adapted from the study, She, delighting in the examples of women of the Bible, volume 4/pp95-96
Today’s Scripture Reading: Luke 13:10-17 and Romans 5:20
The women with a spirit of infimity serves as an example of what Christ has brought us from.
She, volume 4/p96
He Touched Me
Since I’ve met this blessed Savior
Since He’s cleansed and made me whole
Oh, I will never cease to praise Him
I’ll shout it while eternity rolls
Oh, He touched me, oh He touched me
And oh, the joy that floods my soul
Something happened, and now I know
He touched me ~ and made me whole
Shackled by a heavy burden
‘Neath a load of guilt and shame
Then the hand of Jesus touched me
And now I am no longer the same
He touched me, oh, He touched me
And oh, the joy that floods my soul
Something happened, and now I know
He touched me ~ and made me whole
I do not remember how old I was, but I do remember where I was and who I was with when I first remember hearing this song. I was most likely between the ages of 10 and 12, sitting on the piano bench with my grandmother while she was playing and singing. Whether it was her singing or her playing that caused the song to grab my attention and my heart, I do not know – I only know that it captivated me. Little did I know just how much it would define my life and soul until nearly two decades later, when Jesus began calling/leading me out of “the wilderness”… out of the muck and mire of my own load of guilt and shame of sin that ensnared me. Bill Gaither could have written no truer words to describe this time/season of my life than the ones he penned in the chorus of this song: “Something wonderful happened, and now I know – He touched me and made me whole.”
One Sabbath day as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, 11 he saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for eighteen years and was unable to stand up straight. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Dear woman, you are healed of your sickness!” 13 Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. How she praised God!
Luke 13:10-13 NLT
Needless to say, I can so imagine this woman with the infirmity hearing Jesus call her to come, and how she must have felt when she heard the words of healing and experienced the compassion that followed: ‘Dear woman, you are healed of your sickness!’ “Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight!” Can you just imagine how she must have felt? Oh, the joy that must have flooded her soul! For not only had Jesus seen her, but He called her to Him, spoke healing over her, and then He touched her and made her whole! She was no longer crippled and bound by the power of the demon, but set free ~ standing straight and glorifying God.”
… And now I am no longer the same
Friends, as today’s study journal points out, “We were all bound in sin before we met Jesus.” I’m here to tell you, sadly from experience, we must be careful after we meet Him, lest we become caught up in those chains again. This is why Paul warns believers to “be alert, because our enemy, the devil, prowls around looking for someone to devour.” Satan can never take us from God, but he wants nothing more than to cripple us, binding us up in the mindset and chains of this world. Remember, though, when we belong to Jesus, we have been set free from the chains of sin and death, and Satan no longer has authority over us.
Satan has no authority here in this place; he has no authority here! For this habitation was fashioned by the Lord, and He has all authority here 💜
Reflection and Application
- How many years was the woman “bound together”? (Luke 13:11)
- How was she set free? (Luke 13:12-13)
- How can we be loosed from our sin? Matthew 11:28; 1 John 1:9; Romans 10:13;
The More We Know
In His rebuttal to the angry ruler of the synagogue, commentator David Guzik writes, “Jesus did not respond with gentleness.” Instead, He called the ruler a “Hypocrite!” Guzik continues, “With authority, Jesus confronted the ruler of the synagogue who valued extreme extensions of Biblical commands more than the compassionate and life-changing power of Jesus to heal a long-afflicted woman.”
The Lord then answered him and said, “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound; think of it; for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?” And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.
(Luke 13:15-17)
“Jesus gave several compelling reasons why it was appropriate to show her mercy, and more appropriate than helping a distressed animal.” The first two reasons centered on the ruler himself:
Hypocrite! “Jesus did not respond with gentleness,” but “With authority he confronted the ruler of the synagogue who valued extreme extensions of Biblical commands more than the compassionate and life-changing power of Jesus to heal a long-afflicted woman.”
i. “Thou hypocrite to pretend zeal for God’s glory, when it is only the workings of thy malicious, unfeeling, and uncharitable heart.” (Clarke)
b. Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? Jesus’ reply was simple. If you can help an animal on the Sabbath, why can’t you also help a suffering person on the Sabbath?
…and then the last four, in compassionate defense of the woman:
· She was a woman – made in the image of God and now long-afflicted
· She was a daughter of Abraham, a Jewish woman, with a covenant connection to Abraham. This may also indicate that she was a woman of faith, as well as her attendance at synagogue.
· She was one whom Satan had bound, and every day is a good day to oppose the work of Satan and to set free his captives.
· She was afflicted for eighteen years, long enough to suffer greatly and to draw forth the compassion of Jesus and others.
Me From the Inside Out 