Matthew 8:14-17 Peter’s Mother-in-Law Healed
“Now when Jesus had come into Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever. So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them.
Many Healed in the Evening
When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.”
Today is the day of ballyhoo. Ballyhoo has been defined as “to praise or publicize extravagantly.” Whether on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Twitter, or some other social media, people trumpet their achievements at every opportunity, adding selfie photos as well. But how did Jesus minister? These two short vignettes give a screenshot of Jesus’ practice of ministry.
Jesus entered Peter’s home in Capernaum and found that Peter’s mother-in-law was sick with a fever. This fever might have been pneumonia, typhoid, malaria, or some viral illness; perhaps she even had cholera and was dehydrating at an alarming rate. Whatever the malady, this busy housewife had been forced to take to her bed. We don’t know this lady’s name, but let’s call this lady Mariam. As a conscientious hostess expecting an honored guest, the last thing Mariam would do would be to lie down for any reason, so she was obviously quite sick, perhaps even dying.
Did Jesus pray a lengthy prayer over Mariam or wave his hands and cut off curses, or summon others so that they could conduct a prayer meeting and scream at the Devil? No. Jesus touched Mariam’s hand and she was healed immediately. Once healed, Mariam immediately got up and served her guests as tradition demanded.
There’s no record that anybody said anything outside the house; however, obviously some nosy neighbor was watching and ran off to inform the community. How do we know this? “When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.”
Word spreads fast in a small town and Capernaum likely had about 1500 residents in Jesus’ day. Jesus and the disciples had just finished supper when there was a knock on the door. Peter walked outside to find that most of Capernaum plus many of the surrounding villages were now on his doorstep. At that point, Peter may well have panicked and called out to Jesus, “Lord, there’s a huge crowd outside! What are we going to do?” Jesus simply smiled and told Peter, “No problem. Get them to line up in the order in which they arrived, and I’ll do the rest.”
After Peter had arranged the petitioners, Jesus began walking down the line, speaking to the demons and healing all the sick. Although Peter was certain that this process would take all night, Jesus worked calmly and efficiently. As soon as one person was healed or delivered, they would leave so another could take his/her place. There was no rush, but Matthew records that Jesus healed ALL who were sick, without neglecting anybody. Within a few hours, everyone had been cared for and had left praising God. What truly amazed the disciples was that as Jesus was ministering, he was calling all these people by name without their informing him ahead of time. What Matthew does not describe but what is indubitably true is that each time Jesus reached out to someone or spoke to someone, he looked at them with eyes full of love.
Centuries later, Henry Twells, a British cleric wrote a lovely hymn describing that scene at Peter’s home in Capernaum. There are no prayers more eloquent than the final stanzas of this hymn.
AT EVEN, ERE THE SUN WAS SET
1 At even, ere the sun was set,
the sick, O Lord, around thee lay;
O in what divers pains they met!
O with what joy they went away!
2 Once more ’tis eventide, and we
oppressed with various ills draw near;
what if thy form we cannot see?
we know and feel that thou art here.
3 O Saviour Christ, our woes dispel;
for some are sick, and some are sad,
and some have never loved thee well,
and some have lost the love they had;
4 And some have found the world is vain,
yet from the world they break not free;
and some have friends who give them pain,
yet have not sought a friend in thee;
5 And none, O Lord, have perfect rest,
for none are wholly free from sin;
and they who fain would serve thee best
are conscious most of wrong within.
6 O Saviour Christ, thou too art man;
thou hast been troubled, tempted, tried;
thy kind but searching glance can scan
the very wounds that shame would hide.
7 Thy touch has still its ancient power;
no word from thee can fruitless fall:
Hear, in this solemn evening hour,
and in thy mercy heal us all.
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