Jesus returned to His hometown of Nazareth and had been
rejected. He didn’t throw in the towel and quit, but “He went down to
Capernaum”. He went down to a dark place where demons, evil, and wickedness
abound. And it appears from all the Gospels, that as a result, great numbers of
people were afflicted with various sicknesses, blindness, and diseases.
Jesus shows up as a great Light in the midst of that kingdom
of darkness, bringing peace, bringing hope, bringing grace, and bringing salvation
to hungry, hurting, broken, sick people. This is where Jesus feeds the five
thousand, gives sight to the blind, raises the dead, cast out demons, and heals
the sick. It appears that Jesus did more miracles in this region than He did in
the area surrounding Jerusalem.
Yesterday we discussed Luke describing how Jesus had authority
over the demons as He cast the demon out of a man in the synagogue at Capernaum.
Luke tells us that the people who saw this responded in awe of what they saw in
verses 36-37, “Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying,
"What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean
spirits, and they come out." And the report about Him went out into every
place in the surrounding region.” Can you imagine what the people that just
tried to kill Jesus back in Nazareth were thinking when they hear about all these
things!
Today here in verses 38-44, we want to talk about how Jesus
not only has authority over the demons but how He also has authority over diseases.
I’ve been to Capernaum many times and we always go to the old ruins of an
ancient synagogue from the time of Jesus that is right next to the excavated
foundation of a house they believe was Peter’s house. A church is built over
them with a glass floor so you can see them. And this is all within a few
hundred feet of the northern tip of the Sea of Galilee.
After casting out the demon in the synagogue, Jesus stands
up and walks over to Simon Peter’s house where He is told that Simon Peter’s
mother-in-law is sick with a high fever. What Jesus did was extraordinary. He
did not treat the fever as though it were a medical ailment needing treatment.
He spoke to it and rebuked it! And it left her (4:38-39). Did Jesus speak to
the virus or to the bacteria? Had Satan caused this fever as he caused poor
Job's boils (Job 2:1-7)? We do not know. We do know that the cure was
instantaneous. Mark’s Gospel informs us that the woman stood to her feet and hurried
off to the kitchen to minister to the family with a meal.
By the way, Jesus doesn’t heal us to write a book, or go on
a speaking tour, but He heals us to serve and minister to those around us.
When I think about this incident, I am reminded that Jesus
not only cares about the multitudes but that He notices and takes time for the
individual. This also assures me that Jesus cares about the physical ailments
of people. Today Jesus still has the power and authority of sickness and disease
and He can heal anyone if it is His will. Over the many years of our ministry, I
have anointed with oil and prayed with many sick people in their homes and in
the hospital and at church. Many were healed and immediately knew it. But also,
in many cases the Lord’s healing was an ultimate healing in taking them home to
be with Him in heaven.
Sometimes God doesn’t answer the prayer to remove the sickness
as with the Apostle Paul, but He always promises that His grace will be sufficient
as we go through the suffering (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). And what really matters
is to be confident that God loves you and that He cares about every type of physical,
emotion, mental or spiritual suffering or sorrow you might be dealing with. Trust
His love and grace today even if you can’t feel His hand.
God bless!
