10 Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the day of rest—a holy day. 11 A woman who was possessed by a spirit was there. The spirit had disabled her for 18 years. She was hunched over and couldn’t stand up straight. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her to come to him and said, “Woman, you are free from your disability.” 13 He placed his hands on her, and she immediately stood up straight and praised God.
14 The synagogue leader was irritated with Jesus for healing on the day of worship. The leader told the crowd, “There are six days when work can be done. So come on one of those days to be healed. Don’t come on the day of rest—a holy day.”
15 The Lord said, “You hypocrites! Don’t each of you free your ox or donkey on the day of rest—a holy day? Don’t you then take it out of its stall to give it some water to drink? 16 Now, here is a descendant of Abraham. Satan has kept her in this condition for 18 years. Isn’t it right to free her on the day of rest—a holy day?”
17 As he said this, everyone who opposed him felt ashamed. But the entire crowd was happy about the miraculous things he was doing.
Read Luke 13:10-17 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
When reading and/or studying the Bible, I am always looking for themes, trends, or patterns that I can use to better understand God and His character. When I find such a pattern, I am then able to read familiar Bible stories but with a fresh pair of glasses on, and I look for ways that support or differ from the pattern.
In this entry’s passage, I spot both the support of one pattern, and a deviation from another.
For most of Jesus’ miracles, the level of faith that is present is a factor in whether the miracle is a success – either from the one wanting to be healed or from those who brought the disabled person. At least two of the gospels even go so far as to imply that Jesus’ miracles were limited by the faith present. (i.e. Matthew 13:58 / Mark 6:5.)
However, in this passage, there is no mention of the woman’s faith, of the crowd’s faith, or even of the synagogue leader’s faith. Faith is not the focal point here. I’m guessing there was a desire from the woman to be healed, but perhaps after 18 years of being disabled, she had learned how to adapt her life.
There isn’t even a mention or implication here that the woman is present because this is a setup – which could imply the faith of the synagogue leaders. The way the synagogue leaders respond to Jesus’ healing the woman make me believe they really didn’t want Him there healing or working miracles.
So this deviation from the pattern that faith equals healing is significant in my mind. This tells me that God can work in people’s lives without the presence of faith. While I believe He wants to teach us the importance of personal faith in Him, He also knows there are some instances where it is better if He acts regardless of the faith present. It appears as though this is one such instant.
So why might this deviation be present?
Perhaps it is because of the other pattern I see supported in this story: The miracle (and following dialogue) resulted God getting the glory. The passage clearly states that “she immediately stood up straight and praised God”. (verse 13)
In many of Jesus’ miracles, it seems as though He really focused on helping people in ways that would prompt them to give the credit for the miracle to God. I also see a pattern present through the gospels that Jesus never desired the focus or the spotlight to be placed on Him. Though everything He did, He wanted the people to see and know what God the Father was like; He wanted the praise to go to God not Himself.
Knowing the woman would praise God for the healing and that God would get the credit following the irritated response from the synagogue leaders, Jesus performed the miracle without the mention of faith. This deviation and pattern tell me that Jesus will work miracles in your life and in mine in ways where God receives the glory. Giving God the glory is Jesus’ primary objective with the miracles He performs.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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