Luke 13:10–17 – Loosed from Thine Infirmity
- Sep 19, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Jan 28
An exposition of Christ’s compassion, authority, and saving power toward helpless sinners.
This article is adapted from a message preached on September 20, 2025. Watch the full sermon on YouTube.
The scene in the synagogue
In Luke 13:10–17, the Lord Jesus is found teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath day. This was a place where Jewish people gathered to hear the Word of God read and explained. It was an ordinary Sabbath, in an unnamed city in Israel—but for one woman present that day, everything was about to change.
Luke tells us that there was a woman there who had “a spirit of infirmity eighteen years.” For eighteen long years she was bowed together and could in no wise lift herself. Later, the Lord Jesus explains the true source of her condition: “whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years.”
We are not told how often she attended the synagogue or what expectations she had that day. It is very likely she had no intention of meeting Christ or experiencing deliverance. Yet this ordinary Sabbath became the defining moment of her life.
That is always the potential when the gospel is preached. A person may come with no intention of change, no expectation of salvation—and yet leave transformed.
The infirmity: a picture of our sinfulness
This woman’s condition is not only a historical reality; it is also a vivid picture of humanity’s condition in sin.
First, she was bowed. Her posture was fixed downward. She could not look up. Her gaze was toward the earth. This reflects how sin fixes the human heart on earthly things—temporary things. People find time for education, employment, business, and pleasure, yet often have no room for Christ. Sin keeps the focus downward, not heavenward.
What keeps us separated from God?
Something is broken in every human life, and it affects our relationship with God.
Second, she was burdened. Day after day she lived under the weight of her infirmity. Nothing she did made it lighter. Sin is exactly like that. The burden of sin never decreases with time; it only grows heavier. Past sins haunt the conscience, and guilt accumulates. Scripture speaks of a people “laden with iniquity.”
Finally, she was bound. The Lord Jesus makes it unmistakably clear that Satan had bound her. Scripture tells us that the world lies under his influence, and his desire is to keep sinners asleep, blind, and unmoved by the gospel. He does not want light to shine into darkened hearts.
In sin, people are bowed, burdened, and bound.
Helplessness: “she could in no wise lift herself”
Luke emphasizes the woman’s inability. She could not help herself. She could not change her condition. She could in no wise lift herself.
This is the sinner’s helplessness before God.
Many attempt to improve themselves through effort, reform, religion, or self-discipline. Others hope that time, sincerity, or good intentions will somehow resolve the problem of sin. But even if someone could change from this day forward, what about the sins of the past?
The gospel begins when a person comes to the end of themselves and realizes complete helplessness.
Hopefulness: “when Jesus saw her”
Despite her condition, there is hope. Luke records these simple, powerful words: “When Jesus saw her.”
Heaven sees the sinner. The Lord Jesus knows where you are and what you need. The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. No sinner is overlooked. No condition is hidden from Him.
Hope begins not with human effort, but with divine sight.
The authority and call of the Saviour
Jesus called her to Himself. His word carried authority.
Salvation is not found in churches, ceremonies, or personal resolve. It is found in Christ alone. God speaks through His Word, calling sinners to listen, to respond, and to come.
God speaks—sometimes repeatedly—yet many do not perceive it. Invitations, conversations, Scripture readings, and gospel meetings are all ways God calls people to Himself. The question is not whether God is speaking, but whether the heart is listening.
The work of Christ experienced
The Lord Jesus declared, “Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity,” and He laid His hands upon her. Immediately she was made straight.
This moment rests on a greater work already accomplished. Christ went to the cross to suffer for sins, the Just for the unjust. He took the place of guilty sinners. His work was completed when He cried, “It is finished,” and God confirmed His satisfaction by raising Him from the dead.
Because the work is finished, sinners can be freed. What this woman experienced physically is what sinners may experience spiritually—release, forgiveness, and new life.
The response: glory to God
Her first response was worship. She glorified God.
Though there was indignation from the ruler of the synagogue, the passage ends with joy. Christ’s adversaries were ashamed, and the people rejoiced for all the glorious things done by Him.
True salvation always results in glory to God.
A personal appeal
The great potential of the gospel is that sinners may leave forgiven, saved, and assured of heaven. Names can be written in heaven. Lives can be changed forever.
The Lord Jesus still seeks and saves the lost. Whoever calls upon Him will be saved. If He could loose a woman bound for eighteen years, He can save any sinner who comes to Him today.
