Feet, Butts, and Dirt

Luke 13:10-17

¹⁰Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. ¹¹And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. ¹²When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” ¹³And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God. ¹⁴But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” ¹⁵Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? ¹⁶And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” ¹⁷As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.

This is one of those stories where you can easily insert yourself into the scene either as an onlooker or as one of the principle players – perhaps even the woman who receives a gift from Jesus that day. Imagine this setting. This is Jesus’ last appearance in the Temple while in Jerusalem. Of course He would use this opportunity to show His compassion upon this suffering woman and at the same time, teach those who observe His ministry, both fans and haters. This woman is hanging back against the wall. She isn’t in the thick of the crowd. Think about how difficult it must have been for her to simply get around. She is completely bent over, so her view of the world is mostly of feet, butts, and dirt. Just wrap your head around that for a moment – feet, butts, and dirt. Very few probably took the time to speak with her and I’m fairly certain she was seen as useless by others and probably also by herself.

Remarkably, she doesn’t seek Jesus out or ask Him for a miracle. He calls out to her! He notices this unfortunate woman across the room and merely says, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” And that’s it! Suddenly, she is upright and whole; in that moment her entire world changes from hopeless to hopeful. You almost want to sit up straighter as you experience her joy. The text says she had a “disabling spirit” and we can assume that could be anything from demonic to a physical disability. It really didn’t matter. The consequences were the same – a disabled life.

What Jesus does in this moment is declare to her that she is valuable enough to get the attention of the God of the Universe. When the synagogue rulers are “indignant” over Jesus working on the Sabbath, He corrects their thinking by pointing out that even they would help one of their animals on the Sabbath. Jesus clarifies their thinking by pointing out that this woman is one of His people. She belongs to His Kingdom. Of course He is going to help her because she is of the highest value in His eyes.

We are all so valuable to God that He shed His blood for each of us on the cross. He calls out to us even when we don’t know He’s paying attention to us “Your sins are forgiven!” In that moment, we stand up and embrace the life of freedom that He has won for us. No matter what bends us over, it is handled by God Himself and we are no longer a people of feet, butts, and dirt. We are a people who stand up and praise the God who saved us.