Jesus came to release people from the grip of Satan's power, and from the curse of sin (Hebrews 2:14-15). The demons knew it too (Luke 4:34). But how could anybody really know that He had power over the devil and all his bad works? Today's passage was a living parable. By calling the bent-over woman to the front of the synagogue, He not only tested her faith but also challenged the assumption that women and the sick should be kept out of sight because they were less worthy before God than the religiously self-important men (Matthew 20:29-34).
For eighteen years, this woman had been unable to walk tall: an evil spirit had bound her. Perhaps people thought it was a punishment for earlier sins. But however much others may have maligned her character, and however much she was incapable of changing her own disability, she was still in the synagogue worshipping God and looking to Him for mercy. Then Jesus called her to come out in front of everybody and she shuffled forwards because she had faith in Jesus.
That faith was enough to publicly admit her weakness. She had enough faith to risk whatever Jesus would say about her or do to her. Perhaps Jesus would openly rebuke her, condemning her past sins; however, she responded to His call, trusting Him to say and do the right thing. Seeing her faith, Jesus publicly declared her to be free from what had held her down: when He laid His hands on the woman, her bent back became straight and she was full of joy praising the Lord. It was to be a big lesson for the religious people and their leader in that synagogue, and to the trainee apostles.
It should be a significant lesson for us too. Who has the power to put right something that has been irreversibly wrong for many years? Only Jesus! Put it the other way around: why did the Son of God come into the world? To destroy the work of the devil (1 John 3:8)! Jesus is not just a good man, a wise teacher or a sympathetic healer - He came in the flesh in order to deal with the corruption that spoils our souls and bodies now; and qualifies us for hell later. To trust Him is to be released from Satan's grasp and enter the kingdom of heaven. Even if others reject you, Christ who calls you will accept you, relieve you and restore you to be a person of praise. As Isaiah 61:3 said about Jesus, He would, "… provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair ..." Prove that today by responding to His call in your weakness and long-term failure and encourage others to do the same.
