Misc. - "A Rescue Story" - Luke 13:10-17

“A Rescue Story”

What is your rescue story?

Mr. Hall spent 20 minutes at the summit, but shortly after he began his descent he was struck by a severe form of high altitude sickness, cerebral edema: a swelling of the brain that induces crippling lethargy, hallucinations and other symptoms. Maddened, by his account, he turned and tried to reclimb the summit, but the sherpas who had accompanied him tied him and began wrestling him down the mountain. After two hours, Mr. Hall was showing no signs of life, and the exhausted sherpas, in touch by radio with the expedition leader, were told to save themselves.

“Before you go down, please cover him with rocks,” they were told, Mr. Hall later said. “Fortunately, at that particular spot there were no rocks.”His death was announced, and his family was informed by telephone. It was about 12 hours later, at dawn on May 26, that a group of ascending climbers, who had been told to expect to find Mr. Hall’s body, came upon him sitting up, his jacket unzipped, frostbitten and very weak but miraculously still alive.

“I was shocked to see a guy without gloves, hat, oxygen bottles or sleeping bag at sunrise at 28,200-feet height, just sitting up there,” the group’s leader, Daniel Mazur, an American, told The Associated Press a few days after the rescue. Mr. Hall had greeted him this way: “I imagine you are surprised to see me here.”

Daniel Mazur and his climbing group came across Hall. Mazur, who was just two hours away from the peak, abandoned his Everest quest and left his party to carry Hall down to the camp at the base of the mountain, which was a 4-hour trek.

The only way Lincoln Hall’s rescue story happens is if:

Rescue stories:

Happens at the expense of someone else

He gave up self glory

Happens when someone sees the value of human life.

Give you a story to tell!

This evening I want to share another rescue story in Scripture. It takes place in a Jewish synagogue.

Luke 13:10–13 KJV 1900

10 And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. 11 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. 12 And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. 13 And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.

1. The Setting of this Story

a. This Story happened on the Sabbath

This shares more about Jesus’ purpose in coming to earth.

Cool. Sabbath. What does that have to do with me?

Jesus would perform miracles to carry out and be about His Father’s business. That is: redeeming humanity back to God.

The Jews had set up some extremely strict traditions that they painted as God’s Law.

Their man made traditions triumphed over God’s heart and Word for His people.

God’s Word is the most important thing you can ever know or have. What God says is what’s going to last.

b. This Story happened in the Synagogue

Jesus is in the synagogue teaching.

Think about God’s heart for you. He’s in the business of trying to get your attention.

Here’s Jesus teaching the Word. He’s teaching people about what the Word was saying about Himself. That’s so cool to me.

And they still didn’t see it.

c. This Story happened around the Spiteful

Complainers on Facebook.

“I love it when people complain...”

I’m going to get a little bit ahead of myself but Jesus is about to heal this woman.

Jesus is about to see, speak, and straighten this woman.

They are about to see an incredible work of God. And yet, there was one in the room that simply put, decided to be spiteful.

“Hey, there are six other days to heal someone. Not today!”

When you live for Jesus and Jesus is at work in your life, know that you’re not going to make everyone happy when you follow Jesus.

Because here’s the thing, spiteful people are really good at running their mouths about you to someone else, and missing the whole point.

If you know people like that. It’s easy to want to just tell them off… but remember this, lost people are going to act like lost people.

Joyless people are going to act joyless

Unforgiven people are going to be unforgiving.

2. The Salvation in this Story

How does salvation or rescue happen in this story? If you have a spiritual rescue story, it involves a few things:

a. State

Posture

One commentator suggests that this is a paralysis in her back where her spinal bones began to fuse together.

While it was physical.

It came from Satan. this is a spiritual battle.

18 years she dealt with this.

For 18 years she had not gazed up to the stars.

You don’t have to be physically stricken to know what it’s like to be more comfortable looking at someone’s feet than their eyes.

Unforgiveness

bitterness

regret

resentment

sorrow

worry

what is bending your spirit?

b. Sight

“And when Jesus saw her...”

Rescue stories start when someone sees your need.

He looks through the crowd and sees her.

Why is this supernatural?

He saw her real need.

He knew how long she had dealt with that.

Jesus sees right where you are.

c. Surrender