^{[MK 1:]29}As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. ³⁰Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a [high^LK] fever, and they told Jesus about her. ³¹So he went to her, [bent over her and rebuked the fever, and^LK] took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.

A quick ‘harmony of the gospels’ overview

Jesus leaves the synagogue and goes immediately to the home of Peter and Andrew. Either the two have moved to Capernaum from Bethsaida (Jn 1:44, lit. “House of Fish”), or Bethsaida was actually a suburb of Capernaum.

Peter is caring for his wife’s mother (cf. 1 Cor 9:5). She is in bed with a “great fever.” The physicians of the day categorized fevers into “great” and “small.” A small fever was any minor ailment. The “great fever” might include malaria or some other serious sickness. Peter’s mother-in-law is seriously ill and may have been for some time.

All three accounts offer different details about this healing. Luke says he stood over her; Matthew adds that he touched her hand; and Mark says he took her by the hand and lifted her up. At the same time Jesus “rebuked the fever.” This is the same word used to describe how Jesus rebuked the demon in the synagogue (Lk 4:35). This has led some to speculate that Jesus saw demonic activity behind this and other illnesses. But verses 40 and 41 make a clear distinction between sicknesses and demons.

We cannot blame all sicknesses and mental ills on demons. They are a natural part of our fallen world. However, the fact that Jesus rebukes both demons and diseases shows that he came to destroy all the works of the Devil. The coming of the kingdom marks the beginning of the end for Satan’s dominion through demons as well as the curse of Eden through diseases and death.

Peter’s mother-in-law is so thoroughly healed that she gets up immediately and “began to wait on them.” This phrase is captured in one Greek word. It is the same word from which we get “deacon.” In its simplest form, it means to wait on tables, (not in the sense of a restaurant, but in the home). It is an amazing thing that she was able to do this. Even when a person is healed by natural means from a fever, they still have a loss of energy from which it takes a while to recover. When Jesus heals, he heals so completely that this woman is even released from the aftermath of the fever fatigue.

Lk 4:40-41 with Mk 1:32; Mt 8:16 ⁴⁰When [after^MK] the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. ⁴¹Moreover, [he drove out the spirits with a word, and^MT] demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ.^NIV-6-7

Mt 8:17 ¹⁷This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities

and carried our diseases.”^NIV-6-8

The sun is setting. The whole city comes out to Jesus. Remembering that this is a Sabbath day, and that the holy day runs from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, these people are coming to Jesus at the first possible legal time. This is one of the most touching scenes of all the Bible. As dusk gives way to early evening, and as stars begin to appear one by one, cots and stretchers line the streets all around Peter’s house. Without opposition or antagonism, the master walks by each sick person, surrounded by their families, and touches them individually.

Each one is healed; each face has a smile, surely including our Lord’s. Tears of joy flow through the streets. Laughter is heard from corner to corner in Capernaum. We can’t imagine this crowd disassembling until the early morning hours. And up early the next morning they would be in search of the healer.

The demons, as is their custom, are confessing that Jesus was the Son of God. Jesus, as is his custom, will not allow them to speak. It is not yet time for Jesus to be revealed as the Christ. The people are expectant for the Messiah, but in no way ready to receive him. They desperately want a Messiah, but only on their terms, to meet their expectations. Jesus is different than their dream … better, but different. Therefore, this announcement by the demons would do more damage than good. Let us not imagine for even a moment that a demon is going to do something to progress the work of the kingdom of God.

Both Mark and Luke use an interesting verb tense. When it says, “They knew he was the Christ,” it indicates that they “had known.” It was no new revelation to the demons. They had known it for quite some time.

At this point, Matthew introduces the fulfillment of Isaiah 53:4, “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him and afflicted.” This has obvious reference, especially considering the context, to the crucifixion. At the same time, Matthew attributes its fulfillment to this event. This has several important implications: (1) Prophecy may have two valid applications; in this case, one physical and one spiritual. (2) Jesus not only heals us spiritually (1 Pet. 2:24), but also physically. (3) Isaiah 53 is a description of Jesus that is as true today as when it was written. This being the case, Jesus must still be healing today. His method is obviously different, since he is not here physically to personally touch us. But he is still the Great Physician of both body and spirit.

Verse-by-verse detailed analysis

 (8:14-17) The first thing many male Jews did every morning was to pray, “Lord, I thank Thee that I was not born a slave, a Gentile, or a woman.” In the first two miracles of Matthew 8, Jesus showed mercy and compassion not only to an outcast leper but to an outcast Gentile and his slave. Now He shows mercy and compassion to a woman.

The proud, self-righteous Jewish men could not have missed Jesus’ point: physical health, race, social status, or gender made no difference to Him. None of those things in itself was an advantage or disadvantage as far as His ministry and message were concerned. That the disadvantaged more often received His blessing was due to their more often being humble and aware of their need. Likewise, that the advantaged more often failed to receive His blessing was due to their more often being proud and self-satisfied.

One of the purposes for which Jesus came to earth was to meet the needs of individuals and families. The experience in Peter’s home shows this.

Jesus was entering Peter’s home in order to rest. It was the Sabbath and He had just been ministering in the synagogue, teaching and healing (Mark 1:29; Mark 1:21-34). On the way to Peter’s home He encountered a desperate plea to heal the centurion’s servant. Now He was tired, very tired; He needed rest. Yet when He entered the home, there was another demand made upon Him. Another person needed help.

How often Jesus must have felt that He could not put one foot in front of the other! He desperately felt the need to collapse into bed, but He went on. Note several things.

1. This was an individual in a single home. There was no crowd, no publicity, no recognition. There was only a simple lady lying sick in bed.
2. This was the very purpose for which Jesus came: to minister. He loved and had the power to help, so He helped. He did what He could when He could, forgetting all about Himself.

Individuals and families were important to Jesus, just as important as the multitude. He often left the multitude in order to help individuals, and even while ministering to the multitude He often turned His attention to the individual (cp. Matthew 9:18-34; Matthew 12:9-13; Luke 7:11-17; Luke 8:41-56; Luke 13:10-17).

1. Purpose 1: to meet the needs of individuals and families (v.14-15).
2. Purpose 2: to meet the needs of the multitude (v.16).
3. Purpose 3: to prove His Messiahship (v.17).

(8:14-15) Jesus Christ, Purpose: the first purpose of Jesus’ power was to meet the needs of individuals and families. He demonstrated this purpose in two acts.

1. Jesus visited Peter’s home. Jesus visited the homes and families of those who ministered with Him. He had a very special care and love for families. Note the individuals involved in this home:
2. The husband, Peter.
3. The wife.
4. The mother-in-law.
5. The brother-in-law, Andrew.
6. The friends, James and John (Mark 1:29f).

Mark tells us that when Jesus, Peter, Andrew, James, and John arrived at Peter’s home, some of the group discovered that Peter’s mother-in-law was ill, “and immediately they spoke to Him about her” (Mark 1:30). Luke adds the information that her fever was high and that the unidentified friends or relatives “made request of Him on her behalf” (Luke 4:38). In response to their request, Jesus then went to her room and saw her lying sick in bed with a fever.

We do not know the cause of the fever, but the facts that it was high and that the woman was too sick to get up suggest an extremely serious and probably life-threatening illness. The demands of everyday living did not allow most people in that day the luxury of going to bed whenever they felt bad. Physical pain and discomfort were a regular part of life, and, unless they were severe, did not normally interfere with a person’s responsibilities.

Also remember the attention Jesus gave to little children (Matthew 18:1-4; Matthew 19:13-15; Luke 9:46-48; Luke 18:15-17).

No individual or family is too poor or unimportant for Jesus to visit and help. He cares for all. Who were Peter’s wife and mother-in-law? This is the only time they are mentioned. They represent the quiet and unknown believers. Note that the individual person and family are most important to Jesus. He is not after the recognition of a crowd. He did not serve only when it would gain Him recognition. He willingly ministered quietly, unbeknown to others. He will meet our needs quietly, when we are all alone and unknown to the world.

2. Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law.
3. Note what immediately grabbed the attention of Jesus when he entered Peter’s house: “He saw his [Peter’s] wife’s mother…sick of a fever.”Need grabbed Jesus’ attention. His very purpose on earth was to focus on the needs of individuals and families. He cared about their needs, including their sicknesses (cp. Matthew 9:18-34; Luke 7:11-17; John 4:46-54).
4. Note what Jesus did: He “touched her.” There is something special about a touch between individuals.

               1)   There is a communication of warmth, tenderness, and caring.

               2)   There is also a communication of power when we touch and pray. This power is an infusion of real assurance and confidence over whatever is being prayed. We are assured that “we have the petitions that we desired of Him” (1 John 5:14-15).

1. Note what Peter’s mother-in-law did: she arose and began to serve the Lord immediately.

               1)   She had been sick with a fever and could have sat around for a while claiming weakness and the need to regain her strength.

               2)   She was not the head of the house. She could have waited to follow the head or wife of the house. But note: she did neither; she immediately arose and began serving her Lord.

Again Jesus’ response and healing were immediate. And He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she arose, and waited on Him. We know from both Mark and Luke that she also served the other people there (Mark 1:31; Luke 4:39), but Matthew emphasizes her special ministry to Jesus: she waited on Him. His healing touch had instantly removed her fever and pain, and most likely saved her life. We can be sure she served her gracious Lord with special attention and care.

Although Peter’s mother-in-law obviously was a woman, she was also a Jew. It may therefore be that, after His strong words of verses 11-12, Jesus did not want to leave the impression that God had forsaken His chosen people, even though most of them had forsaken Him. That the kingdom was open to faithful Gentiles certainly did not mean it was closed to faithful Jews. As Paul makes clear in his letter to the Romans, “God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew … There has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice … For if you [Gentiles] were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more shall these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?” (Rom. 11:2, 5, 24).

What a lesson for us…

• When Jesus touches us, we need to get up immediately and begin serving.
• When Jesus touches us with power, it is not to make us feel important. His touch of power is for service, not for feelings of self-importance.
• When Jesus touches us with power we are not to wait until others begin serving. We are to get up ourselves and launch the ministry of reaching others for the Lord.

Peter’s mother-in-law had been favored with the wonderful power of the Lord. She could have felt important enough to be exempt from the menial duties. She could have joined the others waiting to be served.

“He touched her.” Jesus’ purpose on earth was to touch individuals and families. There is no question His touch affected Peter’s mother-in-law. She got up and ministered. But His touch was bound to have affected the others also. A touch intimately communicates what a person is trying to say to another person.

Jesus’ purpose is sumarized by Scripture: He is “touched with the feelings of our infirmities” (Hebrews 4:15-16).

 (8:14) Peter: note these facts about Peter’s home life and family tree.

1. Peter had a wife. He was to live some forty or more years, so he and his wife were probably newlyweds when Christ called him. Interestingly, tradition says that Peter’s wife served with him in the ministry. William Barclay quotes a touching picture by Clement of Alexandria who said that she was martyred with Peter: “On seeing his wife led to death, Peter rejoiced on account of her call and her conveyance home, and called very encouragingly and comfortingly, addressing her by name, ‘Remember thou the Lord’ ” (Stromateis 7:6. Quoted by Barclay.The Gospel of Matthew, Vol.1, p.313). There is strong evidence that Peter was martyred by crucifixion in Rome. Tradition says he felt so unworthy to be crucified like his Lord that he begged to be crucified upside down.
2. Peter had a house. He was formerly from Bethsaida (John 1:44). Here he is seen in Capernaum. After Jesus called him to be an apostle, he probably moved to Capernaum where the headquarters of Jesus was located.
3. Peter looked after his mother-in-law. Apparently she was old and widowed and needed to be cared for by her children. Peter demonstrated real compassion and a tenderness of heart in allowing her to live with his family.
4. Peter opened his home to guests. Mark says that the home was that of Peter and Andrew; however, it was probably owned by Peter, since his wife and mother-in-law are mentioned. Note that Jesus, James, and John were being entertained by Peter as guests (Mark 1:29f). It is possible that Jesus stayed at Peter’s home when inCapernaum and that Peter’s home was Jesus’ headquarters.
5. Peter’s father was Jona or Jonah (John 21:15-17). He had at least one brother, Andrew (John 1:41).

(8:16) Jesus Christ, Purpose: the second purpose of Jesus’ power was to meet the needs of the multitude. Note three things.

1. Jesus was tired; he was finally getting some rest. But the people heard He was in town and their needs were desperate. They began to gather at the door begging Him to help them.
2. He was faced with man’s unceasing cry for help.
3. He gave up His rest in order to help. He walked on earth for that very purpose.
4. He turned no one away. He “healed all.” As long as there was one person who needed Him, He helped.
5. This scene was a picture of how desperately the world needs Jesus. Not all the city came, just as all the world does not come today. But some did come. Who? Those who knew and confessed their need for His help.
6. It is for the ones who are “lost” that He has come.
7. It is for the ones who are “sick,” the ones who need the Physician, that He has come.
8. It is for all who would “come” that He has come.
9. Jesus had the power to help all. The word “all” is emphasized. There was no need—no matter how desperate—that His power could not reach.
10. His power could “cast out the spirits” of evil (demons). He proved His power over Satan. He had the power to overthrow and destroy Satan.
11. His power could meet all needs, no matter how desperate. Note the words, “He healed all.” The emphasis is upon all.

(8:17) Jesus Christ, Purpose: the third purpose of Jesus’ power was to prove His Messiahship. Jesus was the Messiah. His ministry was beyond question a fulfillment of the Scriptures that predicted the Messiah. This is clearly seen in that He is the “Ideal Servant of God”; that is, He did not just heal our sicknesses as any other minister, but He “Himself took [elaben] our infirmities, and bore [ebastasen] our sicknesses.” This means at least two things.

1. He bore our infirmities and sicknesses to the ultimate degree when He died on the cross for us. It was there that He bore them. (Cp. John 1:29.)
2. He bore each fresh illness in a way that will never be understood.
3. Each need that stood before Him wasa reminderthat He had to bear the sin of the world. He knew what it meant to bear the sin of the world and all that it was to include. So seeing the needs of men standing before Him reminded Him of the suffering He was to bear.
4. Each need that He met was a foretaste of the cross. The thought of what He had to bear was upon His mind day by day and hour by hour as He went about ministering. This was bound to weigh ever so heavily upon Him.

• Mark says that virtue, that is, power, went out of Him when He healed (Mark 5:30; cp. Luke 8:46).
• He sighed heavily at one miracle (Mark 7:34).
• He experienced deep emotion when raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:33).

The following is a simple yet descriptive way to picture how Jesus bore our sins for us.

1. He bore our sins for us: “in His own body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24; cp. Isaiah 53:4-6).
2. He bore our sins off and from us: removed, lifted them off us. He has “carried away” our sins (Matthew 8:17). “He has cast our sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19) and as far as “the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12).

3. He bares our sins with us. He can be “touched with the feelings of our infirmities” (Hebrews 4:15-16).

There is only one sure provision for the needs of the human soul: Jesus Christ. Our needs cannot be met…

• by philosophy and psychology.
• by mental and physical health.

Jesus Christ alone is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). When we turn to Him, then we shall come to know the comfort and support needed to walk through life.

DEEPER STUDY

(8:17) Disease—Sickness—Corruption: the ultimate cause of corruption is sin and evil in the world (Genesis 2:15-3:7). An imperfect and corruptible world produces the seed of imperfection and incompleteness. It produces the seed of aging and deterioration until finally all waste away. Imperfection, sin, and disease are just the way of a world that is imperfect. The seed of corruption eats away until all become diseased and sick and ready for the grave. But this is the object of the glorious gospel, to proclaim.. .

• that Jesus bore the world’s corruption, its disease and sickness (Romans 8:19-23; cp. Isaiah 53:4).
• that Jesus bore the sins and evil of men (1 Peter 2:24).

Jesus also promises to intervene and recreate a new heaven and earth—a new heaven and earth that will be incorruptible and eternal (2 Peter 3:10-13; Rev. 21:1f). He furthermore promises that the man who believes in Him has everlasting life and shall be a citizen of the new heavens and earth. The believer will never be condemned to corruption and death, but he passes from death to life the very moment he trusts Jesus Christ as his Savior (John 5:24).

This seems like a “minor miracle,” but the results were major; for after sundown (when the Sabbath ended), the whole city gathered at the door that the Lord might meet their needs (Mark 1:32-34). Blessing in the home ought to lead to blessing in the community. The change in one woman’s life led to miracles in the lives of many people.

Matthew saw this as a fulfillment of Isaiah 53:4. Please note that Jesus fulfilled this prophecy in His life and not on the cross. He bore man’s sicknesses and infirmities during His ministry on earth. To say that there is “healing in the Atonement,” and that every believer has the “right” to claim it, is to misinterpret Scripture. First Peter 2:24 applies this same truth to the forgiving of our sins which He bore on the cross. Sin and sickness do go together (see Ps. 103:3), since sickness is a consequence of Adam’s sin and also an illustration of sin. But God is not obligated to heal all sicknesses. He is obligated to save all sinners who call on Him.