May 26: Weekly Reading- Jesus Heals a Crippled Woman on the Sabbath; The Liberated & Insight Post by Kim Feld

  -   May 26, 2025

Compassion Overrules Tradition: In healing the crippled woman on the Sabbath, Jesus shows that compassion should take priority over legalistic traditions. He challenges the leaders who criticized Him for healing on the Sabbath, reminding us that God’s love and mercy come before rigid rules.

Monday Verse

I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings. Hosea 6:6 (NLT)

Monday Questions

Are there times when I let tradition or rules get in the way of showing compassion to others? How can I prioritize love and mercy in my actions?

Monday Insight Post
by Kim Feld

Before I begin my post today, I want to acknowledge the sacrifices that so many of our military families have made. I am so grateful for the freedoms that we enjoy, but I realize they came at a high cost. We will always remember with grateful hearts those who gave their lives and their families.

Our reading this week is found in Luke chapter 13. Dr. Luke tells us the story of Jesus teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath, noticing a woman with a physical infirmity. The woman was bent over, unable to straighten her back, for eighteen years. This illness was caused by a demon, resulting in the woman living in bondage to her ailment. The woman didn’t ask Jesus to heal her; compassion led Him to call her over and free her from her captivity. The synagogue leader was indignant. Not because of the healing but because Jesus healed on the Sabbath when all work was forbidden. He couldn’t recognize or rejoice in the miracle because of his focus on the “broken rule.”

I am a natural rule-follower, although my husband would add a caveat: the rule must make sense to me. If the rule doesn’t make sense, all bets are off! Seriously though, I can become hyper-focused on the rule and lose sight of any other variables. There are times that I have to stop and remind myself of what Jesus said were the two greatest commandments: love God and love people (see Matthew 22:37-40). His words provide a litmus test for me to use when evaluating circumstances. Does following the rule allow me to love God and love people? In God’s economy, people are always more valuable.

If our rules elevate tradition over people, we have a problem. We may have “always done it this way,” but if following the tradition doesn’t love God and people well, it’s time to re-evaluate it. Sadly, we see this in churches that refuse to make any changes that may bring new people in because they don’t want to give up their way of doing things. I’m not talking about doing anything violating the Bible – the message of the Bible NEVER changes. Yet, the method should allow the message to be spread to as many people as possible.

Jesus’ healing of this crippled woman shows God’s compassionate heart. Jesus rescued her and gave her a new way to live her life. The fact that He did it on the Sabbath, a day that was given to us as a gift to rest and contemplate God and His goodness, is icing on the cake. I imagine this woman always remembered the Sabbath when God’s compassion became personal. She had been set free.

Kim Feld
Executive Director of Education and Outreach

New Hope Church
Lorton, Virginia
www.newhope.org