Welcome back to a short time of worship with us here in Becluse.
We continue to look through Luke's Gospel, see Jesus meeting a variety of different women
and considering how Jesus, by his grace, changes everything.
So we'll be there in just a couple of minutes, but let's begin hearing from Psalm 130,
a couple of verses there, verses 6 and 7.
Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly.
Though lofty, he sees them from afar.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life.
You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes.
With your right hand, you save me.
Let's pray to the God who sees us now.
Lord, we praise you that you are the high and the exalted one, the glorious one,
the God who deserves all praise and honour.
We thank you too that you are so full of kindness,
that you look down on those who are low, those who are struggling, those who are weary.
We thank you that you are the God who sees us.
Just as Hagar, way back in the book of Genesis, when she was struggling and feeling alone,
and you came to help her.
She could confess, truly, you are the God who sees me.
Lord, we thank you for that reality.
We thank you that in your mercy, as you saw the misery that sin would bring,
you established that plan to save us in and through the sending of your son, Jesus.
We thank you that you have stretched out your hand to save us.
And so we pray that we would take comfort and hope that we would look to you as the one who sees us.
That we would recognise more of your character and more of your love,
that we might be drawn to you.
And so we pray that you would work through your word today to soften our hearts,
to cause us to praise and worship you.
We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.
Now, let's read together a short reading from Luke chapter 13.
We're going to read from verse 10 to verse 17.
Let's hear God's word together.
On a Sabbath, Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues,
and a woman was there who'd been crippled by a spirit for 18 years.
She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.
When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said,
To her, woman, you are set free from your infirmity.
Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.
Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath,
the synagogue leader said to the people,
There are six days for work.
So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.
The Lord answered him,
You hypocrites!
Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?
Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham,
whom Satan has kept bound for 18 long years,
be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?
When he said this,
all his opponents were humiliated,
but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.
So today, let's see how Jesus changes everything for a disabled woman.
One of the highlights, I guess, for me during lockdown
was the chance that I had to talk about the church
and to talk about Christianity with our school's primary fours.
As they were doing their religion topic,
I got to be part of a rather chaotic Zoom call
across three different classes to about 100 P4s.
And they were so enthusiastic and they had so many questions.
Questions about what I did,
questions about what was the church like,
what do we do in church,
do we have a holy book.
It was really interesting to talk with the P4s.
There was a sense that they were understanding
that faith has a set of beliefs
and that those beliefs then influence practice
on how a person lives,
in our case, Christianity.
Those practices, those beliefs should shape how we live.
The focus of today's encounter for us
is on the one hand,
that this synagogue ruler who we meet,
who should have known
what God and his word is all about,
but he didn't.
And as a result, he was cold and he was indifferent
to the needs of this woman
and no doubt other sufferers do.
But then there's Jesus,
whose actions and words stand as a reminder
that God is merciful.
He is the son of God
and he is expressing the mercy of God.
He shows mercy and he cares
and he heals the woman who was crippled,
who was disabled.
I was thinking about this,
strangely enough,
this Wednesday morning.
I don't know, boys and girls,
if you remember walking to school
on Wednesday morning,
but I was absolutely chucking it down,
wasn't it?
And so I'd done the drop-off
and I was walking,
I was almost home
and I was soaked to the skin.
And then I realised,
I actually had an umbrella with me.
I just never thought to use it.
In a sense, it's a picture of the religious life
with no heart.
The synagogue ruler,
he had what he needed.
He had God's day, the Sabbath.
He had God's word being taught to him,
but he wasn't using it.
He did not have God's love
and God's mercy.
And so in these two figures,
Jesus and the synagogue ruler,
we get portraits,
we get the beauty of mercy
as we see it in Christ.
And we see sort of the ugliness
of indifference,
of a loveless religion,
of loveless Christianity on the other.
And so my prayer for each one of us
is that we would be drawn to Jesus
to find mercy from him
and that having been drawn in to receive mercy,
we would then be merciful as people.
That we would see the warning of the synagogue ruler,
that we might repent of our coldness,
of our lack of mercy,
and that we would together celebrate the power,
the power of transforming grace
that we see occur in this disabled woman.
Let's begin, first of all,
with our setting.
Now, setting matters.
We know that certain settings
go with particular qualities in a story.
So if you're, for example,
if you're watching a war movie,
some certain themes will be courage and brotherhood.
If a story is set on the sports field,
you are going to almost certainly encounter
the determination of the underdogs.
If your setting is a galaxy far, far away,
you're going to be dealing with good versus evil
and the saving of the universe.
So what's our setting?
What's our context here?
On a Sabbath,
Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues.
Okay, so two things to notice.
One, it's on the Sabbath.
Two, it's in the synagogue
and the word of God is being taught
and taught by none other than Jesus.
So the question then is,
what should we expect?
If that's the setting,
what should we expect of this story?
Well, for the synagogue ruler,
Sabbath and synagogue mean laws and rules.
For Jesus,
Sabbath and synagogue mean the promise of rest,
the hope of rescue
and the reality of rejoicing.
And even just in that,
we can see, can't we,
good news.
Good news that Jesus would save you and me
from dull, lifeless, loveless religion.
He brings the beating heart of God's love and mercy
to bear in this situation
and for this woman.
And it's wonderful to see.
So let's think about setting just again.
Sabbath, what was that about?
There's, I think, at least two truths
that we need to recognise
when we think about the Sabbath.
First, we can go to Exodus 20,
where we read the Ten Commandments.
Exodus 20 at verse 8.
Remember the Sabbath day
by keeping it holy.
Six days you shall labour
and do all your work,
but the seventh day
is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.
On it you shall not do any work.
For in six days the Lord
made the heavens and the earth,
the sea and all that's in them,
but he rested on the seventh day.
Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day
and made it holy.
So Sabbath is a chance for us
to enjoy the gift of rest,
to rest from work,
to remember one's creator
and to worship.
But then again,
in Deuteronomy chapter 5,
as Moses again,
he rehearses the Ten Commandments
before the people,
there's a different emphasis.
As he says in verse 12,
observe the Sabbath day
by keeping it holy.
Six days you shall labour
and do all your work,
but the seventh day
is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.
And so there's the emphasis
on resting.
But then in verse 15,
remember that you were slaves in Egypt
and that the Lord your God
brought you out of there
with a mighty hand
and an outstretched arm.
Therefore the Lord your God
has commanded you
to observe the Sabbath day.
So what's new there?
Not just the gift of rest,
but the gift of rescue.
Every Sabbath they were to remember
that God their creator
was also God their saviour.
And so that's what should have been happening
on this Sabbath.
And then what about the synagogue?
You went to a first century,
what happened there in the synagogue?
Well, there was worship.
The people of God would gather
to worship before God.
God's word would be read.
The Old Testament was what they had.
God's word was read and taught
and there would be prayers being made.
The intention was, therefore,
that there would be a reminder
of their creator.
A reminder of the God
who had entered into covenant with them,
who had made promises to them.
A reminder that God
had been and would be
their redeemer.
Of course,
the synagogue,
and as the word of God
was read,
would also be a reminder to them
of God's holiness,
that he is perfect
and he is without sin
and he is holy.
It would also be a reminder,
therefore,
of human sin.
But then also,
they'd be reminded
of God's mercy
in his forgiveness
and in making a way.
In the Old Testament,
it was through the sacrifices
that would come to be,
seem to be,
about Jesus
and his perfect sacrifice.
But there's our setting,
Sabbath and synagogue.
And when you think about that,
it's perfect
for Jesus then to,
as it were,
to recreate
this woman,
to give her rest
from her suffering,
to bring rescue
from her spiritual bondage
so that she might rejoice
in God's salvation
and God's mercy.
Just before we move on,
I think this matters
for our Sunday,
the Lord's Day
for the people of God,
changing from a Saturday
to a Sunday
because on the Sunday,
Jesus rose from the dead
and everything became new.
So God, in his kindness,
gives us this weekly rhythm,
a weekly rhythm,
to rest,
to say,
do you know what,
I'm going to trust God.
I'm going to rest.
It's a chance for us
to remember
the gospel.
As we gather
every week
in the name
of the Lord Jesus
who died for us
and rose again,
we remember
God's gift of salvation.
And this weekly rhythm
is a chance for us
to refocus
on our God,
to be drawn back to him
as we recognise
how quickly we're drawn away
from him
and can grow cold
to his love.
It also matters
for our Sunday,
for our Lord's Day
and for every day,
really,
when we think about
our Bible teaching.
Now, remember,
in this story,
Jesus was the teacher
and we get indications
through the Gospels
of how Jesus read
and taught
the Old Testament.
He would say,
all of these
testify about me.
He would say,
these are fulfilled
in me.
All those great promises,
they are about me.
So as we read
the big story
of God
creating a world
to know and enjoy
his love,
but of people
turning to sin
and falling
and things becoming
broken,
and as we read
of God's
redeeming love
and his covenant
and his commitment
to save a people
for himself
by his grace,
and as we see
that fulfilled
in the sending
of Jesus
to come into
our world,
to die in our place
and to rise
for our salvation,
and with the promise
that Jesus will
one day return
from heaven
to make everything new,
to bring his people
to be with him,
we recognise
in the big story
of the Bible,
Jesus stands
at the centre.
And we are drawn
into
that story.
There is
to,
and we'll see it
throughout,
I think this
conversation
that Jesus has
with the synagogue
leader,
there's a warning
about what
Michael Wilcock
calls fossilised
worship,
that it's
very possible
to have
our Lord's
Day
or our
reading of
God's Word
made
lifeless
by burying
it under
layers of
rules and
traditions.
It's what the
Pharisees did.
it's what
man-made
religion
would
seek
to do.
We want
to hear
God
and allow
him to
speak
in his
word.
That we
would ask
God
to make
Sunday
in a very
real sense
the highlight
of our
week.
To know
that he
would meet
us
in our
gathering,
that he
would meet
us by
the Spirit
in his
word and
that he
would give
us fresh
mercy and
grace for
our journey
of faith
for our
coming week.
So that's
our setting.
Now the
woman is
introduced in
verse 11 and
I want us to
notice the
response of
Jesus.
Just read
verse 11
again.
A woman
was there
who'd been
crippled by
a spirit
for 18
years.
She was
bent over
and could
not straighten
up at
all.
Can we
picture this
woman?
Life
being
agonising,
this crippling
illness.
Imagine the
effort it
would have
taken her,
hunched as
she was,
to get to
the synagogue.
She obviously
wanted to
worship with
the people
of God.
18 years
of suffering,
feeling
most likely
like an
outsider,
perhaps with
nothing much
to offer.
I came
across a
writer this
week by
the name
of Stephanie
Hubach.
I don't
know if
that's how
you say
her second
name.
So she's
an author
but she's
also the
mother of
a child
with Down
syndrome.
And she
said this
as she was
thinking about
the impact
of the fall
into sin
from Adam
and Eve
back in
Genesis
18.
because of
sin,
our world
became an
abnormal
world.
This world
is not the
way it was
meant to
be.
Disability
is simply
a more
noticeable
form of
the brokenness
that is
common to
human
experience.
A normal
part of
life in
an abnormal
world.
Now what
will Jesus
do as
he, the
perfectly
holy one,
comes into
this now
abnormal
world because
of sin?
As he
comes to
establish his
kingdom, as
he comes to
go to war
against Satan
and the
forces of
evil to
defeat sin
and to
give signposts
of what his
future kingdom
will be like,
what will
Jesus do?
Verse 12.
Jesus saw
her.
Jesus is
the God
who sees.
Isn't that
beautiful?
This lady
stooped so
low as she
suffers, she's
not overlooked.
And it's
noticeable that
Jesus is the
one who takes
the initiative.
He sees and
he calls.
Here is
Jesus' heart
of compassion
and mercy
going out
again.
So Jesus
sees her
and then
Jesus spoke
to her.
So again
Jesus called
her forward.
It's as if
he wants his
power and
mercy to be
on full
display and
neon lights
highlighted.
And again
knowing the
heart of the
synagogue ruler
and his
legalising
tendencies,
you'll be
about mercy
like God
is.
And then
verse 12.
As he
speaks,
women,
you are set
free from
your infirmity.
He uses
freedom,
language.
And of course
what we see
is that her
healing,
her cure,
her freedom
isn't just
physical,
though it
is physical
because immediately
she's
straightened
up.
But it's
also spiritual
because in
verse 11
she's crippled
by a spirit.
In verse 16
we discover
Satan has
kept her
bound.
So Jesus
sees her,
Jesus spoke
to her and
Jesus in a
very real
sense saved
her.
Here is one
of the themes
of Luke
in this section
of particular.
Jesus is going
into battle
against Satan,
against the
forces of evil
and here in
this woman's
life he wins
a victory.
A victory
that anticipates
the cross.
There Jesus
will strike
at the very
heart of
darkness
as he takes
sin on himself
and as he
defeats the
power of sin.
As he conquers
it in his
rising from
the dead.
So her cure
is both
physical and
spiritual.
And the woman's
response,
immediately
she straightened
up.
She praised
God.
She's rejoicing.
That rest
promised in
God's day,
that rescue
promised in
God's day
and in God's
word has
now become
real in
her life
and so her
instinct is
to praise
God.
By way of
applying this
to ourselves,
let's take
this first of
all as a
message of
hope for
us today.
Maybe we're
feeling small,
feeling weak,
in the middle of
struggling and
suffering,
and perhaps that's
long term,
maybe overlooked
by others,
feeling like an
outsider,
recognise
Jesus
sees you.
And who is
Jesus?
He is the
Son of God,
the one who
is all
powerful and
also full of
love and
mercy.
This is the
Jesus who
invites us,
come to me
all you who
are weary and
burdened and I
will give you
rest.
Jesus sees
and he knows
and he can
help and he
will be with
you if we
trust him.
It's also a
picture of the
gospel for us,
that's part of the
hope I think,
Jesus who
sees,
who saw
the misery
that sin
would bring,
recognising that
we would be
hopeless and
helpless without
him,
came to be
one of us,
to live in our
place and to
die for our
sin,
so that we
might be
forgiven,
so that we
might have
peace with
God,
that we
might have
eternal life.
He extends
mercy to
you and to
me and for
us.
Our response
is to hear
that call,
is to be
obedient to
the Lord
Jesus,
to put our
trust in
him and
then as we
come to
him and
find forgiveness
and we
come to
find life
from him
and healing
then we
praise him.
So it's a
message of
hope but it's
also I think
a call to
action in a
couple of
ways.
So some of
the primary
four, their
questions,
what is the
church like?
What is it
that you do
in the
church?
Well, here
are two
answers from
this text.
We as the
church, we
should be
merciful,
shouldn't
we?
Jesus sees
the unseen,
the overlooked,
Jesus sees
us and extends
mercy to us
in the gospel
and so
should we.
Churches then
should be the
most inclusive
of places.
That we
should be
eager to
open our
door and
open our
hearts and
open our
lives to
share with
others the
mercy that
God shows
us in
the gospel.
So we
should be
merciful in
light of the
mercy that
we have
received and
we should
worship.
Romans 12
verse 1,
in view of
God's
mercies,
present your
bodies as
living
sacrifices.
So we
can let
God's
day and
let God's
word keep
calling us
back to
that reminder
that we
are called
to live
every day
in every
situation to
the glory
of God.
To present
our bodies as
living sacrifice,
to deny
ourselves, to
say Jesus is
Lord and to
live for him
to be
somebody who
would pass
that mercy
forward.
God.
So that's
the response
of Jesus
but we
also need
to look
in verse
14 to
17 at
the rebuke
of Jesus.
Now, for
those of us
who are
listening who
are parents
and for
you, if
you're
children, I
wonder how
often have
you said
or have
you heard
you really
should know
better.
You really
should know
better by
now.
Jesus
would be
very
entitled
to say
this to
the
synagogue
ruler.
So, so
Jesus has
just healed
the woman
and he's
rescued her,
given her
rest.
What do we
find from
verse 14?
Intignant.
He's so
annoyed because
Jesus had
healed on the
Sabbath.
The synagogue
leader said
to the people
there are six
days for work
so come and be
healed on those
days, not on the
Sabbath.
So he
interrupts
Jesus, totally
changes the
mood to
rebuke the
women who
actually didn't
come for
healing in the
first place.
Jesus took
the initiative
and he's
certainly
rebuking
Jesus.
Why are you
working?
This is a
day for
resting.
We shouldn't
do any
work.
Jesus
responds with
rebuke.
He calls
out his
hypocrisy.
Verses 15
and 16.
Listen, you
care for an
animal if it's
thirsty, you
give it a
drink.
How much
more should
you want
mercy for
this woman?
This person
made in the
image of
God with
dignity and
value, you
should know
better.
As a leader
of the
synagogue, you
should be a
leader in
extending mercy
as a
representative.
God, you
should know
better.
It's the
Sabbath.
It's a day
of remembering
God's mercy
and giving
rest from
work, and
giving rescue
from slavery.
mercy.
It's not
a
lot, it's
a
mercy.
And you're
in the
synagogue.
You're
listening to
God's word,
you're
listening to
Jesus, the
word made
flesh, who's
now teaching
that word, and
it's all about
salvation and
renewal.
This guy, he's
big on law, but
he's not big on
mercy.
And Jesus
rebukes him.
Verse 17, we
discover that this
synagogue ruler, he
failed to read the
room, didn't he?
When he said
this, all his
opponents were
humiliated, but
the people were
delighted with all
wonderful things
Jesus was doing.
Public opinion is
with Jesus, because
they can recognise
cold, loveless
religion is ugly, but
mercy and love in
Jesus, they're
beautiful, and
they see it, and
they're drawn to
that.
Here again is a
warning to
religious folks.
we can be in
God's word, on
God's day, doing
all kinds of
religious duties
and activities, and
yet still be
hard-hearted, still
be missing the
point, making it
about us, or
making it about
rule-keeping, rather
than celebrating
God's grace and
mercy and his
salvation.
It's a reminder
that we must be
both hearers and
doers.
There's also
here, though, the
promise of the
gospel.
Look at verse
16.
Should not this
woman, a
daughter of
Abraham, whom
Satan has kept
bound for 18
long years, be set
free on the
Sabbath day from
what bound
her?
What does
faith in Jesus
bring?
It brings
freedom.
Just as this
woman was set
free, faith in
Jesus sets us
free from the
power of sin, from
the reality of
guilt and
condemnation, from
the certainty of
eternal separation
from God in
hell.
Freedom to
become a
child of God, to
enjoy life and
peace with God, to
have the hope of
eternity with God.
So faith brings
freedom and faith
brings family.
She's a daughter
of Abraham.
She's part of the
people of God.
And that's all,
again, because of
God's mercy to
us in sending
Jesus our
Saviour.
And so, as we
leave this story,
let's leave it in
that sense with a
call to us as the
church.
If you belong to
Becluia, it's a
call to Becluia if
you're from another
church, that we
would be a place
of mercy for
those who are
suffering, for
those who are
needy, for those
who are lost and
helpless, and that
we would each play
our part in
extending that
mercy.
That we would
take heed of
the needs of
others and the
needs of one
another.
That we wouldn't
let laws and
traditions come
ahead of mercy
and showing
the love of
God to
others.
And that
positively we
would enjoy
what God's
day and what
God's word
calls us to.
To enjoy
rest.
Resting from
our work
whenever that's
possible and
resting in
Christ.
Not working
for our own
salvation but
recognising he
has accomplished
our salvation so
we're resting and
we're trusting in
him alone for
salvation.
that we would
enjoy that
rescue that we
have received.
That we would
celebrate the
gospel and that
we would share
the good news
that God has
loved us and
sent his son
Jesus to pay
the price and
the penalty for
our sin.
And that we
would rejoice.
That if we have
received mercy
that we would
praise him today
and every day.
That that would
be our story.
That would be the
tone of our
story that that's
what we would
be about as a
church.
What is it that
we're about as a
church?
What is it that
you do?
If someone asked
us that question
a P4 or anyone
else we'd be
about worship.
We'd be about
mercy.
We'd be about
enjoying God's
rescue.
God's kindness
and passing that
on to others.
Let's pray
about that
now.
Let's pray.
Lord,
thank you so
much for the
freedom that
Jesus came to
secure.
That he gave
his life on
the cross.
That we might
be set free.
Thank you that
Jesus, the
son of God,
loved us and
gave himself
for us.
That we might
become children
of God.
thank you that
we can rest in
knowing Jesus.
That we can
rest and take
our burdens to
Jesus.
Thank you that
we can receive
and enjoy
rescue,
redemption,
deliverance.
Lord, make us a
people who rejoice
in those realities.
and that we
would share that
mercy.
That we would be a
place and a
people marked by
mercy towards
one another and
towards those who
are not part of
the church.
We pray it for the
glory of Jesus,
our Saviour.
Amen.
Now, as we
close, we
will sing.
First of all,
Glorious Things of
Thee Are Spoken
and then the
first seven
verses of
Psalm 46.
Glorious Things of
Thee Are Spoken
Zion, city of our
God, He whose
word cannot be broken,
form thee for His
own abode.
On the rock of
ages founded,
what can shake
thy sure repose?
With salvation's
walls surrounded,
thou may smile at
all thy foes.
See the streams
of living waters,
springing from
eternal love.
Well, supply thy
sons and daughters,
and all fear of
want remove.
Who can faint while
such a river ever
flows?
Their thirst to
swage grace,
which, like the
Lord the Giver,
never fails from
age to age.
round each habitation
hovering, see the cloud
and fire appear, for a glory
and a covering, showing that the Lord is near.
thus deriving from their banner,
light by night and shade by day.
safe they feed upon the manna,
which He gives them when they pray.
Savior of Zion's city, I, through grace,
remember, I'll let the world
deride our pity.
I will glory in thy name.
Fading is the worldlings' pleasure,
all his boasted palm-baths show,
solid joys and lasting treasure,
none but Zion's children know.
God is our refuge and our strength,
our ever-present aid,
and therefore, though the earth gives way,
we will not be afraid.
Though mountains fall into the sea,
though waters foam and roar,
we will not fear, though mountains quake,
as waves engulf the shore.
A river flows through streams delight
the city of our God,
the holy place in which the Lord
most high has his abode.
God is within his holy place,
the city will not yield,
for God will come at break of day
to be her help and shield.
The nations are in disarray,
the kingdoms disappear.
God speaks, and at his mighty voice
the whole earth melts with fear.
The Lord Almighty is with us
to strengthen and sustain,
for Jacob's God,
our strong defense and fortress
will remain.
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