Setting the Bent Soul Straight; Luke 13:10-17

Delivered during the Sunday Morning Worship Service, 2/18/2024. After the powerful teaching of the preceding chapters is concluded, Luke changes the venue and describes an encounter Jesus had while teaching on the Sabbath in one of the synagogues of Judea or Perea. Spying a woman with a horribly bent spine, He called her to Himself and healed her with a "word and a touch". Predictably, the ruler of the synagogue became indignant, ignoring the glorious act of God and pompously complaining that such healings were a desecration of the Sabbath. As we analyze this "living parable" we will realize that much more than a physical healing is being portrayed here. Just as the woman has a "bent" spine, the children of the Fall have "bent" souls that desperately need to be set straight. And just as only God can straighten a bent spine and therefore bring glory to His Sabbath, only God can straighten a bent soul through the glory of the Crosswork of His Son. Ultimately we will once again see that this is the reason Jesus came-- to seek and save the lost by setting their bent souls straight!