A woman who was bent over met Jesus. He gave her the ­ability to stand up straight—and he did this on the Sabbath day. The religious leaders became angry because a faithful Jew like Jesus was not supposed to “work” on the Sabbath by healing someone.

We could say the religious leaders had a point. This ­woman had been bent over for 18 years. Would waiting one more day make much of a difference?

But to Jesus, this was about setting a person free from a burdensome disease and giving her the dignity of a child of Abraham. What’s more, this was about giving glory to God and rest to this woman on the very Sabbath day of rest and worship that God wanted for his people. Ultimately this healing pointed to the salvation that only Jesus can offer. And salvation is so important that Jesus wanted the authorities to know it should certainly take place on the Sabbath day.

The healing of this woman can teach us also that we should not wait to receive salvation from Jesus. Salvation is a gift for eternal life, and it makes our lives better right now. With such a great gift being offered to us, why would we wait any longer to receive it? Receive Jesus’ salvation for you today.