Luke 13:14-17 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

Exodus 20:10-11 But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Indignant and contemptuous of Jesus' healing work on the Sabbath, the rulers of the synagogue were very upset with the multitude and specifically with the woman because good Jewish people should not allow Jesus to heal them on the Sabbath. “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” To them, the most important aspect of the Sabbath was that it was a a day of rest: no work of any kind should be done on that day, not even God's work. Jesus calls them hypocrites, for He knows they give their own oxen and donkeys water on the seventh day, so why are they terribly upset with him for untying people from the devil's control on the Sabbath? Jesus understands the rulers are actually afraid they will lose their positions of authority in the Jewish society if the people acknowledge his authority and dedicate themselves to him. He knows the Jewish leaders are determined to contest, to undermine, everything he does. In the above passage, they use the Sabbath to subvert Jesus' influence with the people.

The Jewish leaders should have rejoiced that the woman was healed of eighteen years of infirmity. They should have grabbed the proverbial microphone and encouraged the multitude to praise God, but rather than rejoice, they grumbled, they criticized. They used God's directive of keeping the Sabbath holy against Jesus, using religion to discourage the work of the Lord. They chose religion over God's restoring work. They chose law and judgment over grace and mercy. They chose discipline over love. We also can do likewise if we are not careful. We can become so encased in our traditional religious ways that we will criticize others rather than rejoicing with them for the good work they are doing for God.

I recently attended a very large church in our area. I agree with a lot of what they are doing and I disagree with some of it, but as I viewed their outreach, I realized they were doing a wonderful work for God. They were reaching people that little churches could not. They were expressing Christ to people who would never darken the doors of a little church that cannot provide all the services and entertainment that they could provide them. After the service, as I was walking through the parking lot, I saw many smoking and relating in a jovial way. Maybe to me, they seemed worldly, yet I realized this church was preaching Christ to these people, bringing them in to hear the Word of God, and allowing God to impact their lives in a major way. I had to rejoice. I praised God, for I realized He was doing a marvelous work there.

We need to praise the Lord in all situations where his hand is outstretched. From our perspective, the Sabbath might not receive the respect it deserves. We might think the gospel should be preached differently or better or think there should be more spiritual depth in the services, but we need to hold our religious spirits in check and praise God for what He is doing. Let us LET GOD BE GOD. When the disciples complained that others were preaching in Jesus' name, Jesus said if they are not against us, leave them alone; they are doing the work of God. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. We should pray for each one in the field as we thank the Lord for his mighty power at work in all of his church.