Lk 13:10-17
2025-08-17 Jesus: Breaker of Rules and Healer of Back Pain
Trinity Presbyterian Church
10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, "Woman, you are set free from your ailment." 13 When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. 14 But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the Sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, "There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured and not on the Sabbath day." 15 But the Lord answered him and said, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it to water? 16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the Sabbath day?" 17 When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame, and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things being done by him.
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Exodus 20 says:
"Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 10 But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it.
"Remember the Sabbath." That's the Fourth Commandment. Right after not taking the Lord's name in vain and just before "Honor thy father and thy mother."
So, keeping the Sabbath is pretty near the top in God's Top Ten. In Exodus 35:2, it's actually Number One. The Bible's tricky like that.
And yes, I work Sundays so you don't have to. You're welcome. And it IS true that at age five I announced I wanted to become a minister because they only work one day a week. (Ryan, that's definitely true.) That's me. A life of broken commandments and the sin of sloth.
Why is it that the ONE day you always want Chick Fil-A, they're closed? After a long hour's labor of preaching a sermon AND doing a Benediction, nothing would go down better than waffle fries and a frozen lemonade. "Would," I say. They could have picked another commandment. Don't murder. Just as good if not better. Instead of, "Closed Sunday." Their signs could say, "Our food won't kill you. That's McDonald's."
You would think. That of all people. Jesus – the Son of God – would remember – would remember and keep – every single one of the Ten Commandments. All the time. Because he's Jesus. He's perfect. You'd think he'd keep all the other essential church rules, too. Like, "No running." And, "Silence your phone." (BEFORE the funeral.)
Turns out, Jesus might have lobbied for Sunday Chick Fil-A, too. I mean, to feed someone really deserving. Like -- a preacher. Because today's scripture proves Jesus didn't mind breaking the Fourth Commandment, or the other rules, if greater things were at stake. He'd definitely work on the Sabbath. If -- for example -- your ox or your donkey needed a water break. Or a woman with spondylosis needed healing. Or some other back-bending demon had her down. And not only would Jesus break the commandment, he'd do it right under the noses of the authorities.
Maybe he was counting on a pardon. Or maybe, he thought being kind is more important than being right.
Which one IS more important? To you? Being right? Or being kind? That's the Jesus issue in this scripture. And that's the Jesus issue in our lives, too.
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For many years I was the Stated Clerk for a Presbytery. Which meant I was the Parliamentarian, the chief scribe and Pharisee at all the meetings. I would sit up front, with the Presbyterian Book of Order under one hand, and the latest edition of Robert's Rules under the other. Their energy flowing through me. My face shone with light.
Now, you might think I really enjoyed keeping commandments. Sure. It's a thrill. But what I really enjoyed was telling other people they were wrong. Especially other pastors. "Thou shalt not amend the main motion when an unperfected substitute is on the floor. Where did you go to seminary?"
It's fun to be a Pharisee. Imagine how super-cool would it would have been, for the OG Pharisees. They got to rightfully wag a finger at Jesus himself!
"Citizen's arrest! Citizen's arrest!" Barney Fife never had it so good.
So, in today's scripture, I know which side of the aisle I would have been on. The right side. The Fourth Commandment side. God's side.
I might say something like, "That lady's been bent over for 18 years! She can wait one more day for the paperwork to be processed." Even with O-JesusCare, there are rules. And rules are rules. Otherwise, God would not have carved them in stone and posted them in classrooms. It's just law and order, Jesus. Come back tomorrow, lady.
Maybe Jesus anticipated the authorities would say something like that. Maybe he knew they had itchy tablet fingers. And were just looking for a reason to use those fingers to poke Jesus in the eye.
Maybe. But scripture says Jesus didn't wait for the objections. He didn't ask permission. Didn't lawyer up. Didn't say, "Wait. Is today the Sabbath? I never have a calendar." He sees the woman. Calls her over. Heals her. And that's that.
For Jesus there was no hesitation. Keep it legal? Or keep it kind? Keep his Father's rules? Or share his Father's healing love? This is Jesus. So we know where he stands. Before anyone could voice any objection, he rendered his opinion. He "erred on the side of grace." And this woman, after 18 years of being ignored, being put off, being told it's all in her head. After all that time, Jesus -- because of Jesus, because he always – always, always, always chose mercy, because Jesus was always gonna be who Jesus was, this woman – for the first time in decades -- could stand up tall and stand up proud.
And then it says: "all his opponents were put to shame, and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things being done by him." Amen and amen.
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By healing on the Sabbath, Jesus did the right thing. It's just that he did it on the wrong day. What day would have been better? If you needed healing – if you need healing – today? What day would be better than today?
If you've got some kind of demons on your back, if you've got pressures weighing you down – What day would be better than today – to get them off your shoulders?
If you know someone who needs a phone call. If you know someone whose day would be truly improved by the gift of a casserole, properly wrapped and left on a porch? Smiles cost nothing. A friendly hug costs nothing. A "thank you," a "good job," a "tell me about it," an "I was just thinking about you" – every single one of these all cost nothing. People's doors are surprisingly open – open to them every day of the week. Shouldn't these be a few of the top ten commandments written on your heart?
If our opinions of ourselves – if our image of how tall we stand – if it depends on pointing out how much lower someone else seems to be because you've caught them – finally – doing something wrong – if that's what it takes to make us feel straightened out, to feel good, to feel big and tall – exactly which commandment is it we're keeping? Whose commandments are we following?
Love God. And love your neighbor as yourself. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. We can all remember these without having to lug around stone tablets to bang people over the head. The Bible is not a weapon.
But it's also true that being merciful isn't always popular. Being a peacemaker, being a caregiver to whoever needs care, seeing society's invisible people – it can get you in trouble. It got Jesus into trouble, big time. They thought they could shut him up and put him down, down in the ground. That would stop him.
But it didn't.
Jesus rose in three days to prove that love is greater than even death. To prove that mercy and forgiveness and justice and humility endure. Even after the grave.
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After this. After Jesus heals the woman. After the crowds rejoice. After his critics hush their mouths and put away their pointy fingers. After all this, the very next thing Jesus talks about – is heaven.
I'll bet the woman who'd been staring at the ground for 18 years, I'll bet when she stood up and lifted her eyes to see the sky for the first time in a lifetime – I'll bet she felt like she must have been in heaven.
Jesus's critics must have thought they could earn their way into up heaven by keeping commandments, by climbing to the top of the leaderboard.
But instead, Jesus brought heaven down to earth. One broken person at a time. One perfectly good day at a time.
And now, it's our turn. It's our turn to heal whatever hurts we stumble into headfirst and not looking. Oh wow, is it Sunday already? You know, they also call it The Lord's Day. We can decide that every day is the Lord's Day. We can decide that every day is the day we bring mercy, and kindness, and love. Not just because it's a commandment. But because it's the Jesus thing to do.
Be right when you can. But you can always be kind. Any day. Every day. Open 24/7, 365, for that good business.
