Jesus Healing Peter's Mother-in-law
Jesus Christ is the great physician. In the church we stress the need of serving God, loving/helping others, using spiritual gifts on the front row seat of God’s Kingdom work, wonderful privileges, yet the bottom line: Jesus Christ has come to serve us. Jesus is the Great Physician able to heal the body, mind and soul. Why is it important to see Jesus as the world’s most amazing doctor? This poem titled, “And God Said If” says it well:
If you never felt pain, Then how would you know that I’m a Healer?
If you never went through difficulty, How would you know that I’m a Deliverer?
If you never had a trial, How could you call yourself an overcomer?
If you never felt sadness, How would you know that I’m a Comforter?
If you never made a mistake, How would you know that I’m forgiving?
If you never were in trouble, How would you know that I will come to your rescue?
If you never were broken, Then how would you know that I can make you whole?
If you never had a problem, How would you know that I can solve them?
If you never had any suffering, Then how would you know what I went through?
If you never went through the fire, Then how would you become pure?
If I gave you all things, How would you appreciate them?
If I never corrected you, How would you know that I love you?
If you had all power, Then how would you learn to depend on me?
If your life was perfect, Then what would you need me for?
If you never felt pain, Then how would you know that I’m a Healer?
If you never went through difficulty, How would you know that I’m a Deliverer?
If you never had a trial, How could you call yourself an overcomer?
If you never felt sadness, How would you know that I’m a Comforter?
If you never made a mistake, How would you know that I’m forgiving?
If you never were in trouble, How would you know that I will come to your rescue?
If you never were broken, Then how would you know that I can make you whole?
If you never had a problem, How would you know that I can solve them?
If you never had any suffering, Then how would you know what I went through?
If you never went through the fire, Then how would you become pure?
If I gave you all things, How would you appreciate them?
If I never corrected you, How would you know that I love you?
If you had all power, Then how would you learn to depend on me?
If your life was perfect, Then what would you need me for?
One of the wonderful titles of Jesus: the Great Physician. Jesus heals completely: physically, emotionally, psychologically, demon possession… the whole person… In today’s scripture I read the entire section to show the sweep of what Jesus is able to do. I am convinced Doctor Luke clumps all these stories together in the beginning of Jesus public ministry so we cannot miss the point that Jesus is the greatest doctor of all. I like how one person described Doctor Jesus:
He's on duty 24/7, 365 days a year.
You never need to make an appointment./ You never have to wait.
He'll take all the time you need.
No problem is too hard for him.
He always makes the right diagnosis, even when you don't know what the problem is yourself.
He can heal you physically.
He can heal you emotionally.
He can heal you spiritually.
He charges no fees.
He's never lost a patient.
What's more, he's eager for you to come to him for treatment. In fact, he'll even come to you. Sometimes his treatment may be difficult, like giving up your bad habits, but he's the only physician who took the painful treatment you had coming, so your life could be saved.
The entirety of the second half of Luke 4 is what Jesus does for you. God showers us with his blessings above all else! One thing that stands out about this scripture: I think about Luke being the author, what we know from other references in the Bible, is that Luke is a medical doctor himself. It’s as if Luke is saying, “I know the medical profession, and Jesus is far and away the greatest doctor of us all.” Luke is commending the authority of Jesus, the skill of Jesus, Jesus’ teaching is not just words, but is backed up with action, follow through.
When you begin to see Jesus as a physician, Dr. Jesus, you'll have a better understanding of how he can help you. Your health--your very life--is in his hands, but these are skilled hands, gentle hands, forgiving hands. You're safe in Jesus’ hands. Jesus goes to the people and the people come to him. The outcome is always life. And not just renewed life or extended life, but eternal life. Because Jesus treats the whole person…
Sally and I watched a series online, Doc. Martin… the doctor practiced in a small village, one of the silly parts of the series was how many exotic diseases he finds… patients walk into his office and in an instant, he has a diagnosis and treatment. Wouldn’t that be nice…. In real life that is silly, but for Jesus, he knows… his insight, his compassion, his knowledge…
Luke is a wonderful story teller of Jesus’ life. Luke must have been a good doctor himself, because he seems to understand and appreciate the sensitivity of Jesus. One person described the book of Luke as the warmest of the four gospels by far, because of the way Luke draws us into the personalities of the disenfranchised, the hurting, the ailing, and Jesus comes alongside with an amazing bedside manner. We’ve all had experiences with doctors that frustrated us… I used to wear contact lenses and decided to switch to glasses. I could not convince the doctor what I wanted. He did not seem to get that somebody wanted to dispose of the contacts and go with glasses…. Finally in exasperation I left. I remember going home and explaining to Sally that they would not do what I wanted. Believe it or not, Sally had to call the office and explain.
Luke shows us Jesus as a caring man: Jesus never saw a mob or a group or an audience. Luke never saw a faceless man or woman ~ only people with personalities. Jesus sees Carl, he sees ____, he sees you. This is the heart of Christianity, first and foremost what the Lord does for us… and then once we accept his healing power, then we are invited to enter his Kingdom work. But first to accept… let him diagnose us and treat us… don’t be like the person who refuses to go to the doctor… I try and see only individual people, too, but I miss too many people… last week when I went to the Foothills Fellowship I had to try and learn everybody’s name… I’m a klutz compared to our Lord. Jesus only sees people, individuals with a specific affliction, problem or perplexity. And we all have needs…
Luke, as a doctor, is in a position to describe for us the warmth of Jesus, the compassion, the skill, that he so much admires in doctors himself ~ a wonderful combination that makes Jesus the perfect physician… Luke 4:31-44 details some incredible qualities that makes Jesus the Great Physician…
Authority… Jesus authority is what captures the people’s attention. Something about Jesus: READ Luke 4:32. Jesus knows what he is talking about…we want our doctors who KNOW what they are talking about…
Jesus comes highly recommended… READ Luke 4:37… his reputation for his authority, his character, his power…
Compassion… here are a couple of descriptions of compassion which makes so much sense to me: #1 “Compassion is the sometimes fatal capacity for feeling what it’s like to live inside somebody elses’s skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you, too” (Buechner). #2 “Compassion is a wounding of the heart which love extends to all without distinction” (Weavings). Women often naturally compassionate ~ the world needs more men to bring a masculine brand of compassion… compassion with strength! Jesus shows his compassion in all these stories ~ the demon possessed man, Peter’s mother-in-law, the people who all came to him… no peace for Jesus till peace for them, no joy, a wounding of the heart which love extends to all without distinction. The people in Capernaum wanted Jesus for themselves, but he says, I must go to the other towns because that is why I was sent…” compassion extends love to all without distinction…
Listens… A Pastor tells the story: “Giving a sermon one Sunday, I heard two teenage girls in the back giggling and disturbing people. I interrupted my sermon and announced sternly, "There are two of you here who have not heard a word I’ve said." That quieted them down. When the service was over, I went to greet people at the front door. Three adults apologized for going to sleep in church, promising it would never happen again.”
“They asked Jesus to help her” it says in Luke 4:38. The people came to Jesus and he listened to what they were saying, over and over and over… Being heard is one of the greatest needs people have… perhaps more important than the healing, the Great Physician listens… One person said, “One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.” (Bryant McGill)
Skill…whatever Jesus does he is successful… the sick, the fever, the demon, the people are all healed… they are amazed…not only is he skilled, but Jesus is efficient… Jesus speaks and the fever leaves. We are not always that efficient… An efficiency expert concluded his lecture with a note of caution. "You need to be careful about trying these techniques at home." "Why?" asked somebody from the audience. "I watched my wife's routine at dinner for years," the expert explained. "She made lots of trips between the refrigerator, stove, table and cabinets, often carrying a single item at a time. One day I told her, 'Honey, why don't you try carrying several things at once?'
"Did it save time?" the guy in the audience asked. "Actually, yes," replied the expert. "It used to take her 30 minutes to make dinner. Now I do it in ten..." Jesus has amazing skill, efficiency…
Power to heal…I like the quotation in the bulletin: “God does the healing and the physician gets the credit.” It is astounding to me when skeptics want to credit doctors and medicine for people’s good health. I’m glad for a bandaid to keep a wound from getting infected, but it’s God that does the healing. Don’t you ever get amazed when you get a cut and you watch the blood coagulate? Science simply finds the patterns that God establishes. We credit doctors, but it’s the Great Physician that is responsible.
Jesus is unlike any other human doctor in that he literally has the power to heal. This is why he rebukes the fever, commands the demon, there is testimony in these verses of the demon’s actually pronouncing Jesus is the Son of God, the one sent by God to bring salvation and wholeness to the world.
Open Office Hours…READ Luke 4:40… what a pain when you get hurt on a Friday evening and have to either endure till Monday or make special arrangements at the emergency. Speaking of the emergency room… what a great place to catch up with people, a few weeks ago I spent several hours with Dave Adams, Jim and Melanie got to know Dave… Jesus has extended hours…he is available, and he makes House Calls… “the home of Simon”
Always Room for more Patients….at the end of Luke 4 Jesus says READ Luke 4:43-44. Some people have concluded Jesus is saying preaching is more important than healing, miracles. I don’t agree. The second half of Luke 4 is a single day, and I believe Luke chose this day as representative of what most days were like for Jesus. A pattern is demonstrated of what the Great Physician is like… the preaching includes caring for the people that came to him. It’s all part of the wholeness… The authority, the compassion, the skill, the listening ear, the power, the availability is all a part of Jesus’ ministry.
In this message today I am not asking you to respond by doing anything, the only response is simply to accept. And that’s precisely the greatest problem some of you have. You want to do something, you want to work, yet above all else, Jesus is simply saying accept him as your doctor, the one who heals your wounds and binds your heart, the one who brings you to complete health and wholeness.
Jesus is the Great Physician. Take your problem to Doctor Jesus. Jesus came for the primary purpose of serving you. Ask him to heal you and give you the medicine of his presence to strengthen you in your daily struggles. The Great Physician, Jesus Christ, knows exactly what you need. You can trust him with your life.
He's on duty 24/7, 365 days a year.
You never need to make an appointment./ You never have to wait.
He'll take all the time you need.
No problem is too hard for him.
He always makes the right diagnosis, even when you don't know what the problem is yourself.
He can heal you physically.
He can heal you emotionally.
He can heal you spiritually.
He charges no fees.
He's never lost a patient.
What's more, he's eager for you to come to him for treatment. In fact, he'll even come to you. Sometimes his treatment may be difficult, like giving up your bad habits, but he's the only physician who took the painful treatment you had coming, so your life could be saved.
The entirety of the second half of Luke 4 is what Jesus does for you. God showers us with his blessings above all else! One thing that stands out about this scripture: I think about Luke being the author, what we know from other references in the Bible, is that Luke is a medical doctor himself. It’s as if Luke is saying, “I know the medical profession, and Jesus is far and away the greatest doctor of us all.” Luke is commending the authority of Jesus, the skill of Jesus, Jesus’ teaching is not just words, but is backed up with action, follow through.
When you begin to see Jesus as a physician, Dr. Jesus, you'll have a better understanding of how he can help you. Your health--your very life--is in his hands, but these are skilled hands, gentle hands, forgiving hands. You're safe in Jesus’ hands. Jesus goes to the people and the people come to him. The outcome is always life. And not just renewed life or extended life, but eternal life. Because Jesus treats the whole person…
Sally and I watched a series online, Doc. Martin… the doctor practiced in a small village, one of the silly parts of the series was how many exotic diseases he finds… patients walk into his office and in an instant, he has a diagnosis and treatment. Wouldn’t that be nice…. In real life that is silly, but for Jesus, he knows… his insight, his compassion, his knowledge…
Luke is a wonderful story teller of Jesus’ life. Luke must have been a good doctor himself, because he seems to understand and appreciate the sensitivity of Jesus. One person described the book of Luke as the warmest of the four gospels by far, because of the way Luke draws us into the personalities of the disenfranchised, the hurting, the ailing, and Jesus comes alongside with an amazing bedside manner. We’ve all had experiences with doctors that frustrated us… I used to wear contact lenses and decided to switch to glasses. I could not convince the doctor what I wanted. He did not seem to get that somebody wanted to dispose of the contacts and go with glasses…. Finally in exasperation I left. I remember going home and explaining to Sally that they would not do what I wanted. Believe it or not, Sally had to call the office and explain.
Luke shows us Jesus as a caring man: Jesus never saw a mob or a group or an audience. Luke never saw a faceless man or woman ~ only people with personalities. Jesus sees Carl, he sees ____, he sees you. This is the heart of Christianity, first and foremost what the Lord does for us… and then once we accept his healing power, then we are invited to enter his Kingdom work. But first to accept… let him diagnose us and treat us… don’t be like the person who refuses to go to the doctor… I try and see only individual people, too, but I miss too many people… last week when I went to the Foothills Fellowship I had to try and learn everybody’s name… I’m a klutz compared to our Lord. Jesus only sees people, individuals with a specific affliction, problem or perplexity. And we all have needs…
Luke, as a doctor, is in a position to describe for us the warmth of Jesus, the compassion, the skill, that he so much admires in doctors himself ~ a wonderful combination that makes Jesus the perfect physician… Luke 4:31-44 details some incredible qualities that makes Jesus the Great Physician…
Authority… Jesus authority is what captures the people’s attention. Something about Jesus: READ Luke 4:32. Jesus knows what he is talking about…we want our doctors who KNOW what they are talking about…
Jesus comes highly recommended… READ Luke 4:37… his reputation for his authority, his character, his power…
Compassion… here are a couple of descriptions of compassion which makes so much sense to me: #1 “Compassion is the sometimes fatal capacity for feeling what it’s like to live inside somebody elses’s skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you, too” (Buechner). #2 “Compassion is a wounding of the heart which love extends to all without distinction” (Weavings). Women often naturally compassionate ~ the world needs more men to bring a masculine brand of compassion… compassion with strength! Jesus shows his compassion in all these stories ~ the demon possessed man, Peter’s mother-in-law, the people who all came to him… no peace for Jesus till peace for them, no joy, a wounding of the heart which love extends to all without distinction. The people in Capernaum wanted Jesus for themselves, but he says, I must go to the other towns because that is why I was sent…” compassion extends love to all without distinction…
Listens… A Pastor tells the story: “Giving a sermon one Sunday, I heard two teenage girls in the back giggling and disturbing people. I interrupted my sermon and announced sternly, "There are two of you here who have not heard a word I’ve said." That quieted them down. When the service was over, I went to greet people at the front door. Three adults apologized for going to sleep in church, promising it would never happen again.”
“They asked Jesus to help her” it says in Luke 4:38. The people came to Jesus and he listened to what they were saying, over and over and over… Being heard is one of the greatest needs people have… perhaps more important than the healing, the Great Physician listens… One person said, “One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.” (Bryant McGill)
Skill…whatever Jesus does he is successful… the sick, the fever, the demon, the people are all healed… they are amazed…not only is he skilled, but Jesus is efficient… Jesus speaks and the fever leaves. We are not always that efficient… An efficiency expert concluded his lecture with a note of caution. "You need to be careful about trying these techniques at home." "Why?" asked somebody from the audience. "I watched my wife's routine at dinner for years," the expert explained. "She made lots of trips between the refrigerator, stove, table and cabinets, often carrying a single item at a time. One day I told her, 'Honey, why don't you try carrying several things at once?'
"Did it save time?" the guy in the audience asked. "Actually, yes," replied the expert. "It used to take her 30 minutes to make dinner. Now I do it in ten..." Jesus has amazing skill, efficiency…
Power to heal…I like the quotation in the bulletin: “God does the healing and the physician gets the credit.” It is astounding to me when skeptics want to credit doctors and medicine for people’s good health. I’m glad for a bandaid to keep a wound from getting infected, but it’s God that does the healing. Don’t you ever get amazed when you get a cut and you watch the blood coagulate? Science simply finds the patterns that God establishes. We credit doctors, but it’s the Great Physician that is responsible.
Jesus is unlike any other human doctor in that he literally has the power to heal. This is why he rebukes the fever, commands the demon, there is testimony in these verses of the demon’s actually pronouncing Jesus is the Son of God, the one sent by God to bring salvation and wholeness to the world.
Open Office Hours…READ Luke 4:40… what a pain when you get hurt on a Friday evening and have to either endure till Monday or make special arrangements at the emergency. Speaking of the emergency room… what a great place to catch up with people, a few weeks ago I spent several hours with Dave Adams, Jim and Melanie got to know Dave… Jesus has extended hours…he is available, and he makes House Calls… “the home of Simon”
Always Room for more Patients….at the end of Luke 4 Jesus says READ Luke 4:43-44. Some people have concluded Jesus is saying preaching is more important than healing, miracles. I don’t agree. The second half of Luke 4 is a single day, and I believe Luke chose this day as representative of what most days were like for Jesus. A pattern is demonstrated of what the Great Physician is like… the preaching includes caring for the people that came to him. It’s all part of the wholeness… The authority, the compassion, the skill, the listening ear, the power, the availability is all a part of Jesus’ ministry.
In this message today I am not asking you to respond by doing anything, the only response is simply to accept. And that’s precisely the greatest problem some of you have. You want to do something, you want to work, yet above all else, Jesus is simply saying accept him as your doctor, the one who heals your wounds and binds your heart, the one who brings you to complete health and wholeness.
Jesus is the Great Physician. Take your problem to Doctor Jesus. Jesus came for the primary purpose of serving you. Ask him to heal you and give you the medicine of his presence to strengthen you in your daily struggles. The Great Physician, Jesus Christ, knows exactly what you need. You can trust him with your life.
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