“Who Cares?
Luke 13:10-17
David P. Nolte
Fred Craddock was a seminary professor and a preacher, but he liked to attend his home church whenever he could. He was supposed to go out of town one Sunday morning to speak, but it was within driving distance so he went to an early service at his church first. He had to skip out before the service was over, and to save time he took a short-cut through the choir room on his way to the parking lot.
He was surprised to see a woman he knew well, a woman who’d been singing in the choir for years, in the choir room hanging up her robe.
Craddock was in a hurry, but curious about why she was there when the rest of the choir was still in church. He asked if she was all right. She looked up and said she was quitting.
“What do you mean?” Dr. Craddock asked, “Are you resigning from the choir? After all these years?”
“No”, she said, “I’m quitting this church. I’ve been here for years, and nobody pays any attention to me. Nobody knows me at all. In this church, nobody cares.”
Fred looked at her and said, “You’re wrong.”
She glared back at him and said, “I’m right.”
Craddock glanced at his watch, conscious of the irony, and said, “I’ve got to go, but let me tell you, you’re wrong.”
As he dashed out the door her voice trailed after him, “I am not; in this church nobody cares.”
The Psalmist thought that as well because he lamented, “I cry aloud with my voice to the LORD; I make supplication with my voice to the LORD. I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare my trouble before Him. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, You knew my path. In the way where I walk They have hidden a trap for me. Look to the right and see; For there is no one who regards me; There is no escape for me; No one cares for my soul.” Psalm 142:1-4 (NASB).
What tragic words, “No one cares for my soul.” What a horrible state of mind, “No one cares for my soul.” Have you ever felt like that? “No one cares for my soul.”?
The poor woman in the text for today very likely wondered, “Who cares?” Jesus showed that He does! Let’s consider her situation and His action: “He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, ‘Woman, you are freed from your sickness.’ And He laid His hands on her; and immediately she was made erect again and began glorifying God. But the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, ‘There are six days in which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day.’ But the Lord answered him and said, ‘You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him? And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?’ As He said this, all His opponents were being humiliated; and the entire crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him.” Luke 13:10-17 (NASB).
Satan tells you “Nobody cares what happens to you – they only care about what happens to themselves.” Not so, Liar! Well, let me shed some light into that darkness, some truth into that lie, some correction into that error. Jesus cares!
1. HE PUTS PEOPLE OVER PRECEPT:
a. By precept I mean rule of conduct.
i. Now, He knew it was the Sabbath, and He knew the prohibitions attached to the Sabbath. He wrote the rule! He propounded the precept.
ii. But He said, “this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?”
b. He did not break the Sabbath, He used it!
i. Sabbath means, “Cease, desist, interrupt, rest.”
ii. The idea is not that of absolute, paralytic inactivity, but cessation from normal labor and activity.
iii. He interrupted and ceased Satan’s bondage of this woman.
c. The situation was that while
i. The Jews put minute interpretation on work: for instance, According to rabbinical ideas, the disciples, by plucking ears of corn and rubbing them broke the Sabbath” in two respects;
(1) To pluck was to reap. That, to them, was work.
(2) To rub the grains together was to winnow which was also work.
(3) Thus the Sabbath was made an end in itself, instead of a means to an end
ii. But they did advocate Sabbath activities like:
(1) Temple attendance for prayers.
(2) Visiting family and friends (within walking distance).
(3) Hosting guests.
(4) Singing songs.
(5) Reading, studying and discussing Scripture.
(6) Those types of activities that enhance the joy, rest, and holiness of the day.”
d. Jesus chided those who, while keeping the Sabbath, took care of the needs of their animals showing that even with the cessation of regular, work-a-day occupations, some needs must still be attended to.
i. Jesus taught that the Sabbath was not meant as a fetter but as a freedom; not a burden but as a blessing.
ii. He taught that man was not made to be subservient to a precept but that the precept was to be a help to man.
iii. His point was that People Are More Important Than Precept.
e. Let us, therefore, avoid making our personal scruple, not defined in Scripture, binding on others. Let us not establish as binding things Scripturally unspecific. Let us not proclaim personal precepts for others to observe. I think of three cases to illustrate what I mean:
i. A preacher in a branch of our brotherhood was fired for reading from NASB in a “KJV only” congregation! That was not a Biblical precept but a decree of man.
ii. I heard a radio preacher from our brotherhood declare that “if you have sent even one Christmas card you are damned to hell!” Where is that in Scripture?
iii. One lady at a church potluck wondered where her salad was and was told, “I tossed it out – we won’t stand for Cool-whip. We use only real whipped cream here. The sooner you learn that the better.”
Let’s be more spiritually discerning than that. Let’s speak where the Scripture speaks and be less vocal where it is silent. Jesus would have us remember that people matter more than precept. But further in the text, we learn that Jesus cares and
2. HE PUTS FREEDOM IN PLACE OF FETTERS:
a. There were two kinds of fetters He wanted to break:
i. The fetter of human misunderstanding of the Sabbath. God had never intended that the Sabbath prevent doing good.
ii. The fetter of Satanic affliction. This woman had been bound by Satan for 18 years! Somehow, sometime she must have allowed something into her life that ended up in bondage. Now she suffered for it.
b. Not all sickness or ailment indicates that we have an evil spirit – but we can attribute all the plant of suffering to the root of sin – if there were no sin, there would be no suffering.
c. Much to our ill and affliction, Satan seeks our bondage to:
i. Addictions.
ii. Immorality.
iii. Selfishness.
iv. Self-righteousness.
v. Unbelief.
vi. Domination by the lusts and desires of the flesh.
d. Jesus came to set us free – let His word tell it:
i. “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” John 8:32 (NASB). “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36 (NASB).
ii. “But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.” Romans 6:22 (NASB).
iii. “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” 2 Corinthians 3:17 (NASB).
iv. “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1 (NASB).
v. “Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.” 1 Peter 2:16 (NASB).
e. Talk about being fettered, a young man said to his preacher, “I am serious about forsaking ‘the world’ and following Christ. But I am puzzled about worldly things. What is it I must forsake?” He was tod,, “Colored clothes, for one thing. Get rid of everything in your wardrobe that is not white. Stop sleeping on a soft pillow. Sell your musical instruments and don’t eat any more white bread. You cannot, if you are sincere about obeying Christ, take warm baths or shave your beard. To shave is to insult Him who created us, to attempt to improve on His Work.” That’s bondage, not freedom.
Jesus gives freedom from such fetters.
3. HE PUTS JOY IN PLACE OF JEOPARDY:
a. The woman was in physical and spiritual jeopardy. So, when He healed the woman and rebuked the legalists, He said, “This woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?’ As He said this, all His opponents were being humiliated; and the entire crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him.” They were filled with joy.
b. To have joy does not mean getting the giddy giggles – I am referring to that inner satisfaction, that calm sense of “okayness,” that uncomplaining acceptance of whatever is with good cheer and humor.
c. We can experience joy in sorrow, joy in pain, joy in affliction because,
i. Joy is a product of the Holy Spirit, generated within us as Paul wrote, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 (NASB).
ii. And joy is a choice we can make despite troubles. James said, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” James 1:2-3 (NASB).
iii. Joy is an anticipation of better things ahead. “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; `but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.” 1 Peter 4:12-13 (NASB).
d. The people in the text rejoiced at Christ’s healing of the woman. What has brought you joy?
i. Answered prayer?
ii. A sense of God’s approval?
iii. Forgiven sins?
iv. His promise that there is a new world coming where there is no Satan, or war, or crime, or loss, or grief, or death, or violence?
e. A man from China is an example of joy. After he became a Christian and was asked about his faith in spite of his health and other painful things in his life, he said, “Oh, my Jesus gives me the unable-to-speak-it-out-joy all over.”
So, “Who cares?” Jesus cares and gives us joy. And He wants us to care, too.
4. HE PUTS COMPASSION AHEAD OF CENSURE
a. He chided the legalists for their hypocritical hard-hearted censoriousness: “You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him? And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?”
b. Their hearts were hard and censorious. We can soften our hearts
i. By remembering what the Lord has done for us.
ii. By rejoicing with those who rejoice.
iii. By weeping with those who weep.
iv. By doing whatever we do for the Lord.
v. By putting ourselves in that person’s shoes.
(1) “What if I had that person’s situation?”
(2) “What if I carried that person’s burden?”
(3) “What if I faced that person’s trials and testings?”
(4) “What if I had suffered that person’s loss?”
c. Compassion should, above all else, cause us to care for people’s souls!
i. There are two eternal destinies: Heaven and hell – and we all stand between those and someone else.
ii. We want to lead others to Jesus, Who alone can save.
d. Who Cares? Jesus does – and so should we!
e. One woman cared. She was a nurse employed at a residential care home in Western Oklahoma.
One of the patients, an elderly woman with a sour disposition, was especially ill. Her doctor had told the nurses she probably had only hours to live.
As the woman yelled once again for someone to help her, the nurse hurried to her room. When she arrived, the woman complained that she could not sleep and demanded help.
The nurse returned with a sleeping tablet and spoke in quiet tones to calm the woman.
Suddenly she looked up, terror filling the old eyes as she said “I know I don’t have much longer to live and I’m afraid.” Big tears began to roll down her wrinkled cheeks as her eyes pleaded with the nurse for understanding.
The nurse’s heart filled with compassion and she went to the woman then and put her arms around her. It was near midnight and her frail body shuddered as she cried. “I’m afraid to die,” she sobbed.
The nurse finally quieted the old woman. She looked up at her from her bed, wrinkled cheeks wet with tears and asked “Would you stay with me? I’m so afraid.”
She gently held her frail little body and stroked her hair until at last the sleeping pill took effect and she fell asleep.
In the early hours of morning, the nurse went back to check on the woman. Quietly opening the door and walking over to her bed, she saw that the woman had died. Tears again filled her eyes as she realized her kindness had been the last kindness shown to the old woman before she passed away that night.
Who cares? Jesus does and so must we. The next time someone asks that question, will you be first to say, “I do!”?
Hymn: Does Jesus Care?
