THE CRIPPLED LADY – PART 2 -- Experience this as if you were there.

Here is a quick review of where the key people are located:  Jesus was speaking, on the Sabbath, in the Synagogue.  The important men were close to the speaker and behind them were the everyday, working men.  The crippled woman is off somewhere in the area allotted to the women. 

The stage is set, but remember when the action is live, there is always a chance for the normal to go in an entirely, unexpected direction.  The curtain opens.

LUKE 13:10-17

NKJV

Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.  And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up.  13:10-11

18 YEARS!!!  Think about that as you see the spotlight pick up the location of the crippled woman.  Can you even begin to imagine being bent over for a week, a month, or 18 years?  How would you sit in a chair or lay down in bed?  How would you brush your teeth or cook or find clothes that fit a bent over body?  The life this lady led would be no walk in the park. 

But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him … 13:12 first part

Oh my gosh!  JESUS SAW HER!  Do you wonder how Jesus saw her?  She is behind the important men and the not-so-important men.  She is in the Court of the Women.  Yet, Jesus saw her!

AND HE CALLED HER TO HIM! 

How do you see this?  Did Jesus stop speaking and look far to the back?  What tone did you hear in his voice?  Gentle?  Firm?  Loving?  It does not say He went to her or even helped her through the not-so-important men or the important men area.  It says, “He called her to come.” 

Jesus called her and she is coming.  SHE IS NOT ONLY COMING – SHE IS MAKING HER WAY THROUGH THE MEN!!

After reading the rest of this paragraph (not now or you won’t know what the paragraph says), close your eyes and imagine the action proceeding.  She is slowly making her way toward Jesus.one step at a time.  What does she hear as she leaves the women’s area?  What does she hear as she walks through the men?  Do they move for her or try to stop her?  What do the very important men do as she comes forward?  Do they start whispering to each other?  Are they wondering what Jesus is going to do?  Put yourself in her shoes.  Now close your eyes and experience it.

What did you see?  What did you feel?

He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infimity.”  And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.  13:12 second part and 13

HE SPOKE AND SHE WAS FREE.

HE LAID HIS HANDS ON HER AND SHE IMMEDIATELY STOOD TALL.

SHE GLORIFIED GOD.

What a storybook ending.  The woman is healed.  Everyone is happy.

Or were they?

Remember, when the action is live, there is always a chance for the normal to go in an entirely, unexpected direction.