Luke 4:38-44 - Authority of Jesus Over Diseases

Jesus returned to His hometown of Nazareth and had been rejected. He didn’t throw in the towel and quit, but “He went down to Capernaum”. He went down to a dark place where demons, evil, and wickedness abound. And it appears from all the Gospels, that as a result, great numbers of people were afflicted with various sicknesses, blindness, and diseases.   Jesus shows up as a great Light in the midst of that kingdom of darkness, bringing peace, bringing hope, bringing grace, and bringing salvation to hungry, hurting, broken, sick people. This is where Jesus feeds the five thousand, gives sight to the blind, raises the dead, cast out demons, and heals the sick. It appears that Jesus did more miracles in this region than He did in the area surrounding Jerusalem.   Yesterday we discussed Luke describing how Jesus had authority over the demons as He cast the demon out of a man in the synagogue at Capernaum. Luke tells us that the people who saw this responded in awe of what they saw in verses 36-37, “Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out." And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.”  Can you imagine what the people that just tried to kill Jesus back in Nazareth were thinking when they hear about all these things!   Today here in verses 38-44, we want to talk about how Jesus not only has authority over the demons but how He also has authority over diseases. I’ve been to Capernaum many times and we always go to the old ruins of an ancient synagogue from the time of Jesus that is right next to the excavated foundation of a house they believe was Peter’s house. A church is built over them with a glass floor so you can see them. And this is all within a few hundred feet of the northern tip of the Sea of Galilee.   After casting out the demon in the synagogue, Jesus stands up and walks over to Simon Peter’s house where He is told that Simon Peter’s mother-in-law is sick with a high fever. What Jesus did was extraordinary. He did not treat the fever as though it were a medical ailment needing treatment. He spoke to it and rebuked it! And it left her (4:38-39). Did Jesus speak to the virus or to the bacteria? Had Satan caused this fever as he caused poor Job's boils (Job 2:1-7)? We do not know. We do know that the cure was instantaneous. Mark’s Gospel informs us that the woman stood to her feet and hurried off to the kitchen to minister to the family with a meal. By the way, Jesus doesn’t heal us to write a book, or go on a speaking tour, but He heals us to serve and minister to those around us.   When I think about this incident, I am reminded that Jesus not only cares about the multitudes but that He notices and takes time for the individual. This also assures me that Jesus cares about the physical ailments of people. Today Jesus still has the power and authority of sickness and disease and He can heal anyone if it is His will. Over the many years of our ministry, I have anointed with oil and prayed with many sick people in their homes and in the hospital and at church. Many were healed and immediately knew it. But also, in many cases the Lord’s healing was an ultimate healing in taking them home to be with Him in heaven.   Sometimes God doesn’t answer the prayer to remove the sickness as with the Apostle Paul, but He always promises that His grace will be sufficient as we go through the suffering (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). And what really matters is to be confident that God loves you and that He cares about every type of physical, emotion, mental or spiritual suffering or sorrow you might be dealing with. Trust His love and grace today even if you can’t feel His hand.   God bless!