I am endlessly fascinated by Jesus Christ. I have been seriously studying the New Testament for more than 4 decades, and I am still coming to new appreciations of the life he lived. Over and over again, as I come to understand what we have written about him, I am stretched as I see how he acted in various situations and realize that I should be like him and fall short.
For example, I like to play it safe, which is safe. But Jesus confronted people over and over again. He made things happen. That wasn’t safe, but he forced people to respond to him, one way or another. And not everyone responded well to him, but he made them think and make choices and many, many people came into the Kingdom of God because Jesus wasn’t afraid to stir things up.
And so I find myself challenged by Jesus over and over again. But, looking back, I can see ways that his life came into my life and I find myself changing, being molded into his likeness. And that’s our goal, to be disciples of Jesus Christ, men and women who will be molded into his likeness, and to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Help others be like him, too.
I struggle to comprehend what a typical day would be like in his life. Was he with the crowds all the time? Where did he stay when he was on the road? Did he ever rest? What was he like to hang out with?
In the fourth chapter of Luke’s gospel we have several events that all happened in one day, a Sabbath day. You’ll remember that he had preached in his home church, the synagogue of Nazareth, and was violently rejected there. How that must have hurt! And we are tempted to jump over that, but faithful disciples want to share with him in his sufferings, to appreciate all he did for us.
Then he moved down to a fishing town on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, Capernaum. And a few weeks ago we looked at his ministry in their synagogue. I once stood right on the spot where that synagogue was. And we don’t know the message that he spoke, only that the people commented on the authority with which he spoke. And that his authority sparked a confrontation with a demon possessed man. And Jesus set that man free.
That was the morning. Do you know what happened with the rest of his day?
Please stand for the reading of God’s word, Luke 4:38-41. You can find it on page 62 of the New Testament section of the pew Bible.
38 After leaving the synagogue he entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked him about her. 39 Then he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and began to serve them. 40 As the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various kinds of diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on each of them and cured them. 41 Demons also came out of many, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Messiah.
So what happened after church that day? He went over to Simon’s house. Do you know who this Simon is? Simon was his Hebrew name. We know him better by the Greek form of his name, Peter. He later became one of Jesus’ disciples, the leader of the disciples. We learn from John’s gospel that Jesus and Peter knew each other. You could say that John the Baptist introduced them before Jesus was baptized and began his public ministry . Maybe Jesus came to Capernaum because he already had a contact there, maybe someone he could stay with.
So we get a glimpse into Peter’s life, too. His mother-in-law was living with them. Peter was married. Did you know that? And this little detail is important. If you believe that Peter was the first pope, then it doesn’t make sense to require popes and pastors to be single. Protestants believe that disciples can serve at the highest levels of the church and marry, too.
And Peter’s mother-in-law was sick, with a high fever. That was before the drugstores were open on Sunday, so they couldn’t get any antibiotics. They asked Jesus for help.
And with a word, he healed her. In fact she was healed so thoroughly that she felt good enough to hop right up and jumped in on putting Sunday dinner on the table.
Here’s a model for disciples of Jesus Christ. He gave her a wonderful gift, the healing of a high fever. And what did she do? In gratitude she jumped up and gave the best gift she could give to him and to others. She responded by serving, in the best, most practical way that she knew how. That’s a model for all disciples. Disciples of Jesus Christ are servants.
Well, there’s a gap in the story of a few hours. I picture them having Sunday dinner together, and relaxing. If Peter had lakefront property, maybe they sat out on the patio, with Peter’s fishing boat pulled up on the sand, his nets spread on drying racks, and behind them the beautiful Sea of Galilee and the Golan Heights across on the other shore.
When I come home after preaching and teaching on Sunday morning, I’m exhausted. I drink several large glasses of water. I eat a big lunch. Then I sit back in my recliner and start to read the paper, but I always conk out before I finish it. I’ll bet Jesus was exhausted, but Peter and his family were all excited after Jesus had cast the demon out of the man in the synagogue and healed his mother-in-law. I’ll bet they asked him a lot of questions.
But the rumor mill was churning in Capernaum as people went home and told their friends about what Jesus could do. And as dusk approached, there was a knock on the door. And when Peter looked out, the street was filling up with people who were sick and who were coming to Jesus for help. By the strict interpretation of the law according to the Pharisees, you weren’t supposed to seek out medical help on the Sabbath. And you certainly weren’t supposed to carry a sick friend on the Sabbath. But the sun was going down and the Sabbath was coming to an end. And there they were, asking for help.
And Jesus went out and he healed every one of them. And we read in other passages that each time Jesus healed someone, something flowed out of him. This wasn’t easy for him. It cost him something. But he did it.
And he didn’t just command the illnesses to leave with his voice. This time he personally touched each and every one. He gave them the physical healing they requested. But he personally touched them with God’s love besides. I don’t think it’s an accident that the gospels writers remembered that part about him giving a personal touch for each one.
So after church that day, Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law. That sounds like a favor for an old friend. Then he healed everyone who showed up. That broadens the circle. And Luke tells us that there were even people there possessed by demons, who tried to get control of the message about who Jesus was by announcing prematurely that he was the Son of God. They saw themselves as enemies of Jesus. But Jesus set those people free, too. I don’t think I understand demon possession yet. But it doesn’t look pretty. It’s not nice to be around. But Jesus healed even people who had twisted lives, even people who came at him as enemies.
And what does that have to do with us today? We are here to learn to be like Jesus. Does it mean we all have to be faith healers? No, God doesn’t give that gift to many people today. But if you do have that gift, I’d love to have you pray for some of my lumbar vertebrae and discs that are wearing out.
We can see ourselves in Peter’s mother-in-law, who responded to Jesus’ blessings by jumping in and serving in the way that she could. That’s a mark of a disciple of Jesus.
The early Methodists met weekly in small groups to talk about how they could be more like Jesus. And one of their goals was to do as many good works to the glory of God as they could.
In order to be like Jesus, they devoted themselves doing good works. We can see that devotion in Jesus, our Lord, who must have been tired as the sun was going down, but went out to the crowd and healed every one of them. Some of those people were more deserving of help. Some of them were less deserving. Some of them had evil spirits in them that were determined to make trouble for him. But God makes the rain fall on the just and the unjust alike, and Jesus gave them all the grace of healing their bodies, with a personal touch of the hand for every one.
Disciples of Jesus Christ devote themselves to doing good works. It’s not to try to earn our salvation. That comes because of God’s grace and we receive it by faith. And if we ever start to think we are earning anything special by the good things we do it will go to our heads and be a big pain for anybody around us.
But once we have God’s grace settled in our hearts, there is something wrong if we don’t find a way to say thanks. And we say thanks by doing good works.
Disciples of Jesus Christ don’t just wait until they feel like helping someone. They know their potential for giving in to laziness or fears and for the love of Christ they take steps against those tendencies to be sure they are obedient to their Lord.
Disciples of Jesus Christ don’t just wait for someone to organize a church program of doing good works, for the love of Christ they look for opportunities to do good works, in their neighborhood, at work, wherever they go.
When disciples of Jesus Christ see a need, they may very well cancel their own previous plans, rearrange their schedules, and for the love of Christ take the initiative to make a situation better.
For some of us that may be spending time in prayer for those who don’t know God yet or for our nation or another nation. For some of us it may be visiting with someone who can’t get out much anymore. And the personal touch of a visit is much more powerful than a card or even a phone call. For some of us it may be helping a neighbor or a friend with a repair job or some yard work. For some of us it may be donating money to a charitable work. For some of us it may be standing up for someone who is being mistreated. Jesus said that we when we lose ourselves in good works for others we find ourselves.
But today we see our Lord Jesus as someone devoted to doing good works. May we all be faithful to follow. I encourage you to pick out something that you will do this week, something that you don’t have to do, that’s above and beyond the call of duty, something helpful for someone else, something that allows God’s love to flow through you to someone else, and make a point of doing something extra good this week. AMEN
