By David O. Dykes
Meanwhile, back at the synagogue, notice the steps Jesus follows to deliver this woman. First He looks at her, and then He calls her. I wonder if Jesus bent down and looked into her eyes? I imagine Him as He looks into those fearful but hopeful eyes. He smiles and says, "Ma’am, you are set free from your infirmity." She is still bent over, so Jesus reaches out and touches her.
I love verse 13. It says, "Immediately she straightened up and praised God." I don’t know what she said or sang; it just says she started praising God. If she were around today, maybe she would have sung,
"Love lifted me, love lifted me! When nothing else could help, love lifted me."Now, that leads us to our
Life Lesson: When Jesus touches you, you’ll straighten up and praise God! Advertisement
Maybe you feel the weight of the world has doubled you over. You feel bent out of shape because of the burdens you have to carry. Worry and anxiety can bend you over. Heartache, pain, frustration and suffering can bend you over. Some of you have lost your jobs; you’ve been hurt, abused or rejected; and it seems as if you can’t look up. You may be trapped in some sin or carrying around some deep, dark secret; and you feel bent out of shape. People say, "Just look up!" and your reply is, "I can’t!" They say, "Just shake it off!" You say, "I can’t!"
Jesus wants to do the same for you that He did for this woman. First, He sees you, and He knows your pain. You can hide your pain from others behind a smile, but Jesus sees you. Second, He calls you to Himself. "Come to me all you who labor and are bent over with care, and I’ll give you rest." Next, He speaks to you to let you know that you can be set free from your weakness.
But best of all, He touches you. Every time you encounter Jesus in worship, He touches you. Here’s His word for you: "Straighten up." If your marriage is a mess and you feel bent over from the burden, let Jesus touch you, then straighten up and praise Him. If addicted to something, Satan has you bound; let Jesus touch you, then straighten up and praise Him. My friend, you can’t be touched by Jesus and stay the same. Let Him touch you and deliver you today.
Now, this poor woman was not the only crippled person there that day. We also see a man who was:
II. Bent Out of Shape by Religious Rules (vv. 14-16)The poor woman who had been set free was praising the Lord, and all her friends were rejoicing and shouting, "Hallelujah, praise the Lord!" But the leader of the synagogue couldn’t stand it. This was out of the ordinary, and he didn’t like it one bit. He became indignant—bent all out of shape.
In the midst of the rejoicing, he jumped to his feet and ordered everyone to be quiet and stop rejoicing. Things were NOT going to get out of hand in HIS synagogue! He even quoted
Exodus 20:9 to justify his action. There wasn’t going to be any healing in HIS synagogue on the Sabbath. No sir! It’s one thing to quote Scripture; it’s another thing to correctly apply it!