Daily Devotional for Wednesday, March 11

The Confrontation

“And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him,” Luke 13:17.

This passage in Luke 13 is unique. Luke is the only writer to record this event. It is interesting to note where it fits in chapter 13. Verses 1-5 involve situations somewhat similar to John 9. Galileans were brutally murdered, but Jesus addresses the unsaid assumptions that their death was a result of sin. In John 9, the disciples verbalized that question about the blind man. In the Jewish mindset, infirmity, deformity and tragedy were results of sin. Jesus made the report of Pilate’s cruelty a lesson that not all earthly tragedies are judgment, but all sin will be judged. Repentance is imperative.

In Luke 13:6-9, we have a vinedresser who intervenes and rescues us from judgment. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) but Jesus intercedes and allows for God’s gift of eternal life.

The woman in Luke 13:11 lived in unimaginable bondage for eighteen years. Unable to stand, reach or relax, she was certainly miserable and tortured. And why? An evil spirit of infirmity bound her.

When we began translating Scripture into the Yetfa language, we began with Bible stories that gave a panoramic view of salvation’s story. The Yetfa people needed to know why God sent Jesus to earth. Through those stories, we addressed a key issue that plagued Papuans—evil spirits. God’s Word of Jesus’ victory over evil spirits gives fear-bound souls hope. We included this story from Luke because it masterfully displays Jesus’ victorious power. He laid His hands on her and immediately she stood straight! Her bonds were broken, and she was set free.

I love one Bible scholar’s comment about this passage: “Luke’s depiction of this woman’s illness prepares us for a redemptive encounter of startling proportions.” If you have trusted Christ, you also have experienced “a redemptive encounter of startling proportions.” Do you glorify God every day for it?

THOUGHT

“Ye that stand in the house of the Lord…Praise the Lord” (Psalm 135:2, 3).

Kelli Reynolds