Sermon Notes on Luke 13:10-17

 

You can be crippled by a spirit and Jesus can set you free.

 

There were two people in this story who were being crippled by a spirit. The first is pretty obvious. Luke describes this poor woman who was bent over (some translations would say “bent over double”) and unable to stand as being “crippled by a spirit” for over 18 years.

 

Tradition ties this Gospel to “Luke the beloved physician”, who traveled with the apostle Paul. I would love to have been able to ask him, as a physician, what in the world he meant by saying that this woman was crippled by a spirit? Did she have some invisible, demonic hand pushing down on the back of her neck from morning till night? Was there some shame that she was carrying in her soul that had caused her to bow her head for so long that her muscles were no longer able to straighten her body? Was it some other kind of physical disease that Luke was describing in spiritual terms to make the point that all forms of sickness have their root in a world that was broken by the deception of the Evil One?

 

I guess it doesn’t really matter. We all know people who have been crippled. Even when we have an accurate diagnosis, most of the time, if we are honest, what cripples human beings is complicated.

 

What does matter is that Jesus called her over so that he could help her. Setting her free was his primary concern. He didn’t check with the synagogue administrator to see if he was working within their accepted interpretations of Sabbath law. He didn’t interview the woman to see if she was a worthy candidate for healing. He knew that she had been suffering and reached out to heal her.

 

And she was healed. She was healed physically and spiritually. She stood up straight for the first time in 18 years and she praised God.

 

The only thing she did was to respond when Jesus called to her. As crazy as it sounds, sometimes that’s the toughest part for us crippled folks. We don’t want to admit that we are crippled. We don’t want to face the fact that we are bent over double and unable to do a lot of things that God wants us to do. Jesus says, “Come to me so I can set you free from that spirit that cripples you.” And we say, “I don’t know what you are talking about Lord. I’m just fine.” And then we walk away, still unable to straighten up and praise God.

 

Here’s another interesting clue about this woman’s heart; as sick and crippled as she was, she made the effort to be among God’s people at worship.  I wonder if that had something to do with her openness to Jesus?

 

There was another person in our text for today who was crippled by a spirit. This person was crippled by a spirit of legalism and idolatry. The rules of his religious club had become more important to him than the heart of God and so he had become warped. He was so bent over that all he could see was his narrow interpretation of the rules. He could no longer see the priorities of the God these rules were supposed to be honoring. He cared more about the carpet than about the children who might mess it up. He cared more about the dress code than about the lives of those who didn’t seem to care about how they dressed. He cared more about doing things properly than about doing the things that were important in God’s sight.

 

Jesus confronted this man’s crippling spirit too. He called it out and revealed just how far it was from the heart of God. But, unfortunately, there was no healing. Because he was unwilling to admit that his heart was far from God’s, instead of healing there was shame and humiliation. I’m guessing there was a good bit of anger too. Don’t most of us get mad when someone makes us look bad in front of our own people?

 

I think there is another reason we human beings don’t like to come to Jesus when he wants to set us free is that, deep down inside, we know what being set free is going to take, we know what it is going to mean, and we can’t stand the thought of it. We know that being set free from the spirit that is crippling us, bending us over, and making us unable to praise God might mean letting someone else know about this ugly spirit that is inside of us. We know that we might need the help of a sister or brother in Christ and we couldn’t stand that.  We know that Jesus might ask us to take steps that we are unwilling to take and stop doing things that we really don’t want to stop doing and so we put on the big act. Coming to Jesus and asking to be set free might mean…CHANGE! As Jesus calls us over we smile and look around as if he is calling someone else because, “surely we aren’t crippled”.

 

What has you bent over double and unable to praise God? What is the thing in your heart that has so consumed you that it makes you angry or bitter or filled with shame?

 

For those of us who are crippled today by a spirit of legalism, who care more about behavior and rules and the care of our clubhouse than we do about the souls of the people who come through these doors, these words of Jesus can really seem like fighting words. Only Jesus can set us free from our warped point of view. Only Jesus can help us see the infinite value of each soul and the relative worthlessness of our rules and even this beautiful place. And after all that we have been through to build this place, I have to admit, I am one of the people that needs Christ’s help with this.

 

For those of us who have some other spirit crippling us or maybe several things bending us over and keeping us looking down instead of up, Jesus longs to straighten us up and set us free to praise God again. Jesus can set us free to praise God even if the Holy Spirit does not bring physical healing.

 

Jesus is calling each one of us over today.  He wants to set us free. We are here. If you and I are willing, Christ will touch us and set us free. Would you pray with me? …Amen