Healing Peter’s Mother-in-Law, Mark 1:29-31

Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. ³⁰ But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. ³¹ So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them.

Notice the urgency: as soon as... at once... immediately.

Consider the Timing: Kairos (God’s Divine Timing).

Sunday, in our study through Ezekiel, we learned that Ezekiel had a wife.

Today, in our study through Mark, we learn Peter had a wife.

What are the odds, that type of personal info would line up in back-to-back services?

The odds would be good, IF we were studying the topic of married couples in the Bible.

But that’s not how we study. We take a Book from the Old Testament on Sundays and a Book from the New Testament on Wednesdays, and we walk through, chapter by chapter, verse by verse. So, the odds are impossible.

Unless God is leading. Then, the odds are unbeatable. Providential.

So, we ought to pay attention.

It gets even more Providential.

Sunday, in Ezekiel, his wife died.

Today, in our text in Mark, Peter’s mother-in-law was sick.

The day before this message was given, Dolly Parton, passed away.

Every day, lately, women are under attack.

We better pray.

Lord Jesus, because You Divinely brought this to our attention, we pay attention and pause and pray for all the women in our lives. There’s no need to define what “women” means to You. But many have willingly rejected Your Truth and have fallen under a strong delusion and a corrupt mind. Exactly as You said would happen in Romans 1:28 and 2 Thes. 2:11. We don’t pray for them, since Your judgement has already begun on them. We trust Your righteous judgement. We do pray for Your Protection and Peace and Justice for the ladies. Please expose this vile, demonic, perverted wickedness for what it is: an attack against our females’ identity, and their rights given by You, to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Lord, according to Your Divine timing and prompting we are praying, for You to step in and stop this evil. Man can’t fix this, but You can. So, we appeal to heaven. Please have mercy, save US from this perverse sin sweeping our nation. Tell US what to do, and we’ll do it. Thank You. We trust and love and serve You, forever. Amen.      

Okay, back to our Bible Study.

For the first time in Mark, we see Jesus step out of the public spotlight, and into the private life, of a couple redneck fishermen.

The Bible is personal.

God is personal.

The Kingdom of God is personal.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is personal.

It isn’t confined to stained glass and steeples, Church bells and preaching.

It’s skipping Church to help a neighbor who’s fallen.

It’s sleepless nights in a hospital room chair, because your loved one’s there.

It’s a sore back from folding clothes to give to the mission.

It’s tears and prayers for that soul that’s lost, and that heart that’s broken.

It’s giving.

And receiving.

It’s showing up.

Being faithful.

(I've witnessed all those things lately in our beautiful little congregation). 

This awesome Gospel reaches where we’re sick and scared and weak and messy, where we don’t want anyone to see.

It raises us, to who we’re meant to be.

It enables us to fulfill our Divine Eternal Purpose, Service and Calling.

It’s not private, but it is personal.

Like a backdoor friend.  

Many of you have come through our front door.

None of you, or maybe just one or two, have come through our back door. The tool room door. More accurately the junk room. My “tool room” is like a junk drawer on steroids.

Only me and Jesus know how to find anything in there (mostly Jesus). It’s where stuff gets stored. Where broken things go to wait until someday, maybe, they’ll be fixed. It’s where tools to fix the broken stuff, gather dust.

It’s where I don’t want anybody to see—but me. It’s a mess.

But the back room, the junk room, is the favorite place Jesus likes to go.

He doesn’t just sit prim and proper on the sofa in the front room or on the front row at Church. No, He goes, without even asking, all the way to the back room. He finds the messiest place. The place where the old, broken, washed up, worn out, sick and tired goes.

He doesn’t condemn. He rolls up His sleeves, smiles, and says, “Gimme a hand, we can fix this.”

We all have a junk room, if not in our house, surely in our soul.

In our text, Mark 1:29-31, Jesus steps out of the public spotlight of the synagogue and walks straight to the back room of Peter’s place. Past the well-lit front room filled with polite smiling faces, past the amazing aroma coming from the kitchen, back to where the light is dim, where Peter’s mother-in-law is broken, sick and tired, filled with fever and pain.

He doesn’t condemn. He rolls up His sleeves, smiles, and says, “Gimme your hand, we can fix this.”   

The Kingdom of God is, Personal, Powerful and Purposeful.

Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

Personal

According to archeological discoveries Simon and Andrew’s house was less than a hundred feet from the synagogue. So, literally, as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew.

Credit: Bethel Cornerstone

The house was called an insula, where multiple generations lived. It was a cluster of simple, single-story rooms built around a courtyard. The roofs were made of beams, branches, straw and packed mud. Which in the next chapter we’ll see was easy to break through and lower a paralyzed man to Jesus.  

Credit: Bethel Cornerstone

In the first century, Peter’s house was converted into a House Church.

Then, in the fifth century a Church was built over the remains of Peter’s house.

Then, in 1990 a Church with an observation deck was built on pillars over all of it.

Credit: Early Church History

Now, let’s make it personal, put yourself in the story.

Imagine, Jesus just stepped out of the shining synagogue spotlight where the crowds were astonished at His teaching and amazed by His authority over unclean spirits. (Mark 1:21-28).

The news went viral.

He’s famous.

Now, instead of leaving with the elite, the synagogue leaders, the influential, the wealthy and powerful...

Jesus is heading to your house.

Your simple, big, noisy, messy, chaotic, always smells like fish (cuz you’re fishermen) house.

Jesus must be tired.

Hungry.

He’s coming to your house for some of the fish you’ve been bragging about. And your mother-in-law’s awesome fresh baked bread...

³⁰ But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever...

But wait. What? Mom’s sick? Oh no. Now what?

Did anybody bake bread?

What about mom? We can’t take her to the physician, it’s Sabbath.

We can’t bother Jesus. He’s, our Guest.

We can’t even tell Him. If He finds out He might leave. He’s an honored, famous, Holy Man. He can’t risk being made unclean.

Why oh why did He want to come here?

Why does He want to get so personal!?

Why couldn’t we just keep our relationship within the walls of the synagogue?!?

Don’t tell Him about mom. Stick her out back. In the junk room...

Is that what happened?

Is that what they did?

Is that what you would do?

What does it say?

³⁰...and they told Him about her at once.

Oh good. Much better. They did not try to hide her, or fix her; they told Jesus about her, at once.

That’s how a disciple acts.

Peter wrote about it later in 1 Peter 5:7:

Cast all your cares on Him, for He cares for you.

He cares. He’s a personal Savior.

He’s God. He already knows everything anyway.

Pray right away.

Philippians 4:6: Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

They didn't wait or worry; they simply told Jesus.

Psalm 46:1. He is an ever-present help in time of need.

Psalm 50:15: Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”

Their family was having a day of trouble, and their first instinct was to call upon Jesus.

Do we?

When we have an ache, a pain, a fever, do we first google the symptoms, first call the doctor, or first call on our Great Physician?

Jesus wants to be first in every room of your life, especially, the back room, the tool room, the junk room, the messy, painful, chaotic, sick and broken rooms.

Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33.  

³¹ So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her.

Powerful

Psalm 147:3: He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. 

Remember, this was Saturday—the Sabbath. Under strict Rabbinic oral traditions (the Mishnah), practicing medicine or healing on the Sabbath was forbidden unless a person's life was in danger. A fever was not considered life-or-death, so protocol demanded they wait until sundown (for them, sundown was the start of a new day).

Furthermore, it wasn’t socially acceptable for Jesus to touch a feverish woman, plus He risked being deemed ceremonially unclean.

But Jesus says in Mark 2:27: The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

Jesus prioritized her pain over their protocol.

He took her by the hand. Took is the powerful word, krateó. It is a strong verb meaning to firmly grasp control of.

When His Holiness touched her brokenness, she was made whole.

There’s no sickness, no fever, no disease, no unclean spirit, no power of hell, no anything, that can stand against the Power of God’s Love.  

He took her by the hand and lifted her up... Lifted her up is egeiró. The same word used for the Resurrection of Christ.

Jesus didn’t just relieve her fever; He infused her with His Resurrection Power.

Philippians 3:10. That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.,

Ephesians 3:20. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.

And she served them.

Purposeful

In Middle Eastern culture, hospitality was a sacred duty and a matter of intense family honor. Because of her fever, she would’ve been so ashamed for not being able to serve them. Jesus didn't just cure her physical symptoms. His amazing grace restored her honor and gave her the ability to say, “thank You for the honor of serving You.”

Serving is not a chore or an obligation, it is a joy, an honor, to follow in the footsteps of Christ.

This beautiful, precious, unnamed, mother-in-law, is the first person in Mark’s gospel, to imitate the mission of Christ.

Mark 10:45: "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." 

Galatians 5:13: "For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." 

Romans 12:1: I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

We are saved, to serve.

No matter the mess, the junk, the feverish situation, Jesus in us and through us is Personal, Powerful and Purposeful.

He raises us to who we’re meant to be.

Enables us to fulfill our Divine Eternal Purpose, Service and Calling.

He doesn’t condemn. He rolls up His sleeves, smiles, and says, “Gimme your hand, we can fix this.”

John 3:17
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, thank You for coming, without asking, into our mess. For not condemning but extending Your hands, on a cross, and thereby saying, I’ll fix this. We pray to ever show our gratitude by sharing Your Goodness, Your Love, with everyone You give us. So, they too, will know Your Personal, Powerful Purpose.

Thank You.

We love You, forever.

Amen.

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This was feed for you to read. Now it’s Seed for you to sow.

The Death of Ezekiel’s Wife, Ezekiel 24:15-27

It’s around 588 BC. Ezekiel is around 35 years old. He’s still captive in Babylon 400 miles east of his home in Jerusalem. And we’re about to hear for the first time that he’s married...soon to be widowed.

Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁶ “Son of man, behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes with one stroke; yet you shall neither mourn nor weep, nor shall your tears run down. ¹⁷ Sigh in silence...

Can you imagine the Lord saying to you, “Tonight I’m going to suddenly take your spouse, and I don’t want you to show any grieving. Sigh in silence...

This foreshadows Christ as reflected in Isaiah 53:7: He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth.

In Matthew we see how Jesus silenced the mourners at the funeral for Jairus's twelve year old daughter. Jesus told them not to weep, for she was not dead only asleep.

Those mourners laughed and ridiculed Him, knowing she was dead.

Then, with just a few of His disciples and the parents in the room, He took the little girl by the hand, said, " “Talitha, cumi,” which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.”

And she did!

Then, Jesus could've waltzed the young girl out in front of those who ridiculed Him and mocked those mockers, but instead, He simply told the girl's parents not to tell anyone. Oh, and give her something to eat.

Then, knowing Jesus, He probably, silently, slipped out the back door. Matthew 9:18-26, Mark 5:21-43

, Luke 8:41-56.

¹⁷... make no mourning for the dead; bind your turban on your head, and put your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips, and do not eat man’s bread of sorrow.”

Do not go through the customary mourning rituals.

¹⁸ So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died; and the next morning I did as I was commanded.

WOW!

Could you do that?

What a picture of the cost of discipleship.

Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23.

Whoever wants to come after Me, must deny self, take up cross and follow Me.

¹⁹ And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things signify to us, that you behave so?”

Now, finally, they were listening.

How we handle loss speaks louder than words.

In Christ, even in death we still have hope.

1 Thess. 4:13-18
For in Christ we do not sorrow as those who have no hope. ¹⁴ For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. ¹⁵ For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up (rapture) together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Therefore comfort one another with these words.

²⁰ Then I answered them, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²¹ ‘Speak to the house of Israel, “Thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I will profane My sanctuary, your arrogant boast, the desire of your eyes, the delight of your soul; and your sons and daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. ²² And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your lips nor eat man’s bread of sorrow. ²³ Your turbans shall be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you shall neither mourn nor weep, but you shall pine away in your iniquities and mourn with one another.

Do not mourn for what God has rebuked.

Jeremiah 16:4-5
They shall die gruesome deaths; they shall not be lamented nor shall they be buried, but they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, and their corpses shall be meat for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth.” (Foreshadow of Revelation 19:17-21).

⁵ For thus says the Lord: “Do not enter the house of mourning, nor go to lament or bemoan them; for I have taken away My peace from this people,” says the Lord, “lovingkindness and mercies.

 ²⁴ Thus Ezekiel is a sign to you; according to all that he has done you shall do; 

You are a sign. You are the only Bible some people read.

²⁴...and when this comes, you shall know that I am the Lord God.’ ”

²⁵ ‘And you, son of man—will it not be in the day when I take from them their stronghold, their joy and their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that on which they set their minds, their sons and their daughters: ²⁶ that on that day one who escapes will come to you to let you hear it with your ears? ²⁷ On that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped; you shall speak and no longer be mute. Thus you will be a sign to them, and they shall know that I am the Lord.’ ”

Prophecy is HIStory told in advance.

For a time, Ezekiel could only speak the Word of the Lord, otherwise he was mute.

Ezekiel 3:26. I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute and not be one to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious house.

Ezekiel 33:21-22. And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, that one who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has been captured!”

²² Now the hand of the Lord had been upon me the evening before the man came who had escaped. And He had opened my mouth; so when he came to me in the morning, my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.

So, there you have it. As a Divine object lesson about what was about to happen to the temple and Judah, God took Ezekiel’s wife and told him not to mourn. 

Now let’s address the elephant in the room.

Would God do that? Kill Ezekiel’s wife for an object lesson?  

Does God kill people?

Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10:1–2)

Aaron’s two sons offered "unlawful fire" (strange fire), contrary to what the Lord had commanded. Resulting in fire from the Lord consuming them.

NOTE: Moses warned Aaron and his surviving sons not to rebel against God’s Divine judgement by mourning. Doing so would risk God’s wrath on all of them.

Uzzah (2 Samuel 6:6–7)

While the Ark of the Covenant was being transported, the oxen stumbled. Uzzah grabbed the Ark to steady it, violating God's command. God struck Uzzah dead on the spot.

Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1–10)

In the early church, this married couple sold a piece of property, secretly kept a portion of the money, and then lied by saying they gave the full amount. They both dropped dead after being caught in their lies.

Herod Agrippa (Acts 12:21–23)

King Herod gave a speech and the crowd shouted that his voice was that of a god. Herod accepted their praise and an angel of the Lord stuck him dead, and he was eaten by worms.

These all suffered the consequences of sin.

But what about the innocent?

Does God kill innocent people, (like Ezekiel’s wife)?

Israel during David's Census (2 Samuel 24:10–15).

King David sinned by ordering a census, showing his trust in human strength rather than God, resulting in a plague that killed 70,000. They were not guilty of David’s sin.

The Firstborn of Egypt (Exodus 12:29).

During the final plague, the Lord struck the firstborn in Egypt, from Pharaoh's heir to the livestock.

David and Bathsheba’s baby (2 Samuel 12:14–18).

King David committed adultery with Bathsheba and then had her husband killed. The prophet Nathan announced that due to his sin, the innocent baby would die.

God's Sovereignty.

God has and does and will Sovereignly, sinlessly, taken people's lives.

Matthew 10:28, Luke 12:4-5. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

God's Character

So, it's vitally important to remember, God's Character.

John 10:10. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

Deuteronomy 30:19. I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.

Ezekiel 18:23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Lord GOD. Wouldn’t I prefer that he turn from his ways and live?

Ezekiel 18:32. For I take no pleasure in anyone’s death, declares the Lord GOD. So repent and live!

Ezekiel 33:11. As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’

John 3:16-17. For God so love the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, will not perish but have everlasting Life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 

God gave His beloved Son. Ezekiel gave his beloved wife.

2 Peter 3:9. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

So, remember what Bever said in CS Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, when asked if He (Aslan) is safe: "Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."

God is Good. He is NOT the cause of all death. Does not take every cancer victim or cause every fatal car accident.

The world is broken, corrupt, because of sin. Our sin that we started...not God.

MANY die BEFORE their time, BECAUSE OF SIN.  NOT GOD.

God's character is good. God's character is Life. God is Love.

Ezekiel’s wife was not bad, God calls her a beautiful favorable name, "the desire of your eyes". Which means desired, precious, beloved, longed for, cherished.

Knowing God, He might've sent Gabriel to ask Ezekiel’s wife if she wanted to be a Divine object lesson.

Perhaps she said, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord be it unto me according to your word.”

Then, instead of flashing her name and deed on pages of Scripture for all to see... and make a mockery of her memory by turning her into an idol. Perhaps, she just silently smiled and nodded, then softly whispered, "Don't tell anyone" as she slipped out the back door, with Jesus.

Remind me to ask her when we get to heaven.

Let's pray.

Lord Jesus, thank You for meeting us where we are, in joy, in sorrow, in life, in death. All, of this world is soon to fade, but You remain. And that is enough. Help us to know this with more than our head.

Thank You.

We love You, forever.

Amen.

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Astonishing Amazing Authority, Mark 1:21-28

 

Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. ²² And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

²³ Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, ²⁴ saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”

²⁵ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” ²⁶ And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him. ²⁷ Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” ²⁸ And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.

 

Jesus wastes no time.

After calling His disciples to be fishers of men, He started fishing.

Immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue...

Synagogue, means assembly.

Interestingly, synagogues, came from the time period we’re reading about on Sundays.

During the 70 years of captivity in Babylon, they started having little assemblies, synagogues, to gather and worship.

Jesus entered the synagogue. He entered the assembly.

He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Hebrews 13:8.

Wherever two or more are gathered (assembled) together in My name, there I AM in the midst of them. Matt. 18:20.

Today, if you are in Christ, He is in you. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, you are not your own, you are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body. 1 Cor. 6:19-20.

Jesus entered the synagogue, He went to Church, as was His custom. Luke 4:16.

We should follow His example. And His Word. “Forsake not the assembling together of yourselves...” Hebrews 10:25.

Everybody needs a Church family, even if online, we need a place to gather, a place to call home.

However, don’t make it a rigid, legalistic, rule.

There are good reasons to miss Church.

Like Tex, last Sunday. He was headed out the door to walk to Church, when he heard a groan from the backyard. His neighbor had fallen. Good Samaritan Tex, helped his neighbor get off the ground, get in a chair, get hydrated, get back in the house.

That was the right thing to do. He was doing the Lord’s work.

Never be too busy with ministry, to minister.

Jesus had a habit, a tradition, a custom of, going to Church. Was it mandatory? No. But it was necessary to fulfill all righteousness, like His baptism.

It was necessary to carry out His Divine Eternal Purpose.

You have a Divine Eternal Purpose. To find it and fulfill it, you need to follow Jesus...

And Jesus went to Church. Still does.

So, Jesus entered the synagogue and taught.

He didn’t just go and sit and take a nap. He was present. He got involved. He offered His Gift and calling.

If He is in you, He will do the same through you.

Whether assembling online or in person, Jesus through you is salt and light, making a difference, praying for the people, the preacher, the Presence of God, helping, serving, finding and filling His place for you, in the work of the ministry.

Jesus entered the synagogue and taught.

That’s how it worked in synagogues back then. A certain part of the service allowed for a visiting rabbi, or teacher, to read from Scripture and then, elaborate on it.

Jesus went to Church and taught.

²² And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

The scribes read Scripture and quoted rabbis. They were book smart, had head knowledge.

Today they’d download a sermon from google and impress you with scholarly quotes and technical jargon and data.

They might be entertaining, probably not, probably boring, no matter what, they’d have no Authority, no Power.

 Jesus brought Scripture to Life. He spoke with Authority.

How did that happen? Where did that come from?

Don’t say, “Because He was God.” He was. And is. But remember, He willingly took off His Divinity to put on the constraints of humanity.

So, He had to do what we have to do.

2 Tim. 2:15. He studied Scripture to show Himself approved.

Hebrews 5:8. He learned obedience through the things which He suffered.

Obedience earns authority.

In Matthew 8:5-13, about the same time as our text in Mark, a Centurion pleaded, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.”

⁷ And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

⁸ The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹ For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

¹⁰ When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! ¹¹ And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. ¹² But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ¹³ Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.

Jesus prayed more earnestly, more intensely, more fervently, than any man. Luke 22:44. Hebrews 12:4.

He waxed strong in Spirit and grew in favor with God and man. Luke 2:40, 52.

Obedient to the Spirit, led by the Spirit, Jesus went into the wilderness to fast and pray for forty days. Then, He came out in the Power, the Authority, of the Spirit. Matthew 4:1, Luke 4:14.

Jesus learned obedience. Earned authority. Went to Church. Taught what He learned and earned.

You can too.

²³ Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, ²⁴ saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”

 ²⁵ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” ²⁶ And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him. ²⁷

Jesus went to Church.

The devil did too.

Was he a first time visitor, or was he a regular, one of the greeters?

One thing’s for sure. The unclean spirit knew Jesus and was probably trembling. James 2:19.

We see that same obnoxious demonic manifestation today in those crying out against Christ. 

Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth.

This is the first time in Scripture the phrase “Jesus of Nazareth” is used. It was a derogatory term, for, “nothing good can come out of Nazareth” as the saying went.

The demon knew that the crowd knew that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem. Saying those words would discredit Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah.

But remember the demon is terrified and trembling as his next words reveal:

Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”

Psalm 16:10. For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.

The demon cried out with a loud voice, convulsed, trembled in fear, knowing his destiny is Sheol, the lake of fire, and Jesus, the Holy One of God, has the Authority to send him there.

Jesus went to Church to teach.

The demon went to interrupt, disrupt, steal, kill, destroy, the Word from being taught. John 10:10.

Jesus used what the devil meant for harm as an object lesson for His Authority. And an encouragement to the people who might be thinking: "If God uses someone from Nazareth, perhaps He will use me, too."

Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” ²⁸ And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.

The people were astonished and amazed at His awesome authority and spoke so often to one another about the Lord that His fame spread everywhere.

When we do that, the Lord likes it so much, He listens and records it...

Malachi 3:16-17
Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name.

¹⁷ “They shall be Mine,” says the Lord of hosts, “On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.”

Are we childlike enough to be astonished and amazed by the Word of God?

Do we share among ourselves, on our social media, to all those God's given us, the astonishing, amazing things we've seen and heard from the Lord and His Word?

Or do we just rage about the corrupt, debased, strong delusions of the world?

As Christians, our job, our ministry, our Great Commission is to share the Good News of Jesus, not the bad news of satan.

They shared Jesus, and His fame spread everywhere.

We can do that too.

Will we?

Let's pray.

Lord Jesus, we just read how the people were astonished and amazed by Your teaching and Your works, help us to be that way too. We just read how You took authority over evil. Since You are the same, yesterday, today and forever, and You live and abide in us, we invite Your authority to flow through us against evil. Then, with amazement and authority we will talk about You one to another, spreading Your love and light and fame throughout the world until You come and take us Home. Come quickly Lord Jesus.

We love You, forever.

Amen.

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