Please Release Me
Scripture: Luke 14:10-16
Do you remember this song? (Sing)
“Please release me, let me go. I don’t love you anymore. To live together is a sin, so release me, and let me love again.”
We’re not going to discuss the poor theology of the meaning behind those lyrics, but I do want to talk for a little while today about the importance and accuracy actually, of those lyrics, within a spiritual context in a person’s life.
Take your Bible and turn to Luke, chapter 14, verses 10-16. (READ)
Verse 16 tells us that Jesus RELEASED this dear woman from her bondage. For 18 years she was unable to stand up straight. She was bent over, and the Bible tells us it wasn’t a medical condition that was keeping her that way - it wasn’t old age, or osteoporosis, or any other medical, explainable reason why she was bent double. No - this dear lady, the scripture tells us was crippled by an evil spirit. She was unable to stand up straight. Now with that being the case, I would think she would have great difficultly looking another person in the eye. It would not be easy for her to enjoy the beauty around her - instead, her scenery, for the most part, would be the ground beneath her. She wouldn’t be able to reach those places that her normal stature and height would allow her to reach. She’s in bondage to her crippling predicament, brought on, we are told, by an evil spirit.
But there is something we need to understand about this woman. We need to understand that even though she was in this bondage, even though she was held captive in a lot of ways by this crippling of her body...
How many of you have pulled a muscle and ended up with a kinked neck, or sore back for several days, and you can’t quite do the things you normally do. This woman had that kink for 18 years!! And yet there is something remarkable about this woman that I want us all to see - this dear woman, as Jesus called her, this precious daughter of Abraham, – was in church. Despite her predicament - despite her situation - which plagued her already for 18 years - she continued to be in the synagogue on the Sabbath.
I don’t know about you, but I think we can learn some lessons from a lady like this and from her story. The first thing I think we see from this lady is that:
1. The evil in your life will keep you doubled over.
This dear woman was oppressed by an evil spirit. It kept her, literally, doubled over.
Now a week ago, I was doubled over. I can tell you - it’s no place to be.
And I think, like this lady, when there are things in our lives from which we need to be released, things we need to let go of, until we get that touch from Jesus, we’ll end up like her. Look at the state we said she was already in. And we’re in that kind of condition too when we hold on to things, whether it’s possessions or people or emotions, that are not pleasing to God. We’re not able to look the other person in the eye, not able to reach the things we should be reaching for - the goals and the vision God has for us, not able to see the beauty around us for looking at the ground.
What happens when you see someone you’re mad at? What do you automatically do? Divert your eyes (to the ground?) And the scripture here tells us that instantly - the instant that Jesus touched her - she stood up straight.
Folks - it’s my desire for all of us, that we’ll stand up straight.
There’s another thing I notice about this lady, that I think we can learn from and that is this:
We need to:
2. Be in the right place to be released.
We touched on this at the beginning. Here’s this lady - she’s oppressed by an evil spirit. She’s hunched over. For 18 years she’s in this bondage and yet look where she is on Sunday - she’s in church!
What is the first thing we do when we have something in our lives that we know God is not pleased about. Quite often, we start missing church, right? At the very least we avoid the Pastor!! Come on now - you know that’s true!!!
Now there’s a few things we can tell from this lady in bondage by the evil spirit. We know that it took her some stamina to be in church. How do I know that? Because evil spirits don’t like to be in the presence of the Master. If you look back just a few chapters at chapter 9 you’ll see when Jesus asked them to bring the boy who had an evil spirit, (this woman was crippled, the boy was oppressed by screaming), when he came forward toward Jesus, the evil spirit threw him on the ground, and Jesus rebuked the spirit.
In Luke 4:34 and in Mark 1:24, the evil spirit shouted at Jesus to go away that they had no business with each other. So we know that evil spirits don’t like, and don’t want to be in, the presence of the Master. But this woman was in the synagogue and apparently - we don’t know it specifically from the text, except that the text says, “Jesus saw her.” Other stories of this kind we find someone bringing the person TO Jesus, or people asking Jesus to help them, but all we know from this text is that it was the Sabbath, people were worshiping at the synagogue and there was apparently no disruption, no particular commotion of any kind, UNTIL Jesus saw her. And look at verse 10, it says, “HE called her over.” So I think this lady continued right from the first days of her oppression by the evil spirit to come to church. But there’s one other thing I learn from this, that I think is like the other side of the coin. Because I notice that this went on for 18 years. 18 years this lady is coming to the synagogue and for 18 years she is doubled over with the evil spirit. But for 18 years in and out of the synagogue, nothing significant apparently happens. And that tells me:
3. The longer we’re in bondage, the more comfortable it becomes.
Now that sounds a bit like an oxymoron doesn’t it. But let’s think about this. Statistics show that women in abusive relationships repeat the pattern over and over again. Statistics tell us that once a person tells a lie, they will lie another 3 - 5 times in relation to the first lie. Why do we constantly see addictive cycles play themselves out in our friends and loved ones, and sometimes in ourselves, when it seems to go against everything they sincerely desire and long for.
We talked about this a little bit after Bible Study Tuesday night - why does it take so long for Christians to - like our text says - stand up straight, when there are abuses going on within the church, within what is supposed to be the family of believers?
Look at what Jesus said to the Leader in Charge - in other words, the pastor!! I don’t want us to lose the significance of this. Look at verse 15 - the middle of the verse. Jesus says, “Don’t you UNTIE . . .your donkey...” What does it mean to untie something? Don’t miss the significance of Jesus’ analogy here - he said to the leader, “Don’t you untie stuff on the Sabbath?” Don’t you let things go so they can get water. Jesus said, “I’m talking about the water of life here for this dear woman!!!”
And then at the end of verse 16, Jesus says, “Isn’t it right that she be released, even on the Sabbath.” And what the word “even” really means there, is “especially” on the Sabbath. It’s ESPECIALLY on the Lord’s Day - on this HOLY day, that we are set free - that we are untied from the bondage in our life.
Jesus reminds the leader that HE unties his colt. And he tells him that JESUS himself is releasing this woman. That’s the fourth thing we learn from this story. It’s why so many of us stay in our bent condition, stay in our bondage year after year.
4. To be released, we have to have a touch from Jesus.
Look at verse 13, “then HE touched her, and instantly she could stand straight.”
What does it take to “stand straight”? It takes a touch from Jesus.
This woman was going to church for 18 years!
And some of you have been going to church for a lot longer than 18 years, and yet you’ve never had a touch from Jesus. You come in and you go out, and nothing in your life really changes. Monday to Saturday is still the same old, same old. You’re still doubled over with the worry, or the financial burden, or the anger, or the unforgiveness. And maybe you wonder why? Why is it that other people seem to have the freedom and the joy that they say Jesus gives, but I don’t? This woman didn’t - not for 18 years - she came and went, and apparently nothing happened.
But look very carefully at verse 12, it says, “When Jesus saw her, HE CALLED HER OVER.”
Now there’s something important to recognize here. This woman was crippled so she would not have been allowed in the inner court of the synagogue, so we know she would have been in the outer court. The other thing we know is that the head hauncho of the church, it says the “leader in charge of the synagogue” saw what Jesus did. Now, it’s possible, but it’s VERY unlikely that the leaders of the synagogue, ANY of them, never mind the one in charge, would have stayed in the outer court. Remember, they were people of status and esteem - they wouldn’t allow themselves, I’m quite sure, to be caught in the outer court with those who were “unclean.” So that tells me, when Jesus DID see this woman, and Called her over, SHE had to make her way to him.
Do you suppose she was just a little bit afraid to come to Him?
Do you think she felt a little uncomfortable coming into the INNER court?
Do you think she knew she might be criticized for her actions?
We don’t KNOW any of that. But we DO know she came.
And that’s what we have to do - it’s the only thing we do. We don’t DO the healing. We don’t MAKE ourselves better by gritting our teeth and determining to do better.
The Bible says, BY GRACE, we are saved, through faith... The only thing we have to do. The only thing we CAN do, is come. And that’s the 5th thing we learn from this dear lady’s story.
5. When Jesus calls, we must come.
To come, means to let go of our position in the outer court. See this lady was safe, she was okay as long as she stayed in the outer court. As long as she stayed outside with the believers who were considered “unclean.” Oh they were still believers, but they were not considered good enough to be in the inner court. Jesus comes along and he breaks through all that, and he calls you and he calls me, into HIS inner court.
He calls us, because it is his intention to touch us. But we have to come to Him. He cannot touch us where we are - we have to be willing to move from the outer court, toward him.
This dear lady had to leave the place where she was. She had to make her way to Jesus. She had to let go of what she was used to. She had to trust Jesus - see, when we hold on to our anger, when we hold on to our hurt, when we hold tightly to our possessions - it gives us a sense of power - power over being vulnerable. But before Jesus ever did a THING for this dear lady, she had to trust him enough to leave the outer court where she was bent over, and trust Him enough to answer His call to come.
He’s calling. Are you willing to come to the place where Jesus can touch you? Are you willing to leave the outer court with all its uncleanness, and be welcomed into the inner court where Jesus can touch you? It’s only by His grace that we are released from those things that keep us bent over. He wants us to stand up straight. He longs for us to reach those goals, those visions, that witness that will bring glory and honor to his name and will build the kingdom of God.
And that’s what I’m going to ask you this morning. (Start to play Softly and Tenderly.) We’re going to stay sitting down. Please - no moving around. Those of you who are mature in the faith, pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. And you, if you have heard Jesus calling you over this morning. HE is asking you, right now, to come to Him. He wants to touch you. He wants you to be able to stand up straight. Don’t do it for me. Don’t do it for any other reason than that Jesus is calling you to Him this morning. If you're going to stand up out there, you'll first have to stand up in here.
(As the Spirit leads.....)
