Rules Versus Right

Luke 13:10-16

When I went to Bible College, after graduating from a secular college, I was amazed by the detailed sheer volume of rules. There were rules as to how long a guy’s hair could be, how he had to be dressed in class, how he had to dress for chapel, what he could have in his room, and how clean his room must be. Since some of those enforcing the rules were former military leaders, you can well imagine the detail to which some requirements were enforced. It seemed like everyone had the authority to make new rules whenever they felt like it with no concern for other rules.

A standing joke at the time told of a teenage boy who wanted to use the car. His father told him he couldn’t use it unless he got a hair cut, changed his shoes, and shaved. The boy replied that Jesus wore sandals, a beard and had long hair, so he should have the same right. His father’s reply, “yes, and he had to walk everywhere he went too.”

What people think is funny reflect their attitudes, and the joke clearly implies that if Jesus didn’t follow the rules, he wouldn’t be welcome. It really hasn’t changed, because he was frequently in conflict with the rules of his day, just as in the story here.

“And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.” (Luke 13:10-11)

A lady in our church had arthritis so bad she was unable to straighten up for several years. Just watching her try to get from the car to the church was painful, and I can’t imagine what it was like for her. It reached a point that it was necessary to know where she hid her key because she couldn’t even get to the door by herself to let you in. The lady here may have had something similar.

“And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.” (Luke 13:12-13)

As soon as he saw her, Jesus recognized her pain and spoke to her, laying his hands on her. The result was instantaneous healing. No ritual, or great amount of effort, he just touched her and spoke to her. For the first time in eighteen years, she was not in pain. I suspect that she glorified the Lord is an understatement. She probably was bouncing around with excitement, telling everyone.

The ruler of the synagogue had seen the woman for years, watching her steadily get worse. He had become inured to her suffering and no longer thought about it. “It’s just the way she is.” He was very concerned that there be no disruptions or distractions from their worship.

“And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.” (Luke 13:14)

He referred to what the scripture commanded as the basis for his position, Since God had commanded that they do no servile work on the Sabbath in Exodus 20:10. “But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:” This was clearly God’s command, but remember that Satan quoted scripture in his attempt to get Jesus to sin. He will still use scripture to mislead people when he gets a chance. In that instance, Jesus responded each time with additional scripture which modified and clarified those Satan quoted. He takes the same approach here.

“The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?” (Luke 13:15-16)

The Jews recognized that it was permissible to feed and water their livestock on the Sabbath day, and were not forbidden to do so, because the Sabbath was to be a day of rest for the work animals as well as for man, according to Exodus 23:12. “Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.” An ox or an ass could go for several days without water, but it is cruel to make them. It would be even more cruel to make the woman suffer when relief was available. Rules must not take precedence over what is right.

“And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.” (Luke 13:17)