7 - Daughter of Abraham, Friend of God

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Luke 13
10. Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.
11. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. 12. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity."
13. And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.
14. But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, "There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day."
15. The Lord then answered him and said, "Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it?
16. "So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound think of it for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?
17. And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.
New King James Bible


Society of that day didn't think that the disabled woman was as important as proper religious observance.

But Jesus looked into the heart of the disabled woman to see what was her attitude to God. This is a distinctive characteristic of divine judgement.

God always judges us by what's in our heart: by what is motivating us. Jesus saw that this woman was a 'daughter of Abraham'. What does this mean?

Abraham is called in scripture "the father of all those who believe" (Romans 4 : 11) He is also called the "friend of God" (James 2 : 23).

Therefore, though in the eyes of religious society this disabled woman was worth less than a working animal, Jesus judged her to be in the class of Abraham.

He saw her as a woman of great faith and a friend of God.
It is ironic that Abraham was the person the religious people claimed to be emulating!
What does God see when He looks into your heart?
Proper religious observance or faith like Abraham?

Prayer:
Father, forgive me for judging people when I don't have the benefit of looking into their heart.
Help me to develop my faith, so that You can call me a child of Abraham also,
in Jesus' name,
Amen.