“Free At Last”

(Luke 13:10–17)
¹⁰On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, ¹¹and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. ¹²When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” ¹³Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. ¹⁴Indignant 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.” ¹⁵The 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? ¹⁶Then 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?” ¹⁷When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

1. Jesus gave her permission to put the problem behind her.
   1. The problem was spiritual
   2. Jesus set her free from the past
2. Church leaders were angry
   1. The is here to help people
   2. The church is a hospital not a country club
3. It is a story about something that is with us today, the permissions syndrome
   1. We wait for permission to live

1. To Stand For The Right
   1. Love or law
   2. He gives us permission to be agents of creative change
2. To Forgive
   1. The Law was a law of retribution
   2. Jesus introduced grace, mercy, and forgiveness
3. To Start Over
   1. Some of life s greatest moments come when we start over not start out