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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 4:38-44
Yesterday, we read that upon leaving His hometown of Nazareth, Jesus went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority. Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, "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!" And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him. 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.
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. Of this passage, Cyril of Alexandria has commented: "That which was rebuked was some living thing unable to withstand the influence of Him who rebuked it, for it is not reasonable to rebuke a thing without life and unconscious of the rebuke. Nor is it astonishing for there to exist certain powers that inflict harm on the human body."
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. Again, as in yesterday's reading, a kind of hidden spiritual battle is revealed in Jesus' healings of people. We keep in mind the words, above, of Cyril of Alexander, in which He states that to rebuke something is to address a living thing. At least here, in today's passage, this is certainly meant to be the case. Again, as in yesterday's reading, the demons must be silenced; their "giving away" the secret of Jesus' identity as Christ is inappropriate to His mission.
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. My study bible explains, "Christ's primary mission was to preach the kingdom. Miracles and healings testify both to the truth of the message and the identity of the Teacher (see 5:24). This same pattern holds true in the Church (Acts 4:29-30)."
Christ brings with Him a kind of a "field." There is something present with Him that is much greater than simply a man who is speaking and preaching, traveling in His ministry. He brings with Him a kind of reality, a presence, a world that is astonishing in its effects. With Him is the Kingdom, in Him is the authority of this Kingdom. At His word, demons are rebuked; even fevers are rebuked. He brings this world to us, giving us a message, a revelation of something we are to wonder at, to marvel about. He brings the Kingdom into the world, in our presence. In doing so, He is, once again, seemingly "crashing into" our world. His ministry "crashes in" on people's lives, revealing not only the marvelous signs of the Kingdom, but also activity of the demons -- and the awareness of the demons, that they know Who Jesus is. Uncovering this reality is the mission of Jesus, and bringing His kingdom into the world is the thing He is here to do. He will later instruct His apostles when they go out on their first mission, that they are to say to those to whom they are sent, "The kingdom of heaven has come near" (or "is at hand"). And so, it is important for us to think about what this means for us. Jesus' power and authority must have been something extraordinary to experience, but that presence of the Kingdom isn't something limited to His own ministry at the time when the human Jesus walked the earth. As we can see, He sent out the Apostles with the same mission, and the Church, as the Body of Christ and the place where Father, Son and Spirit continue to work and be present, is also a place for the Kingdom to be at hand. The Spirit is everywhere present, in all things, and in this act is therefore conveying the Kingdom at all times and places into the world. So, the step that is on offer to us is to participate in this kingdom, to be a part of it via our faith. In prayer, we seek to be a part of that kingdom. We pray together with the communion of saints, the great cloud of witnesses. And it is also up to us, via our faith, to carry the presence of that Kingdom into the world as well. We want to be its presence for others. The gifts of the Spirit convey that presence: the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, etc. (see 1 Corinthians 12:4-12). The fruits of the Spirit also express the presence of the Kingdom: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). You may not necessarily be aware of it, but when the fruits of faith are on display, you, too, are bringing the presence of the Kingdom into the world for others. Let us remember it is alive and composed of living members, conveying life itself in abundance, asking us also to receive and give in abundance. We are always called to live in this Kingdom and be a part of it and share it even as we are in this world. Let us remember His example; let our lives bear the light of His presence and all that He brings to us.
