36 lines
1.8 KiB
Markdown
36 lines
1.8 KiB
Markdown
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title = "Luke 13:10–21"
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date = "2022-12-23"
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### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Lk13.10-21)
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Once again, Jesus does a miracle on the Sabbath and offends the ruler of the
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synagogue. This time the person He heals is a woman who has a crooked back for
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eighteen years. I haven't taken the time to double-check, but it seems that
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whenever Jesus heals someone while He is teaching in a synagogue, it's on His
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own initiative; they didn't ask Him to do it. The ruler of the synagogue is mad
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at Jesus for "doing work" on the Sabbath, but the way he addresses the people
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makes it sound like he blames the woman: "Come on those days and be healed, and
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not on the Sabbath day." (_v. 14_)
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Jesus calls him out, calling him a hypocrite. Most people were farmers, and
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even those that weren't probably had livestock of some kind to care for. Even
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on the Sabbath, you made sure to provide food and water to them, even if the
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rules and traditions said those actions were considered some kind of work.
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When I started writing this post today, I wasn't sure what to do about the
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"therefore" in verse 18. The analogies of the mustard seed and the leavened
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dough to the kingdom of God looked reasonable, but I couldn't connect the ideas
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back to healing on the Sabbath. I think it clicked when I started thinking
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about how our love for God, and the desire to do His will slowly fills up our
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lives. It starts small, and as we are sanctified over time, we become more and
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more like Christ and fit for His kingdom. While the Sabbath was to be kept
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holy, set apart as a day of worshipping God, we aren't to be any less holy
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during the rest of the week. As we practice righteousness, our good works
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benefit our environment, from our families and friends to wildlife and
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ecosystems.
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* * *
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Make us holy as You are holy.
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