Jesus went that Sabbath morning to the synagogue for worship. As he was preaching and teaching, he happened to glance toward the fringe of the crowd where he saw a very crippled woman. She was bent over and was unable to stand up straight. When he inquired, Jesus was told the woman had been that way for eighteen years. 

Can you imagine? For nearly two decades this woman spent every waking moment bent double. When she went to the market she did not see the distant green hillsides. She saw only the dirt path in front of her. Instead of the smiling faces of passing children, she saw the tops of dusty sandals. The Gospel writer tells us that the Master was deeply moved by her plight. Jesus called the woman toward him. He laid hands on her and said, "Woman you are set free f…

CSS Publishing Company, Sermons on the Gospel Readings, Series I, Cycle C, by R. Robert Cueni