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Hi, my name is Daniel Smith and I love learning about the life of Christ! My hope is to help transport you into the teachings of the Savior through historical, cultural, and visual storytelling. I&rsquo;ll do this using artwork, 3D recreations, archeology, and more. I&rsquo;ll focus on the life and teachings of Christ, the events of Holy Week, and the context of the Jewish Feasts and ancient temple worship. 
I started the channel in 2009 after having had the chance to live in Jerusalem for two months. This was a life-changing experience and I desired to share some of the things I learned. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, though I work to appeal to all faiths. I work for an amazing organization called Scripture Central. My hope is to help others hear, come, and know Christ through these messages.

Messages of Christ

When Jesus healed the crippled woman as told in Luke 13, he shows how we too can become free from what binds us and holds us captive through the healing touch of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

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Jesus Heals a Crippled Woman

The story of Jesus healing the crippled woman teaches us a powerful lesson about freedom from bondage. Just as the woman&rsquo;s deformed back was healed after long suffering, so too can we be lifted up and freed from our own captivity by the healing touch of our loving Savior.&nbsp;
As Jesus is teaching on the Sabbath in a synagogue, a woman, who is severely hunched over catches his eye. She has suffered for 18 long years in this debilitating state (see&nbsp;<a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/luke/13.10-17?lang=eng&amp;clang=eng#p10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Luke 13:10-17</a>). As one who is bent over and unable to lift herself up, she not only would have been literally looked down upon by others but most likely figuratively as well. Anciently people often saw infirmities &ldquo;as a result of God&rsquo;s disapproval&rdquo; because of sin or unworthiness. [1] Luke states that the woman suffered from &ldquo;a spirit of infirmity&rdquo; which could point to some sort of mental or spiritual struggle as well. Perhaps this also meant she felt shame or depression because of her imperfect body. (see&nbsp;<a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/luke/13.11?lang=eng&amp;clang=eng#p11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Luke 13:11</a>).
Fortunately, there is One in the crowded synagogue who does not look down upon this woman. Jesus sees her among the people and calls her to him. Bravely, she pushes past those who stand straight and tall, and with her imperfect body, comes to Christ. He then reaches out his hand to touch her. Jewish men did not customarily touch women whom they were not related to. They feared it could make them ritually unclean. [2] Nevertheless, he lays his hand upon her and says, &ldquo;Woman, thou are loosed from thine infirmity&rdquo; (<a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/luke/13.12?lang=eng&amp;clang=eng#p12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Luke 13:12</a>). The original Greek word here for &ldquo;loosed&rdquo; means to be released or liberated. Immediately, for the first time in almost two decades, she is able to rise and stand straight.
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<td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYyBFzPD3jCzNfrrikJH-B_PNXxSoZPqcAQGyuJPOx4SY743l633PESVkcCZamuBak9WQGJMhzpmw7Gn8303J0Dqg9eoIJKfdgDpJzaEls3wnTmICf52m__1ArvOzrHThs2bi7FOTmLhl1/s2048/Fence+around+law.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1303" data-original-width="2048" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYyBFzPD3jCzNfrrikJH-B_PNXxSoZPqcAQGyuJPOx4SY743l633PESVkcCZamuBak9WQGJMhzpmw7Gn8303J0Dqg9eoIJKfdgDpJzaEls3wnTmICf52m__1ArvOzrHThs2bi7FOTmLhl1/w640-h408/Fence+around+law.jpg" width="640"></a></td>
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<td class="tr-caption">The Jews created a "fence" around the law (created by Ethan Fullmer)</td>
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The Jewish leaders were not impressed. They immediately began to criticize Jesus for performing this miracle on the Sabbath. While Jesus had not broken the law, he had broken down what was known as the &ldquo;oral law.&rdquo; For years, the leadership had built a barrier or a fence, so to speak, around the laws of God with a series of cultural traditions or rules in an attempt to prevent one from breaking any commandments. As these barriers became more and more restrictive, it distanced the people from the true purpose of the law, hiding it from their view.&nbsp;
Jesus exposes the hypocrisy of these supposed laws by pointing out that the true purpose of the Sabbath has been lost. He teaches that this holy day is set aside for the Lord&rsquo;s work. It is a day to commemorate the creation, for remembering the deliverance from slavery in Egypt, and to praise God. [3]&nbsp;
The woman has come to be refreshed spiritually, as have all the others. What better day to be healed than on the Sabbath day! How fitting that once made whole, she glorifies the Lord, for it is especially on this day we are to pay our devotions unto the Most High (see&nbsp;<a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/59.10?lang=eng&amp;clang=eng#p10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">D&amp;C 59:10</a>).
Jesus declares, &ldquo;You hypocrites! Doesn&rsquo;t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?&rdquo; (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+13%3A15&amp;version=NIV" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Luke 13:15 NIV</a>). If even the Jews can give water to their animals on the Sabbath, when better for this woman to drink of the living water?&nbsp;
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<td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUgY1rcpXRMAMCYjsHDO8Y_Kdlm54ehJEN8MUO8H5xa5DNHpxG2Vk7-gRnJwRkgAS5P3lptcarTVoeZijVNFyb7ipxDms3SOx3U5N-qRs6Dqn63TeYQ-s_C-6-Ph9uu4Dy6mtCvcgiBEL2/s2048/HOFF+Crippled+woman+01.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1626" data-original-width="2048" height="508" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUgY1rcpXRMAMCYjsHDO8Y_Kdlm54ehJEN8MUO8H5xa5DNHpxG2Vk7-gRnJwRkgAS5P3lptcarTVoeZijVNFyb7ipxDms3SOx3U5N-qRs6Dqn63TeYQ-s_C-6-Ph9uu4Dy6mtCvcgiBEL2/w640-h508/HOFF+Crippled+woman+01.jpg" width="640"></a></td>
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<td class="tr-caption">The Crippled Woman by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gospelimages.com/paintings/26/the-crippled-woman" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jan van 't Hoff</a></td>
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When studying the scriptures, we gain a better understanding of this account by looking at its context. With this in mind, let&rsquo;s consider what Jesus taught immediately before and after his miraculous healing of this woman as it will add greater insights to these events.
Before the story of the healing, Jesus was telling the people at the synagogue the story of when the tower of Siloam had collapsed, crushing 18 people (the same number of years this woman had suffered). (<a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/luke/13.4-5?lang=eng&amp;clang=eng#p4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Luke 13:4-5</a>). Just as these people were killed through no fault of their own, so too had this woman done nothing wrong to suffer this infirmity. By connecting these two stories, we can learn that even bad things can happen to good people.&nbsp;
After the woman is healed and able to stand straight once again, Jesus does something remarkable. He calls her by a name that only appears once in the Bible&mdash;Daughter of Abraham (<a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/luke/13.16?lang=eng&amp;clang=eng#p16" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Luke 13:16</a>). The Jews saw Abraham as the greatest of the patriarchs, and that the promised blessings came through him because of his and Sarah&rsquo;s faithfulness. Jesus makes sure that those at the synagogue that day understand that despite how they might see her, the Lord sees her true worth and divinity.&nbsp;
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<td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2D4raPuCoIQRIkPwqQPA6RAV9encKkLVAPrbNELzh-_FaS83Vrc44sPKaVFXxUlsrfq3y3o7qsqGs34kJqYvIk7dOMmqfdaUmGuwTSwvSX6rN-DtvQtmD0mlqKMI844yHzYV4yrlx26ws/s2048/WIKI+Mustard.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2D4raPuCoIQRIkPwqQPA6RAV9encKkLVAPrbNELzh-_FaS83Vrc44sPKaVFXxUlsrfq3y3o7qsqGs34kJqYvIk7dOMmqfdaUmGuwTSwvSX6rN-DtvQtmD0mlqKMI844yHzYV4yrlx26ws/w640-h426/WIKI+Mustard.jpg" width="640"></a></td>
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<td class="tr-caption">Mustard seeds, via&nbsp;<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mustard_Seeds_(8630655446).jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wikimedia</a></td>
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Later in the chapter, Jesus shares two short parables, one of the mustard seed and one of the leavened bread (<a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/luke/13.18-21?lang=eng&amp;clang=eng#p18" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Luke 13:18-21</a>). He explains that even the tiniest of seeds can grow into a tree. Even a little bit of leaven, or yeast, when added to flour will permeate the dough producing large loaves of bread. He possibly shares these parables to help the people see the great importance of this woman, and each of us, as a child of God. Perhaps after years of seeing her bent over, others could not imagine the good this woman could do. However in her is a seed, albeit small, that contains what Peter calls her &ldquo;divine nature&rdquo; (see&nbsp;<a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/2-pet/1.4?lang=eng" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2 Peter 1:4</a>). No one should discount the divine potential of this small woman.&nbsp;
This woman had spent 18 years looking down. Her myopic, or limited view, would have been focused on the rocks, dirt, and the ground below her feet. Now her field of vision has broadened and she can look directly into another&rsquo;s eyes. Now others can see the light of Christ in her eyes and that she has always had the ability to bless those around her.
In the challenging world we live in today, we can feel like we are in bondage. Crippled with feelings of unworthiness, grief, depression, and anxiety, we might not see our own self-worth or feel we can lift ourselves up. We might compare our bodies given to us by God to what the world tells us perfection should look like. It can be easy to just focus on the ground below us failing to see the blue majestic skies above.&nbsp;
We might wonder if we are somehow unworthy or unloved by God when our own towers of Siloam fall down crushing us and holding us captive. But like this crippled woman, we too have the potential to be magnificent. We can stand tall knowing we are children of our Heavenly Father and partakers of the covenant of Abraham.&nbsp;
Jesus always sees our true divinity, no matter where we may be focusing our gaze. With so much demanding our time and attention, God has given us one day each week, the Sabbath day, to focus on Him and do His work. He is beckoning us to come to Him so that our spirits can be lifted up and we can be refreshed and made whole. He wants us to be free from what binds us. And then, like this woman healed by the Master&rsquo;s touch, we too can praise and glorify the name of our Lord and Savior, even Jesus Christ.
Script written by Heather Ruth Pack
[1]&nbsp;The Testimony of Luke, S. Kent Brown, p. 661.
[2] The Miracles of Jesus, Eric D. Huntsman, p. 60.
[3] Huntsman, p. 60.

When Jesus healed the crippled woman as told in Luke 13, he shows how we too can become free from what binds us and holds us captive through the healing touch of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Sign up for email notifications for new videos here: https://bit.ly/2uV4vlo For more videos on the Life of Christ: https://bit.ly/2FgnMlS For the text of this video: http://www.redeemerofisrael.org/2020/11/jesus-heals-crippled-woman.html Produced and narrated by Daniel Smith Written by Heather Ruth Pack Special thanks to: LUMO for allowing me to use their life of Christ footage, watch their amazing videos at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjiDMt6Lm1jYQvSp4BROWVw J.S. Humfleet for allowing me to use his two beautiful paintings of the healing of the crippled woman: https://www.saatchiart.com/print/Painting-Jesus-heals-the-bent-woman/1202613/4869978/view © 2020 Daniel Smith, Messages of Christ YouTube Channel No portion of this video may be reproduced, re-uploaded, or copied without prior permission. The products (services) offered by Messages of Christ are neither made, provided, approved nor endorsed by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Any content or opinions expressed, implied or included in or with the goods (services) offered by Messages of Christ are solely those of Messages of Christ and not those of Intellectual Reserve, Inc. or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.