Introduction: Disease is a terrible thing. It will be the death of every one of us. Disease is the direct result of man’s fall in the Garden of Eden. Throughout the Bible we find disease. But one day, the King of kings will conquer disease.
A careful study of the Bible will reveal three basic causes of sickness. The first is a breach of the natural law of God, such as the neglecting of rest when the body is tired and worn. The second is a breach of God’s moral law. We can see this in the case of the sick saints in the Corinthian church who refused to judge themselves. (1 Cor. 11:30-31 “For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.”).
The third cause of sickness is that of Satan. This can be seen clearly in the life of Job. Job 2:6 tells us “And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.”
Paul experienced sickness coming from Satan. In 2 Cor. 12:7
Paul makes reference to this. “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.”
This is the case in our text also. In verse 16, Jesus plainly tells the crowd that was upset over the healing of this woman on the Sabbath. It shows a hard and callous heart to give this impression. They were trying to justify their hard heartedness by saying this act was work. This was not really work in the work sense of the word. Just touched her and she was made whole.
There are those who call themselves Bible believers who do not believe in the work of a personal devil. They try to say that Jesus was accommodating His language to the superstition of the day in which He lived. That is the thinking of an infidel. What is an infidel? An infidel is very similar to an atheist in that he does not say there is no God but just acts like. The definition is much greater and deeper than that but that is the essence of infidelity.
This is also the thinking of those whose eyes have been blinded by the very one whose existence they deny.
2 Cor. 4:4
“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”
This poor woman, bowed together, was a victim of Satan. How can we know this for certain? Jesus told us it was so. Man, the greatest of all God’s creation was made upright. The devil and sin has made him crooked in his thoughts and ambitions. Every part of him is affected. It goes from vision to vitals. Every part is affected. The vile drunkard in the gutter or on the couch of the mansion has a twisted mind. That infidel
Professor, poisoning the minds of our youth, has twisted mind and soul. This list could go on endlessly.
As we look at the crooked Woman made straight, I want to draw your attention to thoughts.
1. Here is a woman that has been in the shape for eighteen years. We do not know for certain but I suppose she had been a member of that synagogue for eighteen years. To add clarity to my message, I am going call her Sister Sally. Sister Sally was bend together. Had been that way for eighteen years. Not the leaders of the synagogue really did not care for Sister Sally. If they did, they would not got upset over her healing.
2. There was One who cared. I am sure this is the first time He saw her. As I mentioned last week, Jesus cared. We have a whole world who can sympathize with David when he penned these words in Psalm 142:4. “I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.”
That song "Does Jesus Care?" really sums up the ministry of Christ. Here is the chorus for our rejoicing in Him. "O yes, He cares, I know He cares, his heart is touched with my grief; When the days are weary, the long night dreary, I know my Saviour cares."
3. As with the other messages, I will try to give practical lessons or applications with this miracle: “Crook Woman Made Straight.”
I. THE DISEASE Vs. 11
“And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.
In my research, I found this disease was a curvature of the spine. It sounds very similar to the disease that is still bending woman over today. It is called osteoporious.
One of the prevention for this, ladies, is calcium. You can get calcium from milk and milk products. Before you think I am giving a health tip, let me take you to the spiritual application is richer. This Bible is called milk. It prevents spiritual osteoporious. Staying in the Bible will help prevent this curvature of the spine.
This disease made it impossible for her to look up. Satan set her posture. She may have been educated. She may have wealth. She may have come from a good family. This is all worth nothing in that she could not look up. I do not know if this had been a progressive disease or it can upon all at once. Whatever it was, she had not seen the stars or the sun for the past eighteen years.
Know some of the problems associated with this disease, the longer she lived, the worse she became. The longer she lived, the worse, her pain became. The longer she live, it is possible the worse her disposition became. Very few sick people have a continuous cheery disposition.
You can make a close comparison with the condition of her body and soul. It is applicable to today’s lesson. Man’s condition continues to worsen. The condition I refer is sin. There is no help in the world today for help that is lasting as salvation.
The other lesson is similar to part of my introduction in referring to some one who cared for man’s condition. You would think a woman to be a frantic or crazy if you would heard of that she was sleeping every night next to a dead husband. What is worse is a woman who is sleeping with a man whose soul is dead. What a terrible spiritual condition people are in when they take no notice of the spiritual corpses even in their own homes.
II. THE DELIVERER Vs. 12
“And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.”
Jesus called her when she was not able to look up. It was difficult for her to be seen among the people. Most people on the other side of the room would not have know she was even there if He had called her to Him. I do not know if Sister Sally had even heard of what Jesus could do. If she had, she probably thought He did not have time for her. I was thinking about the song, "It is no secret what God can do, what he has done for others, He’ll do for you. With arms wide open he’ll pardon you. It is no secret what God can do."
One of the lessons that I find in this passage is this: God goes to some of the most obscure places and calls out me unto Himself. He went to the boat dock and called out Peter, James, John and Andrew. He went to the tax table and got Matthew. One apostle, he arrested on the road to Damascus. He sent a man to a shoe store in Chicago and D. L. Moody lead to Christ. He is a man who won literally thousands to Christ on two continents. He went to a sidewalk and called Billy Sunday who shook this country’s liquor traffic and literally thousands of folks walked the saw dust trial at the altar call.
She did not come that day expecting a miracle. She had not sought Him out. He sought her out. I do not know if He called her by name but He knew her name and all about her.
III. THE DELIVERANCE Vs. 12-13
“And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God”
A. How was she not delivered? She was not healed on merit. She was not healed because of her good works. She was incapable of good works. It was her tears that moved God. It was not her prayers. She could not even resolve to get healed. She was incapable of being delivered.
Ephesians 2:8-9
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
Titus 3:5
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost”
Isaiah 64:6
“But we are all as an unclean [thing], and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”
B. How was she delivered?
First of all there is an important word used in this passage. It is the word "loosed". Satan bound her.
Jesus is doing that He said was part of His divine mission. His mission is recorded in Isaiah 61:1-2 which says “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn.” All she was or could do would deliver her. His grace set her at liberty. That is exactly what loosed means. Another word for loosed in the Greek is forgiven,
Secondly, her loosing came from the great loving heart of the Lord Jesus Christ. We see the bondage of every man, woman, boy and girl in Ephesians 2:1-3. (“And you [hath he quickened], who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”) We know man is dead in trespasses and sin. In other words, he is bound. He is disobedient to the laws of God. In other words, he is bound. Man is depraved by his walk, which is in the path of the devil. In other words, he is bound. He is hopeless doomed. In other words, he is bound. Those verses are rather bleak picture. But listen to the words of verse four of Ephesians chapter 2. These are rejoicing words "BUT GOD, WHO IS RICH IN MERCY, for His great love wherewith He loved us."
C. What was done when she was delivered?
Vs. 13a
“And he laid his hands on her”
He laid his hands on her. As a daughter of Abraham, a Jewess, she knew what this act meant. Many of the Old Testament ceremonies included the laying on of hands. When the offerer brought his sacrifice to the altar, he laid his hand upon it to show his identification with the sacrifice. On the Day of Atonement, the high priest laid his hand upon the live goat and confessed over it the sins of Israel. This was symbolic of putting their sins on the goat and it was let loose in the wilderness,
In this act, the Lord Jesus is identifying Himself with the woman. He stooped to touch her. When He arose, she did too. What a glorious thought this is! When Christ arose from the dead, it was symbolic of our resurrection from the death of sin and transgressions. What is it? It is the touch of the Master’s Hand.
Well it was battered and scarred, and the auctioneer felt It was hardly worth his while, to waste much time on the old violin. But he held it up with a smile..."It sure ain’t much but it’s all we got left, I guess we ought to sell it too. Now who’ll start the bid on this old violin, just one more and we’ll be through."
And then he cried, "One! Give me one dollar! Who’ll make it two? Only two dollars! Who’ll make it three? Three dollars twice! Now that’s a good price...now who’s got a bid for me. Rise up your hand and don’t wait any longer. The auction’s about to end, “Who’s got four?” Just one dollar more... to bid on this old violin."
Well the air was hot and the people stood around. As the sun was setting low, from the back of the crowd a gray-haired man came forward, picked up the bow. He wiped the dust from the old violin, and tightened up the strings... Then he played out a melody pure and sweet...sweeter than the angels sing.
And then the music stopped... and the auctioneer with a voice that was quiet and low, He said, "What am I to bid for this old violin? " Then he held it up with a bow.
And then he cried, "One! Give me one thousand! Who’ll make it two? Only two thousand! Who’ll make it three? Three thousand twice! Now that’s a good price... but who’s got a bid for me. The people cried out, "What made the change? We don’t understand" Then the auctioneer stopped and He said with a smile, "It was the Touch of A Master’s Hand"
Now you know many a man with a life out of tune is battered and scarred with sin And he’s auctioned cheap to a thankless world, much like that old violin. Then the Master comes, and the foolish crowd. They never understand- the worth of a soul and the change that is wrought, Just by one touch of THE MASTER’S HAND.
D. What happened to her that day?
Vs. 13b
“immediately she was made straight”
There was not gradual recovery. There was not lingering convalescence. Immediately she was made straight. Think of this! One minute, she is bent over and the next she is standing straight. This is a position she has not been in for eighteen years. This is true divine healing. In every case of divine healing in the scriptures, you will find them immediate and complete. Divine healing is not a process, a development or even an evolution. IT IS AN EVENT. The same could be said of the healing of the sin sick soul. One minute is condemned. The sinner is without hope within himself. He is not waiting to be condemned. He is condemned already.
John 3:18; 36
“He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
The next minute, he is justified. That word, justified, seems to be a big theological word. It simply means this: My standing with God is just as if I have never sinned. I am clean. I am free of the disease of sin. One moment, I was dressed in the filthy rags of my self-righteousness. I am dressed in the apron of fig leaves. Next moment, I am dressed in the coats of the Lamb of God. I am dressed in His righteousness. What a change this is!
2 Corinthians 5:17; 21
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
IV. THE DECLARATIONS Vs. 13-16
“And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day. The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”
A. A Declaration of Rejoicing
Vs. 13
"She...gloried God."
This is the natural result of deliverance. I have yet to hear a sinner who was delivered from sin who wanted to truly go back to his sin. When the heart is delivered from sin, rejoicing is the natural expression of the grateful heart. The singer of Israel, David, reminds of this truth in Psalm 107:2 when he penned these words "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy."
Paul reminds us to do so also.
Phil. 4:4
“Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16
“Rejoice evermore.”
Peter rings out this same truth in his epistle.
1 Peter 4:11
“If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
B. A Declaration of Rebuke Vs. 14
“And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.”
Who does this ruler think he is in rebuking the Lord Jesus? He uses an old tired argument. This touch of woman was not work for our Lord. It was His desire to do so. He had taken the disease from her with that touch. Can you imagine if this man died in his sin and one-day as he stood before the very one he had rebuked? He did not care for Sister Sally. He was more interested in trying to keep the Law.
Mark 2:27
“And he said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath”
C. A Declaration of Revelation
Vs. 15-16
“The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”
He revealed the hypocrisy of the ruler. He revealed that lack of compassion for Sister Sally. The man would have cared more for his ox or donkey than this precious soul. What made it worse that the woman was Jewish!
He revealed the cause of the disease. He revealed that Satan had bound the woman. Only Jesus could set free. She needed the touch of the Master’s hand. When Jesus revealed the truth of their heart, it shamed them. But no one argued with His assessment of the contents of their heart.
Conclusion: Is there some lessons or applications to this miracle? There are several but I am going to hit the highlights of a few.
1. We know Jesus is able to break the bond of Satan.
Hebrews 7:25
“Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”
This is the message that we can take to all those who are bound by Satan. He has them and does not want to loose them but Jesus does.
2. We know that when he delivers one from the bonds of the devil, it is an immediate change. He wants to do that for some poor lost sinner. He is rich in mercy and grace is able to reach down to the lowest sinner and raise him or her for the glory of God. Jesus has recorded in John 6:37 these immortal words "him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out." What a precious promises that is! He is able to deliver us. Glory to God in the highest.
