New Creation on the Sabbath

Rev. Jonathan Walla, pastor at Bethel Lutheran Church in Bismarck, ND, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Luke 13:10-21.

A woman with a disabling spirit is in the synagogue where Jesus is teaching one Sabbath. Though Satan had afflicted her for eighteen years, Jesus sets her free from the devil’s grip and the accompanying sickness. She glorifies God, but the ruler of the synagogue shames her and anyone else who would seek after healing on the Sabbath. Jesus rebukes him sharply, identifying the Sabbath day as the appropriate time for God to bring rest and release to His creation. This leads Jesus into two short parables concerning the kingdom of heaven. As a mustard seed grows into a tree, and as leaven works through an entire batch of flour, so the kingdom of God grows by the power of God’s Word.

“The Beloved Physician’s Orderly Account” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the Gospel according to St. Luke. The Evangelist wrote his well-researched account of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection so that Theophilus would have certainty concerning the things he had been taught. As we still read the Word of God recorded by St. Luke, our gracious Lord gives us that same certainty that Jesus is our Savior.