“On the surface it sounds like a typical healing story from the gospels. Jesus is in a public place on the Sabbath day. Someone comes to him with a need. Jesus sees the need, feels the pain, heals the person, and the religious authorities go berserk,” begins Dr. Jim Somerville, Pastor of Richmond’s First Baptist Church and Co-Founder of A Sermon for Every Sunday. The nature of the woman’s problem in Luke 13:10-17 makes this story different from the other healing stories though. She has a bent over back, but Somerville points out that this woman’s problem was a spiritual or psychological problem, not necessarily a physical infirmity. This woman appeared at the synagogue. Jesus took notice of her and responded to her need. He sees her, and not just the bent over condition of her body, but the bent over condition of her spirit as well. What might Jesus recognize in you today if he were the guest speaker? Jesus came to set the captives free. How might you be freed from whatever is holding you captive? Listen and find out how to receive freedom.
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Tags: responding, woman, 2016, Pilgrim's Progress, Jim Somerville, Richmond's First Baptist Church, Luke 13:10-17, Year C, bent-over, seeing, healing, synagogue, Stooped Over Straightened Up, conversion reaction, Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost, spiritual, set free, physical, forgiven, psychosomatic