As he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath, a woman was there who had been disabled by a spirit for over eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called out to her, “Woman, you are free of your disability.” Then he laid his hands on her, and instantly she was restored and began to glorify God.
But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, responded by telling the crowd, “There are six days when work should be done; therefore come on those days and be healed and not on the Sabbath day.”
But the Lord answered him and said, “Hypocrites! Doesn’t each one of you untie his ox or donkey from the feeding trough on the Sabbath and lead it to water? Satan has bound this woman, a daughter of Abraham, for eighteen years—shouldn’t she be untied from this bondage on the Sabbath day?”
When he had said these things, all his adversaries were humiliated, but the whole crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things he was doing.
LUKE 13v10-17
What is the purpose of our church gatherings?
That's a question I asked myself a lot. Especially as a pastor's kid.
Most of the people in our church services (according to my adolescent self and perspective) seemed lethargic, cranky, and like they didn't want to even be there. It felt like a lot of people were there because they wanted to check the "religious" box or they wanted to make sure Pastor Doug (my dad) knew that they weren't "straying off the straight and narrow".
Throughout my life, I've been in more than 1,200 church services (roughly... and some of them were rough).
And I can confidently say that I haven't quite experienced what you read above in Luke 13.
I've never been in a church gathering where the preacher stopped what they were doing, called out to someone with a crippling, physical condition, laid their hands on them, and they were instantly healed.
Most of the 1,200+ services I've been part of went something like this...
Welcome
Announcements
Pray to transition worship team up
Musical Worship
Sermon
More songs (maybe communion, depending on the Sunday)
General blessing to get people out of the sanctuary
End.
Now I'm not completely knocking the ways the Western church has formatted their gatherings. And I have heard many stories of people having encounters with the Living God in a worship set like the one described above.
But I still wonder...
What does Jesus want our gatherings to be like? If Jesus were to be Lord of our Sunday mornings, what elements would remain, what would be gone, and what would he want to do?
To answer those questions, maybe we should take notes of what Jesus did when he was in the synagogues? What he taught? How he ministered?
I know what you might be thinking...
That sounds great and all, but Jesus is... well, Jesus! How can we, as sinful men and women, seek to do what God-in-flesh did?
"Truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father... Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don't go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send him to you." (John 14v12, 16v7)
To be clear, the two verses above are from the mouth of Jesus himself!
Feel however you want about it, but Jesus was pretty convinced that the Church, filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit, would be able to do greater works than these because he's on the Throne and the Holy Spirit has been poured out.
So let me ask it again... What does Jesus want our gatherings to be like?
HEALING.
BREAKTHROUGH.
FREEDOM.
Going back to Luke 13v10-17, the woman was in the synagogue on the Sabbath. And what we know from the context Luke gives us is that she had been disabled by a spirit (regardless of your English translation of the text, the Greek is clear that she had some form of evil spirit that caused her infirmity).
And peek the text in v10: "As he was teaching..."
Jesus interrupted his sermon.
How interruptible are we? Are we willing to break status quo? To be obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit and not care about what others think?
Jesus left his sermon notes, laid his hands on this woman, and "...instantly she was restored and began to glorify God." (v13, emphasis mine)
"But the leaders of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus healed on the Sabbath..." (v14)
These men had witnessed a miracle. Their eyes beheld a woman, who couldn't stand up straight for 18 years, be healed instantaneously. Their ears heard the cries of worship and glory unto Yahweh from this woman.
But this broke status quo of the day. You don't heal on the Sabbath. You don't break the order of service. We read the Torah, remain "respectful", and go on with our days.
Jesus understood something that the religious leaders of the day were missing. Not that Sabbath was unimportant or that order in a church gathering is wrong.
Jesus knew the greater matter at hand was this woman's freedom. And whatever risk or action that required was worth it.
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"Satan has bound this woman, a daughter of Abraham, for eighteen years - shouldn't she be untied from this bondage on the Sabbath day?" (v16)
In a gathering the size of ours on any given Sunday, how many can relate to this woman? Maybe it's not a physical infirmity, but maybe the enemy has had a grip on some of us for far too long; and what if this Sunday is a day of freedom for us?
What if we entered the doors of Eagle Church this Sunday with divine expectation, that the Spirit of God is going to breakthrough?
Are we willing to be interrupted?
Or are we willing to be bold and confess our bondage so that we can be free?
Pray. Be ready. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you and fill you.
My prayer for us, church family, is that what was said in the end of Luke 13v17 rings true for us...
"... but the whole crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things he (Jesus) was doing."