John the baptist did not concern himself with theological matters. He told people “Repent”. Jesus did likewise. The first sermon Jesus preached was based on Isaiah 61: Jesus knew all about prophecy and end time events, but did not mention them in that passage of scripture. He deliberately left out one part of Isaiah’s prophecy the day of vengeance of our God. He came to set us free and to share the message of Jubilee and that is now our job. The “Great Commission” is to “go ye”, to teach preach on the Kingdom of God—to demonstrate it—and to make disciples of the Lord. Like those two disciples in Luke’s gospel, we tend to talk “about” the things of God, but not give them the truth that sets the captives free. Instead we build our churches in which we hold meetings and concentrate on the peripherals that may or may not be true, whilst people like the woman in our story remain bound. Those few words “Woman I set you free” were spoken to a woman who was in desperate plight when Jesus met her. She may have been attending the church for at eighteen years, whilst struggling to get there in the process. It seems that she did not receive any real and practical assistance, but she not want charity—she wanted real help. Charity is a good expression of our faith but charity alone does not liberate anyone. We can give a man a fish today and feed him, but he will be hungry again tomorrow, but if we give him a fish, something to catch his own fish with and teach him how to catch his own, we can change his life. She attended the prayer meetings and bible classes, paid her tithes and took up membership affiliation, but was still bound. It still happens today. She was there was when Jesus taught, arousing the ire of the religious leaders. This often happened and still happens when truth is taught. Truth, it seems, often stirs something up inside religious people, even to this day. It happened in Luke chapter eleven, when the Lord cast an evil spirit from a man and restored his speech. Rather than being happy for the man, the religious leaders reacted negatively and spat out their venom against Him. A woman then spoke up and what she said was right, but look at His reply: Jesus often dealt with controversy. One day there was a crowd gathered around Jesus, and among them was a man who was mute. Jesus drove out of the man the spirit that made him unable to speak. Once the demon left him, the mute man’s tongue was loosed and he was able to speak again. The stunned crowd saw it all and marveled in amazement over this miracle! But there were some in the crowd who protested, saying, “He casts out demons by the power of Satan, the demon king.” Others were skeptical and tried to persuade Jesus to perform a spectacular display of power to prove that he was the Messiah. The crippled woman We can now look at the dear woman who is the central figure in our story. Yeshua was teaching in one of the synagogues on Shabbat. Those religious leaders did not care about her, but concentrated on their man made customs and traditions and we still see this in most modern day churches today. God had indeed established the principle of Shabbat (Sabbath) and I agree with many who advocate that our Saturday is the Sabbath day—not Sunday, but never get hung up on “which day?” The bible teaches that every day is the Lord’s day. In Matthew 12, Mark 2:28 and Luke 6:5, Jesus declared that He is Lord of the Sabbath. In Mark 2:27, He said that Sabbath was made for man, not that man was created for Sabbath. The latter is what religious traditions force on us. Paul spoke at length on such matters in Galatians and especially in Colossians chapter two. Practicing Jews revere Torah. They spend much time in Torah study, especially on Shabbat. Such Torah must be handwritten and those who record God’s holy word meticulously copy every letter. I have heard that if they make a mistake, they do not simply erase they error—they start again. Those Scribes and Pharisees “knew” every letter. They could determine what punctuation mark should exist, but did not have any revelation at all! Jesus told such people: This is one reason I keep emphasizing that we must make the word of God our primary source of information and direction in life and apply it. Other sources may provide factual information but may not contain that life giving, liberating force that is only available via the conduit of the Holy Spirit. |
The Number 18 In Luke 13:11 Jesus saw a woman that was crippled for 18 years by a spirit while He was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath. The number eighteen is a special number in the Jewish numerological tradition where letters can have a numerical value. For example, the letter A in Hebrew can also equate to the number 1. The letter B can equal 2. The letter T is the equivalent to 10 and so on. By such methods we can see something extraordinary in a biblical account that is easily glossed over. When we add the numbers 10 and 8 together, it obviously equals 18, but I cannot find a direct meaning to this number. We may however see some kind of symbolism by looking at its factors mathematically. There are several ways to reach this number as follows 2 X 9, or 3 X 3. The number 9 is also derived by adding 3 + 6. In mathematical science it possesses properties and powers which are found in no other number. It is the last of the digits, thus marking the end of something and it is significant of the conclusion of a matter. We look first at the number 2. This number affirms that there is a difference between some things. It denotes that there is something that is different or an alternative. It is in opposition, or at enmity with certain things. It speaks of oppression, chaos and ruin and we can see this in the creation account in Genesis. When God created the heavens and the earth, it was in such a state, but in verse 2, God issued a command and changed everything and severed the dark from light and it became good. The number 3 is the first geometrical figure. There are 3 sides to a triangle and a triangular shape is extremely strong. This is why braces in various constructions form a triangular shape. Three stands for the things that are solid, real, substantial, complete and entire. God possesses the attributes of omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence and the Godhead is comprised of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We deal with time in three ways—past, present and future and we live by thought, word and deed. There are three kingdoms in “nature”, namely animal, vegetable and mineral. Three denotes divine perfection. The number 6 is “man’s number”. It represents mans world and labour and imperfection. The number 9 can speak of finality and judgment. We can now see that the letters represented by those numbers one and eight take on a new meaning. When putting the letters ch and y together, they form the word chai that means “alive.” Jesus perceived that this woman, despite her terrible physical state, was still infused with spiritual life. She may have been bowed down physically, but she still had a spiritual pulse, unlike those religious bigots.When Jesus laid his hands upon the woman, he revitalizing her living being to the core and she was wondrously healed. When He told her “Woman, I set you free”, He liberated her in every area of her life. number 18 therefore speaks of such things. |
My dear friend, is it possible that you have need of such a touch? You may say that you go to church, but so did this dear woman. You may say that you are serving the Lord, but service does not assume anyone is really free. You may excel in acquiring information, but not be free. Perhaps, like those disciples on the road to Emmaus, you cannot really see the Lord... Perhaps you desire more out of your relationship with the Lord, but do not know how to go about it, or are struggling to fulfil that desire. Whatever your situation may be, the Lord gave me this assignment to declare liberty to you—the same liberty Jesus proclaimed when he told that dear woman, “You are free”... Blessings, Robert |
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