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Bible Study Resource: Women of the New Testament |
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What the story is about The story of the crippled woman deals with physical healing, but it has a larger dimension. Her twisted body, permanently bent downwards, was a symbol of those who lack hope. The story suggests that with Jesus’ help we can raise ourselves, so that our vision is upwards, to God.
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ON THIS PAGE Debate:
healing on the Sabbath
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When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said “Woman, you are set free from your ailment”. When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the Lord answered him and said “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the Sabbath day?”
When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire
crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.’ |
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Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, on the Sabbath (to reconstruct the scene, go to THE SYNAGOGUE AT CAPERNAUM). There were two places of worship in first-century Palestine:
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Synagogues contained:
There might be a leader of the synagogue, but any man who could read, who knew the Scriptures, and who was respected by the community could be a speaker - Jesus obviously fitted this description. A leader, in this case Jesus, spoke from the middle of the room, reading the Scriptures and offering comments; then there was a general discussion of the text he had read. There was a woman there, listening to Jesus. She had been crippled for eighteen years with a spinal deformity that left her body twisted. She may have had acute arthritis. The people of the time thought that she was crippled because her body had been taken over by a spirit or demon. |
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Spirits and demons appear frequently in Luke’s gospel, in different guises. Jesus is conceived by the Holy Spirit (1:35); at Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit descends on him in the form of a dove (3:21); Jesus is tempted in the desert by a spirit or demon (4:1-13); Jesus teaches that ‘the Spirit of the Lord is upon me’ (4:18); Jesus frees people from unclean spirits and from demons that cause cosmic disorder. Luke therefore shows Jesus as being
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Jesus called her over into the center of the synagogue, from the side where she
had been standing. He told her that she was free from whatever had twisted her body into a deformed shape. He put his hands on her, and immediately she was able to straighten her body. She could look upwards, and she could see forwards. It was not just her body that was healed, but her soul as well. Her immediate response was to praise God.
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Jesus raises the crippled
woman |
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The leader of the synagogue reminded Jesus that curing of the sick was only permitted on the Sabbath to save a life. After all, there
were six other days in the week when healing could be done. The Sabbath should be kept
special, set aside as a time for praising God, not to be used for anything else.
Jesus argued that if you could water an animal on the Sabbath (which was allowed) then you should be able to help a woman who was ill. Jesus was not alone in holding this opinion. Several other Jewish rabbis at that time taught that the Sabbath was made for people’s benefit, and should not be a burden for people. The story finishes by noting that everyone was happy with the wonderful things that Jesus did. Everyone was rejoicing. Surely, says the author of Luke’s gospel, what Jesus did is right. He has observed the true purpose of the law, because people praise God as a result of what he has done.
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Summary |
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This modern sculpture
suggests |
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ATTITUDES
TO WOMEN AT THAT TIME Man -
Woman
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'Sin', Franz Stuck |
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Jewish and Jewish/Christian women resisted the ideas of Platonic dualism, which patronized them and diminished their status. While Christianity remained a Jewish sect, the status of women within the Christian communities was high. But as the ideas of Christianity moved out into the Gentile, Hellenised world, the first Christians found they had to use the Greek philosophical framework to explain their beliefs and be accepted. So Jesus' original ideal of mutual respect between the sexes was watered down and changed. Women found they were given roles that were acceptable in the outside, Hellenistic culture. In doing so, the Christian church stepped back from the radical ideals of the first Jewish/Christians. Women were still powerful in the private sphere, but were shunted to the side in the public arena. This shows up, for example, in 1st and 2nd century re-tellings of the biblical stories. Where these stories had often had women as central characters, they now focused on men and male activities. |
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The ideal Roman matron |
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In Josephus’ retelling of the story written in about 94AD, the focus is largely on Moses’ father Amram. He performs many of the actions previously attributed to the women. Female characters in the story are changed. The mid-wives in Josephus’ retelling
The basic story of Moses’ birth remains the same, but the female dimension has been lost. There were reasons for the changes Josephus made to
the story. He was trying to counter the anti-Semitism that existed in Rome
at the time, so he wrote about Jewish women who behaved like decent Roman
matrons! This ideal of Roman womanhood had been vigorously promoted in a ‘back to
basics’ program by the emperor Augustus and the Roman authorities. For additional information on the lives of women in the Bible, see FAMILY, WORK AND RELIGION: the tribe, the family, slaves, women's tasks, beliefs MILESTONES IN A WOMAN'S LIFE: Puberty, menstruation, marriage, childbirth, death, burials CLOTHING AND HOUSING : ancient fabric, weaving, different styles for rich and poor ___________________________________________________________ |
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ACTIVITIES AND FOCUS QUESTIONS
Exploring the Gospels Focus Questions for the gospel
passages
Dozens
of extra ideas at Activities
for Bible Study Groups and Schools RELATED SITES - stories, pictures, information THE JERUSALEM TEMPLE
CONTRASTED WITH THE MORE INTIMATE SYNAGOGUE THE
SYNAGOGUE AT CAPERNAUM __________________________________________
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The practice of medicine in ancient Egypt |
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Read about other famous Women of the Bible
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The woman in the story could not straighten her body, so she could not look upwards or forwards. The shape of her body,
always bent over towards the ground, was a symbol of people who are stunted and distorted by ignorance, prejudice, anger or malice. As it was, she could see only the dirt at her feet, as many people can see only the bad side of things. She could not look up and see the possibilities before her. She could not see the smiles on people’s faces. She could not see the sky. She could only see downwards to the dirt.
These
are examples only, but they show that Platonic dualism placed women in a
negative category. They were seen as closer to the natural/animal world
than men. By nature they were irrational and untrustworthy, and therefore
unfit to make their own decisions and govern their own lives. They had to
be looked after and controlled, never treated as equals.
An example of this is the story of Moses’ birth in
Josephus’ Antiquities (Josephus was a Jewish writer and historian
of the 1st century BC).
Coping with Illness
