Luke 13:11-15

Luke 13:11 (KJB)
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.

There was a woman present in the synagogue who had a spirit of infirmity, that is, she had some type of devil holding on to her for eighteen years who would not allow her to be able to straighten up. Her infirmity may also be understood as a weakness to the point that she was unable to lift herself up but the fact that she was possessed by a devil who kept her in the position added to that weakness. She probably did not come to the synagogue often because of her situation but came today because she knew that Jesus would be there.

Luke 13:12 (KJB)
And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.

The woman did not make any special effort to get to Jesus. Jesus had seen her and knew what her condition was and called unto her to come to Him. When she came to Him, He immediately said to her she is loosed from her infirmity. The word “loosed” in the Greek carries with it the meaning of “released, divorced, or depart.” So Jesus was divorcing her from her infirmity by releasing her.

Luke 13:13 (KJB)
And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.

This woman was bent over for eighteen years and probably had forgotten how to stand up straight. When Jesus had touched her to give her a little strength to move those unused muscles, she immediately was able to straighten up and when she did, the first thing she did was to glorify God for her healing. The single verb in the Greek for “she was made straight” is in the passive voice which means her healing came through the power of the Lord Jesus Christ and all she did was receive it, like we do salvation.

Luke 13:14 (KJB)
And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.

Indignation - Anger or extreme anger mingled with contempt

Such a healing would normally have brought a resounding praise to God but the attitude of the ruler of the synagogue was one of anger instead of praise. He was angry because Jesus healed on the Sabbath day and then preaches to the people in the synagogue that there are six days in which one can do healing but not on the Sabbath day. The people probably feared the ruler of the synagogue more than they joyfully identified with the woman. Instead of admitting that a notable miracle had been done, he was only concerned with his legalistic mindset. This is why the people had not recognized the Messiah because the teachings they received from these rulers were nothing but legalism and oral tradition which led to nothing but a rejection of the true Scriptures.

Luke 13:15 (KJB)
The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?

The ruler had addressed his remarks to the crowd but here Jesus responds directly to the ruler and gives him a dose of reality. He calls him a hypocrite because Jesus knows that all those that have the care of animals will have to attend to them seven days a week. A person who has an ox which is a beast of burden and a donkey which is also a beast of burden will loose them from the stall where they would be able to get watered. Especially in a desert land, it may have to be done more than once a day. They would also have to be fed and that would require a person to do actual labor on the Sabbath as well as the other six days. If everyone was stoned who did this, then there would be no farmers left in Israel.

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