Luke 4:38-44
"And he arose out of the synagogue, and entered into Simon's house. And Simons wife's mother was taken with a great fever, and they besought him for her. And he stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her, and immediately she arose and ministered unto them. Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him, and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them. And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ. And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place: and the people sought him, and came unto him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them. And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent. And he preached in the synagogues of Galilee," Luke 4:38-44.
The fame of Jesus Christ continued to grow. People were amazed at Christ's teaching, they were amazed at His authority over demons, they were amazed at His power to raise the dead, and they were amazed that He was able to fully and immediately heal people. Every time He taught, cast out demons, raised the dead, or healed someone, His fame would spread all over the country. Most would gather in hope of seeing some type of a miracle, but the most important thing Christ did was preaching the kingdom of God.
In verse 38 Christ has left the synagogue and has entered the house of Simon Peter. Simon's mother in law was seized with a great fever. This was not just a fever affecting the head, but her whole body was inflamed with the fever. She was extremely sick. No doubt they had did all they could do for her, but to no avail. It seems that verse 38 indicates that as soon as Jesus Christ entered the house that they besought Him to heal her. "Besought" is to ask, and even beg. The people were grieved over the state of their loved one. You hurt when those you love are hurting. You walk with them down the road of sickness, and it is your desire that the Lord heal them.
In verse 39 we see the Lord heal Simon's mother in law. "Rebuke" in this verse has the idea of restraining. Christ literally restrained the great fever to the point that it left her body. She didn't just feel better, she was completely healed. Most of us have experienced high fevers at some point in our lives, and we know that even once the fever breaks that it takes us a couple of days to fully get back up and going like normal. This was not the case for Simon's mother in law. When Christ miraculously healed her, there were no side effects. She was completely and immediately healed. The text tells us that she immediately got up and began to minister to those in the house. "Minister" here means to serve at a table; to wait upon. She was in her right mind, and she was full of strength. Again, this was a complete and immediate healing.
Word is spreading about the events earlier in the day when Christ had cast out the demon while all the people were gathered in the synagogue for the sabbath. The meeting ended and people went to their own homes. The people were bound by the sabbath rules. They could only travel so far on the sabbath, and they were not allowed to do any type of work on the sabbath day. The Jewish sabbath ended at six o'clock in the evening. Most people would settle in for the night and get up the next morning and carry on with their trades etc., but not this night. As soon as the sabbath was over, as the sun was setting, everyone brought to Jesus everyone that was sick. "Sick" in verse 40 means specifically to be infirm in the body, i.e. to be sick, to suffer from disease or the consequences thereof.
If you heard that someone could heal, what would you do? How many people would you bring to that person? How many hospitals would you bring that person to? What Jesus Christ was doing was miraculous. He wasn't putting on a show. He wasn't confined to a church meeting; He wasn't using psychocamintics, no, Christ was truly and completely and immediately healing people regardless if they had faith or not. As you read the gospels you see that Jesus raised the dead, and it is obvious that the dead didn't have faith. Nor was Christ taking money from people in return for healing.
There is no one alive on earth today that can legitimately heal someone by way of a miracle. Anyone and everyone who claims to have the gift of healing today is a liar, a thief, and possibly one of the worst kinds of people alive. This list would also include those who claim to be apostles and prophets.
Notice in verse 40 that Christ healed everyone of them. None were too sick to be healed. Christ did not send them away because of anything. He healed them and their healing was immediate, and complete. In verse 41 again we see Christ's authority over the demons. He cast them out and made them be quiet just like we looked at last week in verses 31-37. We read about healings and casting out demons in the Gospels and in Acts, but we do not read about them in the epistles. Why not? Why aren't the writers of the epistles encouraging the churches to do miracles? The reason is because these types of gifts were temporary sign gifts (I Corinthians 12:28-31). Here are some Scriptures that prove this point: Philippians 2:25-30; I Timothy 5:23; II Timothy 4:20; and II Corinthians 12:7-10. Even before Pual and others were martyred for the faith, the sign gifts had ceased. What remained was the main thing. The focus of the epistles is Christ, the growing and maturing of the saints, and spreading the gospel. Even in our text in Luke 4:43 Christ says, "I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent." "Preach" in this verse means to preach the kingdom of God, meaning the things concerning the Kingdom of God. Repent and believe the gospel.
No matter how healthy we are, we are still going to die (Heb. 9:27). We should be more concerned about spiritual things than earthly things. Please do not be fooled by those who claim to be able to heal. A little common sense will go a long way. If they could truly heal, they would be at the hospitals etc. and there would be all kinds of official documentation proving a genuine miracle. No one has the gift of healing today. Does God heal today? God does what He wants, when He wants, and how He wants (Psalm 115:3). Just to clarify, a miracle cannot be explained. God providentially works in our lives by having us and others at the right place at the right time having the tools etc. needed for that situation. Please do not be led astray or taken advantage of by those charlatans who claim to be what they are not. They are some of the worst people that have ever been on earth. Remember, you will die. Are you ready to meet Jesus Christ? In heaven there is no sickness, no pain, and no sin. Trust Christ alone today for salvation. Please send questions and comments to richardsonbaptistchurch@gmail.com. Soli Deo Gloria.
