40 Days of MiraclesPrimjer

Jesus Heals a Woman Who Had Been Crippled for 18 Years

There are two kinds of bondage in view when Jesus performs this miracle. The Lord deals with the first immediately and decisively, freeing a woman from nearly two decades of physical disability. She is instantly healed and begins to give God glory, which brings the second type of bondage into view. The synagogue leaders note that Jesus heals on the Sabbath and challenge His timing. The religious bondage that tied the leaders to manufactured traditions proved the more stubborn. Hard hearts are more difficult to heal than crooked spines, and the most profound healing that any human can receive is the tender makeover that Jesus described in John 3 as being "born from above."

Questions for Reflection

• What have you witnessed recently that you can give God the glory for?
• Have you ever seen a physical healing actually make someone more skeptical?
• Who do you know that needs a deep inner healing, a John 3 makeover, even more than any physical healing? How might you pray for them with renewed vigor?