THE LIFTING UP OF THE BOWED DOWN – Charles Spurgeon
THE LIFTING UP OF THE BOWED DOWN
Introduction
“And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift herself up. And when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him, and said unto her, Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity. And He laid His hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.” Luke 13:10-13.
The Infirmity of the Woman: A Physical and Spiritual Struggle
I BELIEVE that the infirmity of this woman was not only physical but spiritual. Her outward appearance was the index of her deep and long-continued depression of mind. She was bent double in her body, and she was bowed down by sadness in her mind. There is always a connection between body and soul, but it is not always so clearly visible as in her case. If we could see the same connection in others, we would encounter many sad sights.
What If Our Spiritual State Was Made Visible?
Imagine for a moment what would happen if our outward forms reflected our inward states. If someone with the eyes of Jesus could look at us and see the inner condition reflected in our bodies, how would we appear? It would be very distressing. In many cases, there would be people sitting in the pews who seemed alive but were spiritually dead, their eyes glazed, their hearts unresponsive to the gospel. The precious truth of the gospel might ring in their ears, but it would have no effect.
The Struggle of Spiritual Deformity
Even those with spiritual life might not appear in an entirely lovely manner. Some might be blind, others maimed, or twisted. Spiritual deformity can take many painful forms. A person with a trembling faith, or one whose life is marked by fits of passion or despair, would reflect these internal struggles in their outward appearance. It would be heartbreaking to see people with a feverish spiritual life, fluctuating between extremes of fervor and indifference.
If our outward bodies were shaped by our inward states, this place would become a hospital, where each person would avoid others, each desiring to escape their own condition. Yet, we must take comfort in knowing that despite these struggles, Jesus is among us, ready to heal and comfort.
The Unseen Woman in the Synagogue
In that synagogue on the Sabbath, this poor woman must have been one of the least observed. Her disease caused her to be shorter in stature, almost lost in the crowd. But Jesus, from His elevated position, could see her clearly. Jesus always occupies a place from which He can see those who are bowed down. His keen eyes did not miss her. Despite being the least noticed by others, she was the most noticed by Him.
God Sees the Least and the Most Desperate
Perhaps, even today, there is someone here who feels unnoticed, someone in the crowd who feels overlooked. It might seem like no one knows or cares about your particular struggle, but be encouraged, for Jesus sees you. He does not judge by outward appearances; He looks at the heart and sees the hidden struggles within. Just as He saw the woman in the synagogue, He sees you today. His eyes of love are upon you, and He offers you healing and comfort.
I. The Bowing Down of the Afflicted
Let us now turn to the first point: The Bowing Down of the Afflicted. We read that the woman had a spirit of infirmity and was bowed together, unable to lift herself up. She had lost all her natural brightness.
A Woman Once Full of Life
I can imagine that when she was younger, she was full of life—light-footed and smiling, with eyes full of youthful joy. She walked with her head held high, looking up to the sun by day and the stars by night. But as time passed, an infirmity crept upon her, possibly a weakness of the spine. Gradually, she became more and more bent, her body unable to lift itself. For 18 years, she had not looked upon the sun or the stars, her life dimmed as she was drawn downward.
A Struggle with Depression
This woman’s condition mirrors that of many people who are spiritually afflicted. There are those who, despite having experienced the joy of knowing the Lord, now find themselves in the depths of spiritual darkness. They may sing songs of sorrow, longing for the blessedness they once knew, but now find themselves struggling with despair. For some, communion with God seems distant, and peace, comfort, and joy are nowhere to be found.
A Life of Grief and Sorrow
Some souls are so focused on their sadness that they cannot find joy. Even when others experience joy, they are unable to do so, believing that happiness is not meant for them. They interpret every dark moment in their lives as a sign of divine displeasure, and they feel trapped in their grief. These people, despite all their efforts to escape their condition, find themselves spiritually bound, unable to lift themselves up.
II. The Hand of Satan in This Bondage
Next, we look at The Hand of Satan in This Bondage. Jesus reveals to us that Satan was responsible for binding this woman for 18 years. It was not possession, but rather a cruel form of spiritual bondage.
Satan’s Deceptive Bondage
The devil had bound her so effectively that no one could help her. The binding was so deep that she was unable to free herself. In the same way, Satan can bind the people of God in various ways, using subtle means to trap them in despair. Perhaps a single word from a preacher, a misunderstood scripture, or a painful event can be enough to cause a soul to become spiritually bound for years.
Spiritual Bondage: Tied to Self and the Earth
Satan binds us in such a way that we become focused inwardly, always lamenting our own condition, and looking downward at the earth. Our thoughts are preoccupied with our own failures, and we cannot look up to Christ. Like the woman, we are unable to find spiritual refreshment. The promises of God seem distant, and we cannot enter into the joy and comfort that come from knowing Him.
But we must also remember that even though Satan binds, he cannot destroy. He can cause suffering, but he cannot take away our eternal security in Christ. The woman, despite being bent and bound, was still a daughter of Abraham. And even in our darkest times, we are still God’s beloved children.
III. The Liberator at His Work
Finally, we turn to The Liberator at His Work. Jesus saw the woman and understood her condition completely. His eyes, full of tenderness and compassion, read her heart and knew her story.
Jesus Sees and Understands
When Jesus saw her, He didn’t just notice her physically; He saw her soul, her struggles, and her pain. His gaze was filled with understanding and love. He knew exactly what she had endured for 18 years. No one had to tell Him her story.
The Call to Come as You Are
After gazing at her, Jesus called her to Him. He did not demand that she change before approaching Him; He called her as she was—bent, broken, and burdened. Jesus invites us to come just as we are, bringing our pains, struggles, and failures. He is ready to heal us, just as He was ready to heal the woman.
The Words of Liberation
When she came to Him, Jesus spoke the words of freedom: “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.” Though she remained physically bent, the work of liberation had already begun. The power of His word was enough to break the chains that had bound her for 18 years. Jesus’s words brought immediate healing, and she was made straight.
Conclusion: Come to Jesus Just as You Are
Just as the woman found healing by coming to Jesus as she was, we too must come to Him, trusting that He will lift us from our spiritual bondage. No matter how long we have suffered, no matter how deep our despair, Jesus is ready to set us free. Just as He healed the woman, He can heal us, lifting us up and restoring our joy. Come to Jesus just as you are, and let Him do the work of liberation in your life.
He meant that the spell of Satan was taken off from her, that the power which had made her thus to bow herself was broken. This she believed in her inmost soul, even as Jesus said it, though as yet she was not at all different in appearance from her former state. Oh, that some of you who are God’s dear people would have power to believe this morning that the end of your gloom has come—power to believe that your 18 years are over, and that your time of doubt and despondency is ended. I pray that God may give you grace to know that when this morning’s sun first gilded the east, light was ordained for you. Behold, I come today to publish the glad message from the Lord. Come forth, you prisoners. Leap, you captives, for Jesus comes to set you free today.
The Woman’s Liberation and Jesus’ Healing Touch
The woman was lIberated, but she could not actually enjoy the liberty, and I will tell you why directly. Our Lord proceeded to give her full enlargement in His own way. He laid His hands on her. She suffered from lack of strength, and by putting His hands upon her, I conceive that the Lord poured His life into her. The warm stream of His own infinite power and vitality came into contact with the lethargic stream of her painful existence and so quickened it that she lifted herself up. The deed of love was done. Jesus Himself had done it.
A Call for Spiritual Focus
Beloved mourners, if we could get you away this morning from thinking about yourselves and focus on our Lord Jesus, from looking down upon your cares to thinking of Him, what a change would come over you! If His hands could be laid upon you, those dear pierced hands which bought you, those mighty hands which rule heaven and earth on your behalf, those blessed hands which are outstretched to plead for sinners, those dear hands which will press you to His bosom forever—if you could feel these by thinking of Him, then would you soon recover your early joy. The bowing down of your soul would pass away like a night dream, to be forgotten forever. O Spirit of the Lord, make it to be so.
IV. The Loosening of the Bound
I will not linger there but invite you now to notice The Loosening of the Bound. We are told she was made straight at once. Now, what I want you to notice is this: she must have lifted herself up—that was her own act and deed. No pressure or force was put upon her; she lifted herself up, and yet she was “made straight.” She was passive, in so much as a miracle was worked upon her, but she was active too, and being enabled, she lifted herself up.
The Active and Passive Roles in Salvation
What a wonderful meeting there is here of the active and the passive in the salvation of men. The Arminian says to the sinner, “Now, sinner, you are a responsible being. You must do this and do that.” The Calvinist says, “Truly, sinner, you are responsible enough, but you are also unable to do anything of yourself. God must work in you both to will and to do.” What shall we do with these two teachers? They fell to fighting a hundred years ago most frightfully. We will not let them fight now, but what shall we do with them? We will let both speak and believe what is true in both their testimonies.
A Balance of Free Will and Divine Sovereignty
Is it true what the Arminian says, that there must be an effort on the sinner’s part or he will never be saved? Unquestionably it is. As soon as the Lord gives spiritual life, there is spiritual activity. Nobody is ever dragged into heaven by his ears or carried there asleep on a feather bed. God deals with us as responsible, intelligent beings. That is true, and what is the use of denying it?
Now, what has the Calvinist to say? He says that the sinner is bound by the infirmity of sin and cannot lift himself up, and when he does so, it is God that does it all, and the Lord must have all the glory of it. Is not that true too? “Oh,” says the Arminian, “I never denied that the Lord is to have the glory. I will sing a hymn with you to the divine honor and I will pray the same prayer with you for divine power.”
The Paradox of Faith and Responsibility
All Christians are thorough Calvinists when they come to singing and praying. But it is a pity to doubt as a doctrine what we profess on our knees and in our songs. It is most true that Jesus alone saves the sinner and equally true that the sinner believes unto salvation. The Holy Spirit never believed on behalf of anybody. A man must believe for himself and repent for himself or be lost. But yet there was never a grain of true faith or true repentance in this world unless it was produced by the Holy Spirit.
The Woman’s Glorification of God
I am not going to explain these difficulties, because they are not difficulties except in theory. They are plain facts of practical everyday life. The poor woman knew at any rate where to put the crown. She did not say, “I straightened myself,” no, but she glorified God and attributed all the work to His gracious power.
A Double Miracle of Healing
The most remarkable fact is that she was made straight immediately, for there was something beyond her infirmity to be overcome. Suppose that any person had been diseased of the spine or of the nerves and muscles for 18 years. Even if the disease which occasioned his being deformed could be entirely removed, what would be the effect? Why, the result of the disease would still remain, for the body would have become set through long continuance in one posture.
The Miracle’s Full Restoration
You have doubtless heard of the fakirs and others in India. A man will hold his hand up for years in pursuance of a vow, but when the years of his penance are over, he cannot bring his hand down. It has become fixed and immovable. In this case, the bond which held the poor bowed body was taken away, and at the same time, the consequent rigidity was removed. She, in a moment, stood up straight. This was a double display of miraculous power.
A Perfect Healing and the Restoration of Joy
O my poor, tried friend, if the Lord will visit you this morning, He will not only take away the first and greatest cause of your sadness, but the very tendency to melancholy shall depart. The long grooves which you have worn shall be smoothed. The ruts in the road of sorrow which you have worn by long continuance in sadness shall be filled up, and you shall be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
The Woman’s Response: A Living Mass of Joy
The cure being thus perfect, the woman rose up to glorify God. I wish I had been there. I have been wishing so all the morning. I would have liked to have seen that hypocritical ruler of the synagogue when he made his angry speech. I would have liked to have seen him when the Master so thoroughly silenced him. But especially I would have rejoiced to have seen this poor woman standing upright and to have heard her praise the Lord.
Her Praise Was a Whole-Hearted Expression
What did she say? It is not recorded, but we can well imagine. It was something like this: “I have been 18 years in and out among you. You have seen me and know what a poor, miserable, wretched object I was. But God has lifted me up all in a moment. Blessed be His name, I have been made straight.” What she spoke with her mouth was not half of what she expressed. No reporter could have taken it down. She spoke with her eyes, she spoke with her hands, and she spoke with every limb of her body. I suppose she moved about to see if she was really straight and to make sure that it was not all a delusion.
A Living Mass of Pleasure
She must have been, all over, a living mass of pleasure, and by every movement, she praised God from the sole of her feet to the crown of her head. Never was there a more eloquent woman in the universe. She was like one newly born, delivered from a long death, joyous with all the novelty of fresh life. Well might she glorify God.
Attributing the Healing to God’s Power
She made no mistake as to how the cure was worked. She traced it to divine power, and that divine power she extolled. Brother, sister, cannot you glorify Christ this morning that He has set you free? Though bound so long, you need not be bound any longer. Christ is able to deliver you. Trust Him, believe Him, be made straight and then go and tell your kinsfolk and acquaintances, “You knew how depressed I was, for you cheered me in my sorrow as best you could, but now I have to tell you what the Lord has done for my soul.”
V. Our Reason for Expecting the Same Today
Fifthly, let us reflect upon Our Reason for Expecting the Lord Jesus to Do the Same Thing Today as He did 1,800 years ago. What was His reason for setting this woman free? According to His own statement, it was, first of all, human kindness. He says, “When you have your ox, or your ass tied up and you see that it is thirsty, you untie the knot and lead the poor creature away down to the river, or the tank, to water. None of you would leave an ox tied up to famish.” This is good reasoning, and leads us to believe that Jesus will help sorrowing ones.
A Merciful Lord Who Pities His People
Tried soul, would you not loose an ox or an ass if you saw it suffering? “Yes,” you say. And do you think the Lord will not loose you? Have you more heart of mercy than the Christ of God? Come, come, think not so meanly of my Master. If your heart would lead you to pity an ass, do you think His heart will not lead Him to pity you? He has not forgotten you. He still remembers you. His tender humanity moves Him to set you free.
A Special Relationship: God’s Ownership of His People
More than that, there was a special relationship. He tells this master of the synagogue that a man would loose his ox or his ass. Perhaps he might not think it his business to go and loose that which belonged to another man, but it is his own ass, his own ox, and he will loosen him. And do you think, dear heart, that the Lord Jesus will not loose you? He bought you with His blood. His Father gave you to Him. He has loved you with an everlasting love, will He not loose you?
The Work of Jesus Against Satan
Next, there was a point of antagonism which moved the Savior to act promptly. He says, “This woman being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound.” Now, if I knew the devil had tied anything up, I am sure I would try to unloose it, wouldn’t you? We may be sure some mischief is brewing when the devil is working, and therefore, it must be a good deed to undo his work. But Jesus Christ came into the world on purpose to destroy the works of the devil. And so when He saw the woman like a tied-up ox, He said, “I will unloose her if for nothing else than I may undo what the devil has done.”
Pity for the Afflicted: Christ’s Compassion
Now, dear tried friend, inasmuch as your sorrow may be traced to Satanic influence, Jesus Christ will prove, in your case, more than a match for the devil, and He will set you free. Then think of her sorrowful condition. An ox or an ass tied up to the manger without water would soon be in a very sad plight. Pity it, poor thing. Hear the lowing of the ox, as hour after hour its thirst gnaws upon it. Would you not pity it? And do you think the Lord does not pity His poor, tried, tempted, and afflicted children? Those tears, shall they fall for nothing? Those sleepless nights, shall they be disregarded? That broken heart which gladly would, but cannot believe the promise, shall that forever be denied a hearing? Has the Lord forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up the heart of His mercy? Ah, no, He will remember your sorrowful estate and hear your groans, for He puts your tears into His bottle.
The Long Suffering and Immediate Action of Christ
Last of all, there was this reason to move the heart of Christ: that she had been 18 years in that state. “Then,” He said, “she shall be loosed at once.” The master of the synagogue would have said, “She has been bound 18 years and she may well wait till tomorrow, for it is only one day.” “No,” says Christ, “if she has been bound 18 years, she shall not wait a minute. She has had too much of it already. She shall be set free at once.”
Do not, therefore, argue from the length of your despondency that it shall not come to an end, but rather argue from it that release is near. The night has been so long, it must be so much nearer the dawn. You have been scourged so long that it must be so much nearer the last stroke, for the Lord does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men. Therefore take heart and be of good courage.
A Call for Joy and Deliverance
Oh, that my divine Master would now come and do what I gladly would do but cannot, namely, make every child of God here leap for joy. I know what this being bound by Satan means. The devil has not tied me up for 18 years at a stretch, and I do not think he ever will, but he has brought me into sad bondage many a time. Still, my Master comes and sets me free and leads me out to water, and what a drink I get at such times! I seem as if I could drink up the Jordan at a draught when I get to His promises and quaff my fill of His sweet love. I know by this that He will lead other poor souls out to the water, and when He does so to any of you, I pray you drink like an ox. You may be tied up again, therefore drink as much as you can of His grace and rejoice while you may. Eat that which is good and let your soul delight in fatness.
The Lord Looses the Prisoners
Be glad in the Lord, you righteous, and shout for joy all you that are upright in heart, for the Lord looses the prisoners. May He loose many now. Amen.