Introduction: On our journey with Jesus we come this morning to an episode with an evil spirit and a miraculous healing. But the word in the text that caught my attention this week was the word indignant. To be indignant means to experience strong displeasure. It means to find something offensive or unjust. Now, to be entirely honest with you, perhaps this word caught my attention because I found myself caught up in indignation early in the week. Many of you know that last May, we applied for a nearly $50,000 grant from the Lilly Foundation to support various plans for both me and you, the church, during my sabbatical next summer. On Monday I learned that we were not awarded the grant. I was OK with that. I knew that it was a highly competitive process. Tuesday morning I woke up and was still OK with it. I trusted that God had something else in mind for us. But by Tuesday afternoon, the indignation began to set in, especially when I learned about some of the proposals that were approved, which (to my mind) were certainly not as worthy as mine!  

 

I’ve settled down a bit since then. And, as I’m able to take a bit more rational approach to the circumstances, I realize, and want us all to see, that the problem with indignation is that when we become wrapped up in it, we risk missing the life that Jesus has come to offer. That is what happened to a synagogue ruler when Jesus healed on the Sabbath. The ruler became indignant and he missed the presence of the kingdom of God, which was right in his midst.

 

I. In the Synagogue

            A. So let’s go to that synagogue. Imagine that you are on the edge of the crowd that has been following Jesus. Perhaps you haven’t understood all that you’ve heard, but you’ve heard enough to keep going and you’re interested to see what happens when Jesus goes to worship. The first thing you notice as you make your way into the building is a woman, kind of lurking in the corner. She’s a woman who grabs your attention because she is obviously wracked with pain. In fact, she’s so crippled that she’s bent over, unable to stand up straight. You learn from someone who sees you staring that she’s not just suffering from a physical illness or the ageing process. Her condition, which she’s experienced for eighteen years, is due to the presence of a “disabling” or evil spirit (v. 11, ESV). You’re not quite sure what that means, but her condition sure looks like a picture of the distortion that evil might cause.

 

            B. In this village where you are, the woman is a well-known character, but no one’s paying her any attention; her condition has made her a social outcast. However, though no one else sees her, Jesus sees her. Remarkably, when he does, he does not go to her but calls her forward, right to the front. If that had been you, you wonder if you’d actually go. But she goes. Your eyes, and now everyone else’s eyes, are fastened on the pair, moving back and forth between her and Jesus, wondering what will happen next. Well, simply, Jesus speaks a word, then places his hands on her, and the next thing you know, eighteen years of crookedness are gone! You’d seen it before and now were beginning to believe it: Where the hands of Jesus rest, hell cannot remain.

 

II. In the Heart of its Ruler

            A. Well, in response to her healing, the woman begins to belt out a song of praise. What you expect next is for everyone to join in. Certainly, that’s how you feel; how can you hold back? But what actually happens is that the synagogue ruler, the man in charge of running the worship service, is furious. He gets up and starts preaching at us: There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” What it sounds like he is saying is that the synagogue is open for healing Sunday through Friday, but not on Saturday. Well, that sounds a little odd to you…did this guy just miss what had happened? Did he have no compassion for this member of his congregation? Was he not amazed at the power and authority of this Jesus? Could he not celebrate the freedom and restoration, both physical and social, that this woman was in the midst of enjoying?

 

B. In your confusion, the woman next to you explains that the Jewish religious leaders were very zealous in trying to keep the commandments of God, so zealous that they had devised dozens of rules – traditions, they called them – to help them keep the commandment to keep the Sabbath holy and not work on that day. Healing, this woman continued to explain, was considered to be work, unless it was considered to be a life threatening situation. As you thought that over, perhaps its intent was honorable, but if all this rule keeping, all this tradition, was making people angrier rather than holier, you weren’t sure you wanted any part of it.

 

C. As it turns out, Jesus wasn’t so keen on it either. He called them hypocrites, this ruler and his pals; ouch! This meant that while they said they cared about others, their actions spoke otherwise. Jesus then made the great point that if these people found it in their hearts to untie their animals and lead them to water on the Sabbath, why couldn’t this woman be untied by God and be released from the stall where Satan had bound her for so many years? Why couldn’t she experience the refreshing waters of healing, even if it happened to be on the wrong day? It didn’t make any sense. What was certain was that in the heart of this ruler was not compassion but indignation, and it caused him to miss the life that Jesus had brought.

 

III. The Presence of the Kingdom

A. The kingdom of God, as Jesus would teach, is in our midst (17:21), but we can so easily miss it. That seems to be what he was getting at as he shared two parables before he left. The little mustard seed and the little bit of yeast are barely noticeable at first, but they are there, and they are significant. They point out that the healing of an unnamed woman in an unnamed town is not an insignificant, inconsequential event, but one that quietly reveals that in Jesus the kingdom of God is in our midst, and will one day be revealed in such a glorious way that all will be able to see it.

 

B. In the meantime, let me encourage you to check your indignation level. What traditions do you have that, when you see them violated, cause your spiritual indigestion to rise such that you might be missing the life that Jesus wants to bring to you?

 

• Might it center on music, and a style you don’t like, but one that brings meaning to others?
• Could it be a spiritual practice that feels uncomfortable, but is designed to help you make that long journey from your head to your heart?
• Is there a place where the thought, “we’ve always done it that way,” might actually get in the way of how God wants to do a new thing?
• Do you, perhaps, love the love of Jesus, but have trouble with the kinds of people Jesus actually loves?
• Could you, maybe be hungering after the teaching of Jesus, cheering as he calls others to change their life, until he calls you to make a change?

 

Here’s a question: Where does Jesus make you indignant? Try to identify that place. It could be the very place where he wants to bring you life.