When Jesus saw her, he called her, and said to her,
"Woman, you are freed from your infirmity."
He laid his hands on her, and immediately she stood up straight, and
glorified God.
The ruler of the synagogue, being indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the multitude, "There are six days in which men ought to work. Therefore come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day!"
Therefore the Lord answered him, "You hypocrites!
Doesn’t each one of you free his ox or his donkey from the stall on the
Sabbath, and lead him away to water?
Ought not this woman, being a daughter
of Abraham, whom Satan had bound eighteen long years, be freed from this
bondage on the Sabbath day?"
As he said these things, all his adversaries were disappointed,
and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were
done by him.
What does this reveal about Jesus?
He sets us free from our infirmities, overcoming Satan and bringing us rest.
Notes & Applications:
The hypocrites here treat even their own animals better than they treat other people. Such people have a contemptuous attitude towards the afflicted. But then again many times Christians will themselve be so legalistic about their own concept of "keeping the Sabbath" as to make it a burden rather than a rest, being more concerned over ceremony than over people's real needs.