Miraculous healing

As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.

That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!"

Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else--to the nearby villages--so I can preach there also. That is why I have come." So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons (Mark 1:29-39).

As we look at the Gospel lesson for today, we see that it is focused on Jesus as healer. We are told why Jesus healed people, and we are shown why He did not heal everybody. We are given a look at Jesus’ priorities, and how those priorities are often different from our own.

The events of these verses took place in Capernaum. Jesus had left His hometown of Nazareth; He had tried to tell the people there that God was working through Him to save them all, but His neighbors could not believe that the man they had known since childhood was really God’s Chosen One. So Jesus went to nearby Capernaum and set up a base of operations there.

Jesus had been gathering a group of men to follow Him and learn from Him. He brought these followers to the Capernaum synagogue for Saturday morning worship. Following the service, the group went to the house of Simon and Andrew. Simon and Andrew were brothers; Simon was the man who Jesus would later rename Peter. They went to this house because Simon’s mother-in-law was bedridden with a high fever. Jesus took her by the hand to help her up; in so doing, the fever left her.

I’d like you to notice two things about this act of healing. The first is that it was a complete healing. Simon’s mother-in-law immediately got up and assumed the role of hostess; there were no lingering aftereffects from her illness. But more importantly, we are shown why Jesus heals people—He heals them to serve.

I think that if you’d ask most people why Jesus healed the sick, they would say that it’s because He loved them. And this is certainly true. But there is more to God’s acts of healing than just loving concern; there is a call to service as well. Over and over again, the Bible tells us that God sets us free so that we can serve Him. Jesus told His followers, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16). In 1st Corinthians chapter six Paul writes, You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. And James warns us, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead (James 2:17). God heals us because He has work for us to do; Ephesians chapter two states we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Simon’s mother-in-law serves as a wonderful example to us; as soon as she was restored to health, she showed her heart-felt gratitude by serving the Lord.

Jews were not permitted to work on the Sabbath; but when the sun set, the Sabbath day was over. So as soon as it got dark, the people of Capernaum flocked to the house where Jesus was staying, bringing their sick and demon-possessed for treatment. Word of Jesus’ miraculous healing had spread all over town, and the Lord was quickly overrun with people seeking His touch.

We are told that Jesus healed many; however, it appears that He did not heal everyone. Instead, in the wee small hours of the morning, Jesus quietly went away by Himself to a secluded place. There He prayed to His heavenly Father—for what, we are not told. However, we can make an educated guess based on the events that follow.

Simon and the others seek Jesus out. If you translated this sentence literally, you might say that they ‘hunted Him down.’ They wanted something from Jesus, wanted it badly enough that they were not afraid to invade His privacy. St. Mark makes a point of referring to these men as ‘companions’, not disciples—at this point, there is no real relationship of understanding or respect that one would expect from someone learning at Jesus’ feet. Their priorities do not match His—not yet. So they come with their own agenda—everyone is looking for you!

What a surprise, then, to hear Jesus’ reply: Let us go somewhere else--to the nearby villages--so I can preach there also. This must have dumbfounded Simon and the others. Some might of thought, "Look at the crowds! Jesus has got the town’s attention—everybody’s talking bout him! And now he wants to leave?" Others might have thought, "Now wait a minute! Yesterday he was busy healing people; today there are more streaming in from the outlying areas. How can he just up and leave when there are still people who are in need?"

The problem, from Jesus’ perspective, is that the people wanted Him for the wrong reasons. They were not interested in who He was or what He had to say; they just wanted to be cured! The people didn’t crowd around Him in the synagogue, hoping to hear His teachings; they did not come en mass until Jesus healed Simon’s mother-in-law! Ultimately, it would not matter to most of them who did the healing or why, just so long as they got back their health.

This would not be the only time Jesus faced this problem. Later, when Jesus miraculously fed a crowd of over 5,000 with 5 loaves of bread and 2 small fish, we are told Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself (John 6:15). On that occasion, the people were looking for a king who could keep them well fed; again, they were less concerned about who Jesus was or what He taught than in how He could take care of their physical needs.

But Jesus wasn’t interested in being regarded as a country doctor. Jesus wasn’t interested in being regarded as a social worker. The Son of God did not come into this world just to make people comfortable. Jesus had a higher purpose, a purpose that He would not let be obscured by any miracles. Our Lord said, Let us go somewhere else--to the nearby villages--so I can preach there also. That is why I have come. Jesus’ primary goal was to preach, to share God’s message of salvation. Our Lord performed miracles to show the people why they should listen to Him. In the 14th chapter of John, Jesus says: Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. Did Jesus perform miracles to relieve suffering because He loved the people? Certainly. But there is more to God’s acts of healing than just loving care; there is also a call to believe in Jesus as God’s Chosen One.

You cannot prove to anyone how great you are by bragging about yourself. Jesus did not brag; He said, If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid (John 5:31). Instead, Jesus let His words and deeds speak for Him. Matthew provides one example: When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor" (Matthew 11:2-5). Why did Jesus answer in this way? Because the Old Testament prophets had said that God’s Chosen One would do these very things—cure the incurable and offer God’s salvation to those plagued by sin. While on trial the morning of Good Friday, Jesus refused to perform any miracles to entertain His enemies; and although He said under oath that He was the Son of God, no one believed Him on the basis of His word alone. First and foremost, Jesus performed miracles as evidence that God was with Him and approved of the message that He was speaking.

This helps us to understand why Jesus silenced the demons that He exorcised. The fallen angels knew exactly who Jesus was—the Son of God, sworn enemy of sin and Satan. But Jesus did not want their testimony—it was not fitting that evil spirits reveal the truth about the Savior’s identity. No, Jesus wanted His righteous words and miraculous deeds to testify as to His identity.

This also helps us to understand why Jesus spent the night in solitude, praying. He had to be discouraged, seeing the people acting so selfishly. Instead of coming to Him for wisdom and forgiveness, all they wanted was a quick solution to their health problems; but how many of them would stick around after He had healed them? How many would just go back to the lives of sin they had been living before sickness took the wind out of their sails? How many would not even think to give a word of thanks? And so Jesus went off by Himself to pray to His Father—pray for renewed patience and strength to carry on the important work that lay before Him.

Finally, this helps us to understand why Jesus left town as suddenly as He did. If all that the people wanted was a miracle worker, they would have to look elsewhere. Jesus had something more important to do—He had a message of salvation to announce. He had to get the word out that God was about to deal a deathblow to the problem of sin and death. God had sent His Chosen One into the world to destroy the cancer of sin that kills us from the inside. God had sent His Son to die in our place so that we might be raised from the dead to live forever with our Lord in paradise. There was nothing more important to Jesus than the eternal health of our souls, and He would not let Himself be sidetracked by anything that got in the way of His rescue mission; and so He said, "Let us go somewhere else--to the nearby villages--so I can preach there also. That is why I have come."

Miracles are not just about being restored to health. Miraculous healings are means to an end—a means by which faith is strengthened, a means which restores the ability to serve our heavenly Master. When you have been given release from illness, does your newfound health bring you closer to the One who cured you? When our Great Physician answers your prayers for health, do you respond with grateful service in His name? Do you follow Jesus just because He’s a miracle worker and you hope that He can make your life comfortable, or are you a disciple because you love Jesus being in your life and treasure the message of salvation that He offers you in His word?