“Then the Lord answered him, ‘You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?’” – Luke 13:15–16
In this healing miracle scene, the focus is on a woman who was disabled by a demon for 18 years. Tragically, there would have been no medical treatment that could have cured her, as the physical suffering was caused by spiritual torment.
The woman was in worship, bent over, and had to be in great pain. Jesus Christ healed the woman by simply declaring freedom over her and laying His hands on her, which caused her to be healed, delivered, and restored to health.
Although the woman did not ask Jesus to heal her, He approached her and did so lovingly. In response, the religious leaders were furious that Jesus healed on the Sabbath, as He does no less than seven times in the gospels.
Angrily, Jesus rebukes the “hypocrites” for caring more about animals than people. These people would take their ox or donkey to water on the Sabbath, but they didn’t care about a person receiving healing for her physical disability. Tragically, this is the same mindset we see today—one where animals have more value than other human beings.
God created us in His image and that is reason alone to value all human life. It doesn’t matter if the person seems like an “inconvenience” to our lifestyle/routine. We must see other people as image bearers of the perfect and holy God and treat them with dignity and compassion.
Come back tomorrow to read about Jesus’ dinner with His critics and enemies.
Be on the lookout for how you can help another person this week even if it inconveniences you. Take time to truly see others and the help they may need.
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