Being Set Free To Grow Mari Ikeda
A. “Freedom” Jesus brought (10-17)
10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. 14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” 15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” 17 When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.
1) Jesus sets us free (12, 16)
2) Some people in power keep others in bondage (14)
3) Freed people (13, 17)
B. God’s Kingdom expands from a tiny seed (18-20)
18 Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? 19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.” 20 Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? 21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
Summary
We will be easily controlled by the power of sin and Satan without even noticing it, unless we are filled with God’s love and hope. Jesus came to set us free from this power of sin and Satan. We can say illness belongs to the power of sin and Satan when it kills our hope. But only if we trust and rely on Jesus, God will give us the seed of love and hope, which will grow bigger and expand wider to reach others than we can even imagine.
For Discussion
1) What is the freedom Jesus brought to us? How have you experienced it, or not experienced it?
2) How is the growth of God’s Kingdom related with our growth?