Shaming The Adversaries
In the classic rom-com You’ve Got Mail, Meg Ryan plays the role of Kathleen Kelly, who laments because she cannot think of a zinger comeback for her adversaries. She wants to say something that would put her adversary in his place. She wants to shame him. When she finally does, she feels badly about it.
Jesus had adversaries while he walked this earth. Ironically, they were not common people who were sinners. They were the Pharisees, Sadducees, Teachers of the Law, and the rulers of the Synagogue who were sinners but refused to acknowledge it. They opposed Him often and tried to trap Him repeatedly.
On one occasion, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years at the synagogue on the Sabbath, and Jesus set her free from it, and it upset the ruler of the Synagogue. He spoke openly to shame Jesus and rebuke His actions on the Sabbath.
Jesus is unlike Kathleen Kelly. Jesus can say the right thing in the right moment, putting a hypocrite in their place and not feel any remorse, knowing He was righteously behaving.
Luke 13:15 The Lord then answered him and said, “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or 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.
The ruler of the Synagogue had his priorities wrong because his value was on the day above the person the day had been made for to start with. In another place, Jesus would say the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath, and by placing a greater value on the day than on Abraham’s daughter, the Synagogue’s ruler had made himself a hypocrite.
The actions of Jesus and His statements that followed exposed the leader’s hypocrisy and restored a right value to the daughter of Abraham and others who might be like her and in great need of His mercy even on a Sabbath day. In so doing, it shamed the leader.
Part of the shame was in how Jesus acknowledged the tenure of this woman’s suffering. Jesus spoke of her being bound for eighteen years. She no doubt had been going to that Synagogue much if not all of that time, and not only was she still suffering, but the ruler did not have the decency to notice her and show compassion by having the ability to rejoice that she is now set free. Why wasn’t he elated that a woman who suffered that long was now free?
Jesus is still shaming His adversaries by being right and doing right through all who are surrendered to Him according to grace and walking according to the Holy Spirit. Jesus is still going about doing good and healing all whom the devil oppresses, and it is still upsetting hypocrites who think they know better. Jesus is never happy about people being bound and suffering at the hands of His enemy.
Still today, His adversaries (those who are okay with people being bound up and making excuses as to why they can’t be set free) are put to shame, and people rejoice when they see the glorious things He does. He’s just doing them now through those who believe and let Him work through them to bless others. Sadly, still today, some love their routine and order so much that they oppose the manifestation of the power of God for the benefit of those who need it most. But you are a miracle looking for a place to happen when you walk according to the Spirit and pay no attention to the adversaries who oppose the expression of Christ through you.
