Daughter of Abraham
In Luke 13, there's a story of a daughter of Abraham, who was more then a Jew, but a believer who was bound by Satan and had a spirit (demon) of infirmity.
Luke 13:10-16, "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 up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day. The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?"
How do we know that this woman, being a daughter of Abraham a TRUE believer?
In Luke 19:9-10, states, "And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." Jesus made it VERY clear that merely being a physical Jew was NOT enough to be a child of Abraham.
For in John 8:39, "They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father " Jesus said to them, "If you are Abraham's children, do the deeds of Abraham." Therefore, Jesus NEVER considered somebody a true child of Abraham unless they were an obvious believer (like Zaccheus).
Think about this... the woman was in the church listening to Jesus teach on the sabbath, so I would call her a 'churchgoer.' When Jesus saw her, He stopped preaching and called her to Him. He laid hands on her, and she was set free and made whole and right before the eyes of the congregation.
Out of honor, Jesus said she was a daughter of Abraham. She was much more than a Jew in Jesus' eyes. He regarded her to be worthy to be called a "child of Abraham!"
I love reading your comments. They are so encouraging. Your comments allow me to get to know you better and feel a sense of relationship. Please remember to use your manners. If you do not have something nice to say, do not say it at all. Comments that are rude/critical in nature will be erased. Thanks, friends!
|