"14 When Jesus came into Peter’s home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she got up and waited on Him. 16 When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: "He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases."
In John 15, Jesus told His disciples "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also."
And, in our last message Jesus healed the centurion's servant, however Scripture doesn’t say that his servant had any faith. Jesus healed him for the benefit of the centurion. If that centurion believed before Jesus had the authority to heal, which he did, just imagine what he must’ve believed after Jesus healed his servant with only a word.
Just in case the Jewish religious leaders weren't completely offended by Him, in today's text, Jesus adds another healing. In Mark's Gospel, he tells us it was on the Sabbath. There's no need to turn there, unless you want to follow along as I read it to you. Mark chapter 1.
"They *went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and began to teach. They were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying, "What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” And Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!” Throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him. They were all
amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, "What is this? A
new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and
they obey Him." Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding district of Galilee.
And immediately after they came out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they *spoke to Jesus about her. And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she waited on them.
When evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed. And the whole city had gathered at the door. And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.
In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there. Simon and his companions searched for Him; they found Him, and *said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You." He *said to them, "Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for." And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out the demons.
And a leper *came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, "If You are willing, You can make me clean." Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and *said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, and He *said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere."
Luke's Gospel also includes Jesus performed many healings on the Sabbath in Luke chapter 4, I'll not read it, but you can mark it and read it for yourselves on your own. I believe Mark begins telling the story of Jesus' healing Peter's mother in-law in verses 38-39.
It’s not our faith that saves us or heals, it is the object of our faith that saves and heals, which our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.In Jesus' name we ask and pray
Amen
Today's Message: Christ Over All
My point in mentioning this is Jesus Christ has Supreme Authority over every disease, every virus, and every plague as we have seen illustrated by these and the other miracles in Scripture. These early Christians were not afraid to serve the needs of others without fear of death, because they had Jesus. Today, we do not need to be afraid in serving the needs of others, the sick who are suffering, the needs of the homeless, or the elderly who are desperately lonely whether we live or we die, because we have Jesus.
In Matthew 25, Jesus said "Then
the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of
My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’"
In this fallen world life has become confusing, therefore it's normal to feel anxious, but I believe if we hold to the biblical perspective and we understand that nothing happens to us apart from the will of God, even when we do not understand it, and we believe what Scripture tells us in Romans 8, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose," we can have the confidence that everything is going work for our good according to God's plans and purposes.
As you will recall Jesus' coming to Peter’s house is proceeded by the healing of the leper and the Centurion’s servant. According to Mark’s account Jesus came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.
When Jesus arrived Peter's mother-in-law was sick with a fever, Peter was married, we know that, because I Corinthians 9. In Luke's account, he points out that the fever was high. He wants you to know that it is serious. There was some speculation that the fever itself was caused by a disease. We read in the text that Jesus touches her. People in that day didn't touch people who were feverish. In Mark's account, he records that Jesus took her hand. This is the helping hand of the servant.
It was the Sabbath, they had left the synagogue and were headed to Peter's house to have dinner. How can you have Sabbath dinner when Peter's mother-in-law is sick? So they asked Jesus to heal her. As Jesus touches her hand He touches her heart. She immediately gets out of bed and begins serving Him by making him a meal. By the way, the Pharisees believed that lepers, Gentiles and women were basically in the same category of whom they had a very low opinion. Jesus' healing a woman, especially on the Sabbath. By Jesus healing a leper, a Gentile and a Jewish woman, its just one more indictment. Because He told the Pharisees that they’re going to be shut out of the kingdom.
As a footnote, the part of the brain, that regulates and controls the body temperature and basic bodily functions, is an extremely complex part of the brain called the hypothalamus. When your body becomes infected and begins to fight it off, it raises your temperature, often to high levels.
That brings us to our final two verses for today's message, verses 16 and 17. "When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: "He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases." Verse 17 is a quote from Isaiah 53.
The Sabbath had ended, we know that because the setting of the sun marks the end of the Sabbath and they began to come with the sick and the demon-possessed, and
they bombarded Him with all of these people who needed healing,
and He healed them. They desperately needed Jesus and He healed them all. I believe that's always the way it is.
Because the disease of sin is running rampantly in this world, people need Jesus. However, when you mention Jesus, how much they need Him, in clinging to their sinfulness, they run the other way. Others grasp hold of Him superficially. People do not realize just how desperately they need Jesus until
something happens in their life. Some sickness, some loss or some tragedy, something
beyond the normal circumstances of their every day life, something they can't fix
or control themselves. I believe in these verses, Jesus is giving us a preview, not only of His power and authority over sickness, sin and disease, but of His eternal kingdom. That He will completely eliminate all sickness and disease, all death, and more importantly all sin. This is merely a taste of that, a preview of what is to come.
In Closing...
Many read this passage and see only the simplicity of the miracles, but I see the power of Jesus Christ being made manifest in three specific healing events. Many teach that there is physical healing in the atonement and while that's true, just as there’s deliverance from death in the atonement. Christ still graciously performs miracles every day, He grants healing to those whom He chooses. People still die. However, the ultimate fulfillment is yet in the future.
I have heard a number of pastors who teach the "Name it and Claim" principal of salvation. Stating that if you’re a Christian,you shouldn’t have any sickness, any illness or disease. Isaiah confirms there’s healing in the atonement, just claim it and Jesus has to do it! Well, then allow me to take it a step further, if you're a Christian pastor, or a believer in Christ than you shouldn't ever commit sin. Yet, they do! We all still sin. And on this side of eternity, people still get sick and they die. Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, not our sicknesses. Isaiah 53 is speaking about spiritual healing, the forgiveness from sin. Sickness is a problem as the result of sin. There is physical healing in the atonement, in a sense in which He took our infirmities and took our sicknesses, but the the fullness of salvation occurs when we are glorified in His eternal kingdom.
I believe that Jesus is calling all of us in this season of disruption, chaos and uncertainty to place our trust in Him no matter what happens.
May it be so..
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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