Expository Thoughts (continued)
work" on the Sabbath, was not intended to prohibit works of necessity and mercy. The Sabbath was made for man's benefit, and not for his hurt. It was appointed to promote man's best and highest interests, and not to debar him of anything that is really for his good.
It requires nothing but what is reasonable and wise. It forbids nothing that is really necessary to man's comfort.
Let us pray for a right understanding of the law of the Sabbath. Of all the commandments that God has given, none is more essential to the happiness of man, and none is so frequently misrepresented, abused, and trampled under foot. Let us lay down for ourselves two special rules for the observance of the Sabbath. For one thing let us do no work which is not absolutely needful. For another, let us keep the day "holy," and give it to God. From these two rules let us never swerve. Experience shows that there is the closest connection between Sabbath sanctification and healthy Christianity.
Notes on 13:10-17
11. Crippled by a spirit. The nature of this woman's disease we are left to conjecture. It seems to have been some illness mysteriously connected with possession by an unclean spirit and caused by it.
There is no other instance precisely like it in the New Testament.
12. He called her forward. Our Lord performed this miracle without being asked. The widow at Nain is another example of this. In both instances the person to whom kindness was shown was a woman.
If our Lord does so much for a person when unsolicited, how much more will he do for those who call upon him in prayer.