Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm20091028.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Luke: Jesus, The Son Of Man For All Mankind
Part LI: Christ's Identity As God's Savior Seen In His Response To Spiritual Religious Group Corruption
(Luke 13:10-21)
  1. Introduction
    1. If Jesus is truly a holy God's Son and Savior for the whole world, then we should expect Him to discern and effectively respond to spiritual corruption in religious groups versus either being blinded to such a problem's existence, or in being unable effectively to overcome it once He discerned its existence.
    2. Luke 13:10-21 reveals how Jesus is truly from a holy God in discerning and overcoming the spiritual corruption He saw in the religious circles of Judaism in His era, and it provides great application for us:
  2. Christ's Identity As God's Savior Seen In His Response To Spiritual Religious Group Corruption.
    1. One Sabbath day when Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, a woman was present who had been doubled over in posture for eighteen years from oppression by an evil spirit, Luke 13:10-11.
    2. Jesus knew Satan had bound her those eighteen years from His Luke 13:16 remark, so when he saw her, He called her to Him, laid His hands on her, announcing her release from her infirmity, and she immediately stood up straight and glorified God, Luke 13:12-13.
    3. However, Israel's leaders taught that to heal on the Sabbath violated the Law's prohibition of working on that day (Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 240), so the synagogue ruler was angry at the healing, Lk. 13:14a.
    4. In reality, the Sabbath rule was made to give man rest from servile work like Israel's past daily slave labor in Egypt, Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 139. It never forbade exerting the effort to help another in need!
    5. Nevertheless, the ruler of the synagogue critiqued the healing event, thereby also critiquing Jesus' act to heal by ordering people to come to be healed on regular days and not on the Sabbath, Luke 13:14.
    6. Since the ruler had thus publicly critiqued Jesus, Christ replied, publicly critiquing the ruler: He called the man a hypocrite, revealing that everyone present would loosen his ox or donkey on the Sabbath Day and lead him to be watered for the animal's physical welfare, Luke 13:15. Accordingly, how much more should He minister to release a woman afflicted by Satan for eighteen years, Luke 13:16!
    7. In response, the enemies of Jesus were ashamed, and the people all rejoiced at His ministry, Luke 13:17.
    8. There were important spiritual dynamics behind this event, and Jesus clarified them in Luke 13:18-21:
      1. The Greek New Testament's rendition of Luke 13:18a connects the Luke 13:10-17 events with the parables that follow by use of the introductory particle, oun, translated "therefore," U. B. S. Greek N. T., 1966 ed., p. 270; Arndt & Gingrich, A Grk.-Eng. Lex. of the N. T., p. 597.
      2. It is an inferential particle, showing the parables that follow are based on the previous context.
    9. Thus, those parables reveal Satan had been active in the previous scene of the synagogue healing event, and that Jesus had effectively responded to that Satanic activity as follows (Luke13:18-21):
      1. The parable of the mustard seed speaks of something that starts small but grows so large that birds not native to the plant lodge in its branches. Thus, Jesus revealed Judaism had come to include Satan's evil spirits in some of its people, the seed of Abraham, such as in the recently afflicted woman, Luke 13:16.
      2. Then, as the parable of the leaven is seen leavening the whole meal, and leaven in God's Word consistently typifies what is evil either as false teaching (Matthew 16:12) or hypocrisy (Luke 12:1), Jesus revealed the hypocrisy of the ruler's errant belief that had been permeated by Satan's work to corrupt Judaism's teachings, and He exposed that error when it was used to critique Him, Lk. 13:15-16!
      3. Jesus countered Satan's efforts when Satan opposed Him in His ministry: Christ released a woman from the bondage an evil spirit was exerting on her in the meeting (Lk. 13:10-13), and He countered the synagogue ruler's critique of His ministry by a defense of His ministry, Lk. 13:14-16. Thus, we must meet Satan's opposition by combating him in the power and leading of God, Ephesians 6:10-18.
Lesson: Jesus discerned Satan had blinded the ruler and oppressed the woman, so He rightly countered Satan's works and influence, clarifying these matters in two parables for the insight of the godly.

Application: (1) May we believe that Jesus is God's true Savior of the world Who came to overcome the work of Satan. (2) May we realize that Satan can be present in religious groups to blind, oppress and spread erring views, and (3) we are to heed Jesus' lead in properly countering Satan if he opposes us!