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Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon's house. But Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her. So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them.
When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him, and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them. And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of God!" And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.
Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent." And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.
- Luke 4:38-44In yesterday's reading, Jesus was in Capernaum, teaching on the Sabbath. All are amazed by the authority He conveys. In the synagogue, a man with an unclean demon shouts out, "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth! Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!" But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!" The spirit left and did not hurt the man. Everybody present said, "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.
Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon's house. But Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her. So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them. This passage tells us something about the apostles, specifically Peter: that he was married and lived in a house with extended family. In addition to rebuking unclean spirits (as in yesterday's reading), or demons, and correcting in this sense the ailment of those who are oppressed by them, Jesus here also "rebukes" the fever of Peter's mother-in-law; in this sense, we read the Gospel as teaching that Jesus "corrects" and puts her back in her proper and natural place in life, restoring her and restoring good order. This touches on Logos, the One who puts order in things, assigning proper and good meanings and values, and giving true life and all virtue. Through His word, He restores her to her own true life.
When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him, and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them. And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of God!" And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ. We get a sense of a full day for Jesus in His ministry: preaching, teaching, healing. And His life is both public and personal. In the Gospels, Jesus' healing takes on many forms -- in this case through His laying on of hands, His touch. Here healing sickness is combined with casting out demons: both are acts of restoring, healing, giving life in abundance, correcting. They are both a form of liberating, as in the quotation from Isaiah we read earlier in Luke's Gospel. And again, as in yesterday's reading, there is the encounter with this world of spirits, who know who Jesus is. My study bible says, "Jesus prohibits the demons from identifying Him for two reasons: (1) theirs is not a confession of faith, and (2) He reveals Himself to the people in His own way and time."
Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent." And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee. Again, we get a sense of His busy ministry. It is now the next day, and Jesus goes to a deserted place -- presumably for prayer, as will often happen in His ministry. But by now, He's in great demand. My study bible has an important note to this point: "Jesus' ministry was not based on the wants and needs of people in any given location. Nor was the primary purpose of His ministry to heal. Rather His purpose was to preach the kingdom of God. Thus He moved to other cities, the miracles testifying to the power of the gospel message which He preached."
In Jesus' life, we get a great sense of His busy ministry, and what He is here for. He's not just here to give us good gifts like children begging for candy. Jesus' good gifts, of life in abundance, have quite another sort of purpose and focus. Jesus' gift is from the love of the Father. He who would restore us and our world to real life, to life in abundance, is here for correction, for teaching, for the gift of the good news about God's love and God's call to restoration and healing, back into relationship. In this sense, the great gift of the good news is that we are called back to God, to restoration of our rightful and natural places, like Peter's mother-in-law. Jesus is here to correct, to put right, to teach -- and to rebuke the things that are not correct, that oppress and diminish, that separate us from God in the sense that they obscure the life that God has given us. Christ's restoration is for our good, for life in abundance. In the sense of correcting what ails, sometimes what we want or desire isn't always to our true good -- and in that sense He also rebukes and teaches. His mission is the one for which He's been sent. Life in abundance is a life full of virtues and blessings, the things that are truly good, the real gifts of God, all characterized in God's love. That which diminishes this life are forms of death: lying, deceit, corruption, hypocrisy, and the myriad forms that life takes on separated from God, from the blessings of Logos, and the life in abundance Christ promises us. Can we hear the good news He brings?
