“Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” (Luke 13:16, NIV).
I added the bold emphasis to this verse. When I read it the other day, those three words stuck out to me, “eighteen long years.” Jesus could have left it at “eighteen years.” But He didn’t. He added in His own emphasis, on how long those years were. A quick peek at the original Greek for this Scripture reveals that He did indeed use an accentuated phrase here. He put specific stress on the concept of her suffering being lengthy.
Why? Because this was the overflow of His compassionate heart. He was expressing deep empathy for someone that He loved. No, He was not acquainted with her personally. But as soon as He saw her, His heart overflowed with love for her and concern for her pain. He was a human, living in a human body, experiencing all the pangs of human existence. He knew how long a year was. He was living inside time. He knew that Continue reading The Long Years
Feeding On Jesus 