Luke 13:10-17
A Daughter of Abraham Set Free
Read the passage
10One Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues,
11and a woman there had been disabled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was hunched over and could not stand up straight.
12When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your disability.”
13Then He placed His hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and began to glorify God.
14But the synagogue leader was indignant that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. “There are six days for work,” he told the crowd. “So come and be healed on those days and not on the Sabbath.”
15“You hypocrites!” the Lord replied. “Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it to water?
16Then should not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be released from her bondage on the Sabbath day?”
17When Jesus said this, all His adversaries were humiliated. And the whole crowd rejoiced at all the glorious things He was doing.
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
Jesus teaches in a synagogue on the Sabbath. A woman is there who has had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She is bent over and cannot fully straighten herself.
When Jesus sees her, He calls her over and says that she is freed from her disability. He lays His hands on her, and immediately she straightens and glorifies God.
The ruler of the synagogue is indignant because Jesus has healed on the Sabbath. He tells the crowd that there are six days for work and that healing should happen on those days, not on the Sabbath.
Jesus calls out their hypocrisy. If people untie an ox or donkey to water it on the Sabbath, should not this daughter of Abraham be released from Satan's bondage on that day? His opponents are put to shame, and the crowd rejoices at the glorious things He does.
Jesus will not let the day set apart for God become a reason to postpone this woman's release. He calls her a daughter of Abraham, naming her place among God's people as he ends her bondage. The leader sees a rule being broken; she is standing straight and praising God.
Questions
1 How long has the woman suffered?
AnswerShe has had a disabling spirit for eighteen years and has been bent over, unable to straighten herself fully.
2 What does Jesus do when He sees her?
AnswerHe calls her over, declares her free, lays His hands on her, and she immediately straightens and glorifies God.
3 Why is the synagogue ruler indignant?
AnswerHe objects that Jesus healed on the Sabbath and treats the healing as work that should have waited for another day.
4 How does Jesus defend the healing?
AnswerHe compares it to untying an animal for water and says this daughter of Abraham should be released from bondage on the Sabbath.
What This Means for Us
Jesus sees a woman others may have learned to overlook and calls her a daughter of Abraham. Her dignity is not reduced to her disability, and her healing is not postponed to protect a narrow religious boundary.
This passage does not turn every disability into demonic bondage or promise immediate healing for everyone. It does require a household to honor disabled people, remove unnecessary barriers, and let mercy guide religious practice.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, see and strengthen people who have lived under pain or exclusion for years. Make our household welcoming and wise, and keep our religious habits from becoming excuses to delay compassion. Amen.