“A Touch and a Word of Healing”
Matthew 8: 14-17, Mark 1:29-33, Luke 4:38-41
Today we continue in the series of miracles by Jesus which are recorded in Matthew 8-10, in which Jesus demonstrates that His Authority could only come from God. We look first at the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law. This miracle happened after Jesus and His disciples left the synagogue and went to Simon Peter’s house for dinner; but on the way, Jesus found out that the mother-in-law wouldn’t be doing the cooking that day. (We are going to read this account in the three gospels that record it.)
Matthew 8: 14 When Jesus came into Peter's home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever. (the root word means “fire”, “a pile of burning fuel”) 15 He touched her hand, (remember this word, “touched”? It means to “fasten or adhere to” or also to “Kindle a fire”) and the fever left her; and she got up and waited on Him.”
Mark 1:29 “As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. 31 So he went to her, took her hand (“to have power, be powerful: a) to be chief, be master of, to rule. 2) to get possession of. a) to become master of, to obtain. b) to take hold of) and helped her up. (to arouse from the sleep of death, to recall the dead to life.) The fever left her and she began to wait on them.”
Luke 4: 38 “Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering (to be pressed on every side) from a high fever, and they asked (begged) Jesus to help her. 39 So he bent over her and rebuked (admonished) the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.”
This miracle of healing Peter’s mother-in-law is provocative in more ways than you realize; for one, Jesus performed it on the Sabbath AND He healed a woman. The Jewish prayer book (siddur) is thick with prayers and blessings: One of the morning prayers used goes like this: "Blessed are you O God, King of the Universe, who has not made me a goy [Gentile], a slave, or a woman.” Jesus ministered to all three of these categories of people.
Jesus demonstrates Godly Power to Heal
Again we see that Jesus demonstrates Godly Power. We see Him only “touch” the woman in two of these accounts, and in Luke, He no doubt touched her as well as rebuking the fever to leave. Jesus has the healing touch to demonstrate His unusual unearthly power. In Matthew, the word for “fever” and the word for “touched” both have the word “fire” in their root meaning. We have a saying which goes: “Fight fire with fire”, but there was no remedy for this high fever. This fever could only mean death, and Jesus fights the fire of fever with the power of a divine touch. In Mark when Jesus took her hand, it was to be her master, his touch was powerful, authoritative.
We looked at John 6 and Romans 8 and 9 and saw how God initiates His saving work in hearts that are opposed to Him, and here we also see how Jesus initiates and completes the healing process. He doesn’t screen the cases and see if healing is possible. He doesn’t ask a bunch of questions. He doesn’t examine her for vital signs, He simply takes her hand firmly, touches her, rebukes the fever, and she is Healed. Jesus is the one who makes the choice to heal and save the woman; she was not even aware of His presence.
Jesus does His powerful work IN and UPON those that He chooses. It was certainly part of God’s Providential Plan. He called the disciples, including Peter, Peter was married to his wife, and they lived in the same house with His mother-in-law…and Jesus came for dinner after synagogue. Jesus is able to heal completely and immediately. She had no knowledge of Jesus even BEING there, but Jesus touches her and raises her from the sleep of death into life and the results are immediate. Jesus doesn’t say drink plenty of liquids, take Tylenol, and get plenty of bed rest and let me know how you are doing in a few days: He demonstrates His immediate power to SAVE from death.
In looking at the three accounts of this miracle you see that the woman’s reaction is the same. The woman got up and began and immediately began to “wait on” Jesus and others. She probably began to cook gefilte fish, or maybe a fish that Peter brought in, bake some fresh bagels, and send James or John out for some cream cheese. The woman demonstrates an immediate response to God’s healing grace by serving Jesus and others.
The Greek word for “wait on” is “diakoneô” and it means “to be a servant, attendant, domestic, to serve, wait upon, to minister to one.” It comes from the noun which is translated “minister, servant, and deacon.” Whoever receives NEW LIFE from God in Jesus Christ should respond the same way: What can I do to serve YOU, LORD, and others. WE are all called to be ministers. We are saved to serve.
Jesus Demonstrates Godly Power to Save from Sin
Look at the next few verses in Matt. 8:16: “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."
Mark 1:32 “That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33 The whole town gathered at the door, 34 and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.”
Luke 4: 40: “When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. 41 Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ. “
These verses show us that Jesus does not only have power over the physical, but He also has power in the spiritual realm. Because Jesus has that Power and authority, He has power, not only to heal bodies, but also to save souls. Jesus has power over the things that are SEEN, but also over the things that are unseen. He has power that transcends the kingdoms of this world. Jesus has power over evil spirits. They leave at His command;
The evil spirits had the knowledge to recognize Jesus and His power from God; many people do not. Which do you think is more important? To have an evil spirit removed, or a fever? Physical illness may rob a person of health and physical life, but to be inhabited by a spirit other than the SPIRIT OF God means eternal death.
By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Matthew saw true mission of Jesus, and quotes Isaiah 53:4 NAS: “Surely our griefs (some translations say SINS) He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried ; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.) (“bore” can be translated over 100 different ways in the Hebrew, but the idea is to carry a burden, and “carried” is to “bear a load”.)
For sure, Jesus had compassion on those He who were physically diseased, but when He saw them, He saw beyond the physical and knew the root cause, which is SIN. SIN is why the Savior came. He came to redeem people from sin. When Jesus saw the sick, HE HEALED WITH THE CROSS IN MIND. That’s why He wept over Jerusalem. That’s why He wept at Lazarus’ tomb. He knew that He would raise Lazarus from the dead, but He also knew Lazarus would have to die again: because of sin.
Many people ask: Is there physical healing in Christ’s death, in His atonement? Yes, there is physical healing in the atonement, but the healing is not for now, it is a promise for later. When Jesus died on the cross , He died for sin, but do you, as a Christian, still have trouble with sin? Sure you do! Jesus died for the penalty of sin and for those who trust Him for forgiveness, but the of fulfillment of His death is not yet realized in its fullness.
When Jesus died on the cross and rose again from the dead, He removed and destroyed the enemy of death, but do Christians still die? Yes, they do, and that’s because the fulfillment is yet future. When He died on the cross did He deal with disease? Yes, but we still get sick because the fulfillment is in our NEW RESURRECTED bodies that are still in the future!
Some Christians say that you should never be sick because there's healing in the atonement, but then you would also have to say Christians never sin, and that we should never attend a Christian funeral. Even the people who teach such things die: Does that come as a surprise to them? I hope not.
Jesus would carry and die for our sins not our sicknesses. The gospel is good news about perfect forgiveness, not perfect health. Christ was made sin for us, but He was not made disease for us. He died on the cross for our sin. Matthew 8, Isaiah 53, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 6 and 8 all speak about Christ’s death for our sin problem, not our health problems. Jesus never promised good health by believing in Him, he promised forgiveness of sins.
1 Peter 2:21: “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, 22 WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH ; 23 and while being reviled, He did not revile in return ; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously ; 24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness ; for by His wounds you were healed. (HEALED FROM SIN TO LIVE TO RIGHTEOUSNESS) 25 For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.” There is total restoration and wholeness there, but only as it comes to us in the fullness of salvation, the redemption of our bodies when we're glorified in His eternal kingdom.
The Proof of Jesus’ Messiah-ship was in His Miracles. The Promised one who would perform the miracle would be the One who would have the power to lay His Life down for sin, and take it up again. He would have the power to forgive because of His own perfect sacrifice for sin. The further proof, was the miracle of His own resurrection. Make no mistake, everything Jesus did while on this earth, His powerful touches of physical healing as well as His words of forgiveness and spiritual cleansing, He did with the cross in mind.
Because of the Cross, we have forgiveness from a perfect God, who enables us to seek Him in all that we do and say. We can forgive others and forgive ourselves. We are able to let go of the past, and hold on to Christ for our eternal future, because we know we have been forgiven in Him.
OUTLINE: A Touch and a Word of Healing
Matthew 8: 14-17, Mark 1:29-33, Luke 4:38-41
I. Jesus Demonstrates Godly Power to Heal Bodies
1. Jesus fights the fire of fever with the divine power of a touch.
2. Jesus initiates and completes the process.
3. Jesus demonstrates His immediate power to SAVE from death.
4. The woman demonstrates an immediate response to grace:
We are saved to serve.
II. Jesus Demonstrates Godly Power to Save Souls
1. Jesus has power over evil spirits.
2. Jesus had compassion on the physically diseased, but saw the cause: SIN
3. Jesus died for our sins not our sicknesses.
4. The Proof of Jesus’ Messiah-ship was in His Miracles.
5. Everything Jesus did, He did with the cross in mind.
2 Corinthians 5:21 NAS
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
