THE CRIPPLED WOMAN – PART 1
Yes, the crippled lady again. For some reason my heart is drawn to Luke 13:10-17. This
story has so much to say and, no matter how many times I read it, I find
something new. As you can see, this is
part one. How many parts are there going
to be? I have absolutely no idea. It might end with one or I might be like the
people and be delighted with all the things Jesus was doing.
I know one thing: I should not have looked up ancient synagogue
service. The amount of information is
unending. The synagogue is the Jewish
center for religious, civic, and educational activities. I knew that.
What I didn’t know is that there were no permanent officers. No Pastor, so to speak. There were deacon-like individuals who
oversaw the day to day activities and the Sabbath morning service was under the
direction of the Rosh-ha-Keneseth or chief ruler. His job was to appoint people to lead the
service. For a typical Sabbath morning,
10-11 persons were required. The positions
filled were Reading Prayers, Reading the Law, Reading the Prophets, the
Interpreter, and the Teacher. I wonder
if people hid when they saw the chief ruler headed their way. I bet they checked caller ID before answering
the phone.
I am sure this will be way more
information than you want to know, but a bit of background might help all of us
as we picture a service during Jesus time.
On that ancient Sabbath morning, the order of service consisted of:
(grouped and not in order of service)
- 4
Benedictions,
- Shema
(the Creed)
- 2
Prayers
- 6
Eulogies
- Response
- Readings
of the law – by 7 readers
- Reading
of the Prophets
- Sermon
The person giving the sermon was
from the congregation and not given by an ordained or permanent officer! This means for Jesus to be teaching, on the
Sabbath and in one of the synagogues, the Rosh-ha-Keneseth would have asked him
to fill that position.
Luke 13:10-17 begins at the end
of the service and Jesus is teaching.
Background: Women did play a central role in Jewish life,
especially in the home, but that was not the case in the synagogue. Men were in charge of the ceremonies taking
place in houses of worship. Women were
segregated to areas away from the men.
From that area, they might be able to see, but not hear the service. Other sections might be located where the
women could hear the service, but not see it.
Wherever the area was located, they were not on the main area of the
synagogue.
In the main area of the
synagogue, you would find the synagogue rulers, the priests, and other
important officials. Those sitting in
the Court of the Priests considered themselves very learned and powerful. They were so much holier than the everyday
men sitting in the Court of the Men of Israel.
You now have an idea of where
each person was in relation to the crippled lady.
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How is your imagination? I do not want you to whip right through these
eight verses. I want you to use your
imagination and run this through your mind as if you were watching a play. Picture the synagogue and the people in
it. Experience this as if you were
there.
When actors follow a script, they
know what to expect. When the action is live,
there is always a chance for the normal to go in an entirely, unexpected
direction. The stage is set and we will
wait for the action to begin.
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