Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold there was a woman who had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully strengthen herself. When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.” And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God.”
Luke 13:10-13
I believe this is a prophetic story of what God is doing with women today.
Ever since the fall, women have been in bondage. Eve ate of the forbidden fruit and a curse was made. However, within the curse, there was also a prophetic message of blessing.
“I will put enmity between you (Satan) and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Genesis 3:15
We see this as the first prophecy of Jesus, who would come to earth, die on the cross and destroy death by dying on the cross and subsequently defeating death and Satan.
“That he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” - Ephesians 1:21-23
However, like many prophecies, that have been fulfilled in part, but not in whole, until the final consummation of Christ’s returning, what if this is the same case? What if women still have a special role in defeating Satan and ushering in the Kingdom of God?
With that in mind, let’s return to the story of the woman with the infirmity. At that time in Jewish rabbinical culture, women were viewed with contempt. Out of the 600 oral laws of the Talmud, 100 of them were directed at women. Women were at the level of slaves. They had no rights, they received no education and were not considered a viable witness in a court case. One Rabbi said, it would be better for the Torah to be burned than for a woman to read it. Women were subjected to the outer courts of the Synagogue, where this woman surely was. Now with all of this in mind, here comes the good part, but then...Jesus.
Jesus arrives on the scene and is preaching in the synagogue when he prophetically calls out this woman from the outer courts where “she belonged” and called her up front where only men were allowed to be. So Jesus is breaking two rules here. One is stated in the chapter by the ruler of the Synagogue, “there are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed and not on the Sabbath” (vs.14). The other is that women are not allowed in this part of the Synagogue. Jesus however, true to fashion, does not care about man-made laws that are not God ordained. He cares about His daughter.
The text says she had a “disabling spirit.” This was not simply a physical ailment, this was a spiritual ailment that manifested as a physical ailment. Isn’t that just like Jesus, He doesn’t just heal a part of us, He offers us holistic, Sozo healing. Katherine Bushnell illustrates this beautifully in her book, God’s Word to Women:
“When Christ laid His hands on the bowed back of the woman, that sabbath, and ordained her to glorify God in the Synagogue, it was not precisely to heal her bent back. Before that He had told her, ‘Woman thou art loosed from thine infirmity,” but she could not grasp the full import of His words. She was bound in spirit as well as body...she could not dispel the spirit of infirmity without Divine aid. After His laying hands on her, however, then she could straighten up and glorify God.”
We may no longer have physical separation in the churches today, but a spiritual one still exists. Sometimes by way of hate for women, sometimes good men, believing they are doing their due diligence by following what the Word of God says. However, I submit that there is no passage in Scripture that limits the role of women in the Church, there are only misinterpretations (I will examine these in later posts). There is a silent prejudice. Although it may be subtle, it is harming the Church and preventing women from taking up their God given roles in the Church.
This passage paints a beautiful picture of Jesus defying this very patriarchal law the Pharisee’s had in place. He calls her out from the background where she was hidden and despised. He heals her body. He releases her from her spirit of infirmity. Then maybe most incredibly of all,
He gives her a voice.
As soon as she was healed she, “glorified God.” In a place where her voice was despised, she spoke. I believe God wants to do the same thing today. To call out the women who have been in bondage because of false, religious accusations, who have been told they do not belong in the front, preaching, and leading, to call them forth to take their rightful place as God’s ministers and leaders.
Do you need healing? Come to Jesus, He wants to touch you. Do you need freedom from years of being told your place is not in Church leadership? Do you not know the sound of your own voice because of years of silencing yourself in the name of Biblical integrity? Jesus is calling you out. You need only to respond to His voice, He will defend you.
A few months ago I met with one of the incredible female professors at my school to discuss “the woman question.” I sat gazing at her office stacked floor to ceiling with books and she said something that rang painfully, yet sweetly true in my ears. “Voicelessness isn’t human.” To hinder women from speaking, is to deny their humanity. To be human is to have a voice. What we choose to do with that voice is the question.
I hope this blog will serve as a collective clearing of lungs as we begin to share our voices.
