What does Luke 13:13 mean?

Jesus has done the unthinkable. He was offered the honor of teaching on the Sabbath at the local synagogue. He has most likely read a portion of the Hebrew Scriptures and begun His interpretation (Luke 13:10–11). Then everything starts to go wrong for the leader of the synagogue who oversees the session.

First, when Jesus explains the passage, He does so with authority. He doesn't rely on what other rabbis have said before Him. He teaches as if He were the source of truth (Mark 1:22).

Second, Jesus notices a woman in the crowd. She's hard to miss, as she's hunched over nearly double. But He doesn't ignore her, assuming her ailment is due to sin (John 9:1–3). Instead, He calls her to come to Him.

Third, Jesus touches the woman—in that era, rabbis did not physically contact women.

Fourth, Jesus heals the woman despite this being the Sabbath. She unbends and stands straight (Luke 13:12).

The ruler of the synagogue is indignant. Jesus has broken several social norms but this—working on the Sabbath—is an especially irritating offense. Still, the ruler can't publicly shame the teacher he chose. He settles on scolding the people, telling them they are wrong to seek healing on the Sabbath (Luke 13:14).

Of course, it is not against God's law to heal someone on the Sabbath. Jesus explains this (Luke 13:15–16). But the law followed by religious leaders of the area—the Pharisees—goes far beyond the Mosaic law in the Old Testament. Their scribes have spent centuries adding extra rules. They seek to prevent Jews from even approaching disobedience, lest God send them to exile again. They call these rules the "Oral Law" and claim that God gave them to Moses but Moses didn't write them down.

The traditional rules of this Oral Law specifically define "work" that should not be done on the Sabbath based on the construction of the tabernacle. Normal healing might include making medication, but that is too similar to mixing dyes. Then the medication would have to be carried, like the pieces of the tent. Here, however, Jesus straightens the crippled woman's back, recalling fitting structural pieces together and finishing the construction.

What the synagogue leader and other religious authorities there fail to understand is the purpose of the Sabbath is to give God's children rest (Mark 2:27). What better rest can this woman receive than to be healed physically and released from the torment of a demon (Luke 13:15–16)?