Who's the Real Threat Here?

This isn't a story about Sabbath law; it's a story about refusing miracles.

This sermon was preached by Charlotte Elia at Pryor Memorial Presbyterian Church in Crewe, Virginia on Sunday, August 21, 2022. You can listen to the audio of this sermon here or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Photo by Austin Chan on Unsplash

Now Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.” But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?” When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing. (Luke 13:10-17)

You’ve heard this and other stories of Jesus healing on the Sabbath before. I know you have, and they all sound pretty ridiculous, as well they should. We know, instinctually even, that any objection to healing is absurd. Why would there ever be limits or constraints on curing the sick, on offering wholeness and health? How could there only be certain days when it was appropriate to literally ease someone’s pain and suffering, to provide for a better life? That’s nonsense. That’s ridiculous. That’s absurd. And everyone knows it.