From walking barefooted in muddy waters to plucking off the incisors, we have seen what people do in the name of religion. Religion cannot only be described as futile but equally wicked. It is difficult to explain many cruel things that people all over the world are subjected to in the name of religion. In our text, we see an expression of this in the reaction of the ruler of the synagogue to the woman’s deliverance. Rather than rejoice that a woman who had suffered 18 long years could walk free, he became angry because one of his much cherished religious codes had been violated. Religion that cannot liberate from bondage amounts to double jeopardy.
He came as a breath of fresh air, offering God’s life of love, peace, and joy… He came to destroy the works of the devil in human life.
Jesus did not come to set up a new religion to add to the litany of the ones before Him. He came as a breath of fresh air, offering God’s life of love, peace, and joy. You will not find in any of the teachings of Jesus that He came to set up some religious order. He came to destroy the works of the devil in human life; and this He did wherever He went without minding whose ox was gored. The ruler of the synagogue believed that healing was an expression of the work of God. In that, he was right. He only got it wrong when he thought he could dictate what time God should work. God can choose any day to work, including religious holidays. For someone reading this, today may as well be the appointed day when God will show Himself mighty on your behalf.
