And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.

Luke 13:10-13

We have many miracles performed by Jesus recorded for us in scripture. There are so many that it almost seems like a regular, everyday occurrence. But to the one who was healed each time, it was no ordinary day! Therefore, we should look at each of these cases and wonder at the glory and compassion of our precious Savior.

We do not know much about this woman or how she came to be in such a miserable state. We should not speculate about her condition as being a result of her own sin or the sin of someone else. That was the case with Job’s miserable comforters, and they were very wrong! Since we have cases such as these in scripture, it should remind us to view the infirmities and trials of those around us in the same manner. We do not know the whole story. Therefore, we should not render judgment on the matter. The Pharisees were guilty of this in the first few verses of this chapter. And how did Jesus respond? He told them to repent!

What we do know about this scene is that Jesus took the initiative to help a woman who had been hurting for eighteen years. What compassion! 

We can also see that Jesus viewed her infirmity as a bondage. It is called a spirit of infirmity that Jesus will tell us in verse sixteen was caused by Satan. 

Satan is viewed by many as being an equal or “close to equal” with God. This could not be farther from the truth. God is the only infinite and almighty! And all Jesus had to do was pronounce the woman free and touch her to cause Satan to flee away.

Did you catch that?

It was not difficult for Jesus to do this miracle. 

That is something you and I can’t do. We cannot heal a person’s illness with a simple touch and a few words much less drive Satan away. But that is exactly what Jesus did.

There was no faith required of this woman or anyone else. Jesus just chose to heal her, and so she was healed. Satan and the effects of his bondage were obliterated.

And so it is with us. 

Jesus did not come to us asking if we wanted to be loosed from Satan’s hold in depravity. If He did ask, Romans chapters 1 through 3 would show we could not respond anyway. 

There was not a struggle between God and Satan to save us. Jesus died on the cross for our sins to pay the penalty owed to God the Father (not Satan). And when He died and rose, Jesus gave Satan a death blow from from which he will never recover. 

Jesus saved us by grace and grace alone. 

So, how should we respond since we have “been made straight” as well?

We should do exactly what this woman did – GLORIFY GOD!