This is a wonderful story to lead on from some of the passages last week, which spoke fiercely of the reality of our divided world. An essential part of the good news of Jesus is that he brings healing and liberation! (And this is something we should celebrate, not criticise or be nit-picky about – see vs 14–16.)

Imagine yourself as the woman in this passage: disabled for many years; in pain; unable to stand up straight to see and respond to the world around her – and, therefore, impoverished and a bit of an outcast – more tied up than some donkeys (vs 15,16). And Jesus sees her, touches her and heals her (v 13).

It is a remarkable thing that Jesus, a healthy man – in what was likely to be a crowded synagogue – saw this woman. And he didn’t just see her; he also healed her. The only thing appropriate for us is to rejoice, to thank and praise God – as the woman and the people watching did (vs 13,17) – and to keep turning to him for help and healing.

O Sabbath rest by Galilee! / O calm of hills above, / where Jesus knelt to share with thee / the silence of eternity, / interpreted by love.’¹

When I was aged 12, the newspaper began a Sunday edition. Dad refused it. I was angry because they moved the comics from Saturday to Sunday. Dad ignored my plea to give up Monday instead, as it was printed on Sunday! The Sabbath rest was decreed for the wandering Israelites to recoup spiritually and physically. The rules were simple – everyone knew what work was. By Jesus’ time, religious leaders had invented complex, oppressive rules but even they would untie their donkey. In modern, technological society we must attend to more than thirsty animals on Sunday. Even my father turned on lights and drank tap water! We want the internet, sewerage, TV and emergency services. Obeying the spirit of the Sabbath is difficult today but the principles still stand. All human beings need time to recuperate spiritually, mentally and physically. The stress of the Covid pandemic shows how crucial this is.

The woman’s story is usually taken as another of Jesus’ healings, but is it more than that? Women have not been thought significant. I believe Jesus consciously chose to heal her in a public place. He grants her redemption and wholeness, thereby offering the kingdom to all women who are demeaned, denied their proper status and oppressed by society. Disabled at many levels, hers is the story of many women. She had been bound by Satan for 18 years (v 16) and her condition demanded compassion. Jesus healed her, Sabbath or not. Jesus doesn’t say that Satan singled out this woman to suffer disability. She was a victim of the world’s fallenness, in which evil forces have power to hurt people, to deceive, to deform and to destroy. We pray in the Lord’s Prayer that God will deliver us from the evil one² – and that is what God will do. At the end of time, God will destroy evil for ever. 

Lord of the Sabbath, deliver us from the evil one. Help us to revive our spirits and renew our minds as we navigate our way through a fallen world. 

¹ John Whittier, 1807–92, ‘Dear Lord and Father of mankind’  ² Matt 6:13