Mark 1:29-39
29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her. 31 So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.
32 That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33 The whole town gathered at the door, 34 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.
35 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. 36 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”
38 Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” 39 So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
The Reason Jesus Heals You
A Sunday school class was asked the following questions, and this is how they answered:
Why did God make mothers? She’s the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
What ingredients are mothers made of? God made mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
What kind of little girl was your mom? I don’t know because I wasn’t there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
What did Mom need to know about Dad before she married him? His last name. Does he make at least $800/year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?
What does your mom do in her spare time? Mothers don’t do spare time.
What’s the difference between moms and dads? Moms work at work and work at home, and dads just work at work.
To summarize, in the minds of kids (and in reality), moms serve their families. In fact, that’s the great thing about moms—if you ask them (when no kid is screaming or covered with a whole jar of peanut butter), they’ll tell you they love it. It is hardwired into their nature. What’s the worst thing that can happen in many homes? Mom gets sick, and the house descends into chaos.
Peter’s mother-in-law got sick… really sick. She was consumed by a fever, so bad that she couldn’t attend synagogue and was laid up in bed. Jesus had just driven out a demon that day at the synagogue. Immediately afterward, Jesus, Peter, Andrew, James, and John headed over to Peter’s mother-in-law’s house to attend a special Sabbath meal. When they got to the house, Jesus went to her, took her hand, helped her up, and the fever she had been suffering from left just like that! The man who had cast out a demon from a stranger now cast out the fever from Peter’s mother-in-law. Peter would remember that.
But here’s where I want us to pay special attention. What did she do after she was healed? She didn’t go and join a convent. She didn’t become arrogant and declare herself the queen of Capernaum. She didn’t try to sign a book deal or do the talk show circuit. She didn’t even leave the house. No. Jesus healed her, and Mark tells us, “She began to wait on them.” She used the gift of health she had been given to do what she could out of thanks to Jesus. She served. It’s why Jesus gives us gifts like time, health, wealth, education and so on. It’s his plan… so that we can serve.
And maybe you’re thinking, “I haven’t been healed by Jesus.” And I suppose you’re right if you’re thinking that healing only means that you have cancer one week and the next week the scan comes up negative. And Jesus does do that from time to time. But you are here today and not in bed with a fever. Who do you think did that? Many of you have never had cancer. Some of you sleep well at night. Some of you have had broken bones that have HEALED. Maybe you had a cold or the flu, and your immune system preserved you. Who do you think did that for you? Your health today is no less a miracle than what Jesus did for Peter’s mother-in-law 2,000 years ago. And just like her, you can thank him too, by doing the same thing that she did – serve.
To do anything else is a waste. Think about how you would answer the question when you are laid up in the hospital and someone asked you: “Why do you want to get better?” I want to be healed so that I can live without pain again, so that I can go hiking, so that I can enjoy travel, etc… No. As Christians who recognize where our health and healing come from we want to be healed so that we can serve – so that we can be there for our families when they need us; so that we can be a positive influence in our neighbourhood, so that we can say thank you to God. That’s Jesus’ plan for you – to serve.
But there’s more to why Jesus heals you. It’s not just because he wants something from you. He cares about you – body and soul. Sometimes God allows pain to enter our lives because he wants to show us that we need him. Pain has a way of jogging our memories that God exists. Pain reminds us that this life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be; that there’s something better, something more that we should be looking for. Pain keeps us from becoming complacent and lazy; it points us to the only thing – the only one – that can satisfy us: Jesus.
Do you know how blessed you are? Not everyone in this world knows who Jesus is. You do. Pain leads us to cry out to the One who has shed human tears, who felt his Father forsake him on the cross and cried out “why” in pain and heartache, who showed the world beyond a shadow of a doubt that he cares for you. Pain leads us to seek out Jesus.
And that’s exactly how our text continues: “That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door.”
For those of us who haven’t grown up in ancient Israel, it’d be easy to miss this. Did you know that Jewish Sabbath laws limited the distance a person could walk on Saturday to the stretch between their house and the synagogue? So, the picture that Mark paints for us is that all those people who had seen Jesus drive out a demon at the synagogue in the morning were waiting at home for the Sabbath to be over at sunset so that they could go and bring their sick relatives to Jesus in hopes that he could heal them too. A whole town just looking out the window, waiting, watching for sunset, eager to see Jesus. Pain does that.
It’s like you. Sunday morning dawns. Loaded down with a week’s worth of worry and stress and pain and sickness and guilt. You look forward to going to see Jesus for help. Those people in Capernaum had specific reasons for going to see Jesus. They had all these problems; they go to Jesus for help. And that’s just what he did. He had had a long day of preaching, but he didn’t shoo them away; he healed them because he cared for them – body and soul.
Jesus cares for you too. And even if you have to suffer some kind of illness—he hasn’t forgotten you. Even when Jesus doesn’t heal us, it’s not because he can’t. It’s because he wants something even better for you than physical health. It was something he wanted so badly that he went to a cross – to die so that you could live free from sin; to rise from the grave, so you could have the hope of heaven. That’s Jesus’ plan for you.
And that’s finally why he heals you. To point you to the fact that he cares most about your spiritual health. The text goes on to say, “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.” Don’t miss this point! Jesus was up into the wee hours of the night healing people. If there were ever a time to sleep in, you’d think Jesus earned it. But instead, he wakes up while it’s still dark out so that he could talk with his Father in prayer.
This is a dangerous game to play, but what do you think Jesus prayed about? Well, what was his all-consuming passion? You. The message of your salvation and bringing that mission to its fruition at the cross for you. That’s a comforting thought, isn’t it? When Jesus says, “I know my sheep. I call them by name,” it means that he didn’t just pray for a nameless, faceless mass of humanity… he prayed with you in mind, i.e. your name and your pain and your life and your salvation.
And in this way, Jesus is not only being our perfect substitute, but he’s also providing a perfect example for us to follow. He wants you to spend time with him too. Jesus was a busy with lots of demands on his schedule, but he still made time to pray. If you’re too busy to pray, then you’re too busy! Have you ever noticed that when you skip worship on the weekend or devotion during your day, you can say, “I’ll get to it later” but then five simple tasks chase you around all day? But that’s why Jesus heals you. Yes, so that you can serve, but also so that you have the energy to be served by him through his Word. He heals you to point you to the greater healing he wants to do for you spiritually.
That’s why Jesus came. He says it himself. When the disciples come and tell Jesus that there are even more people to be healed, Jesus said, “Let’s go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” Jesus didn’t come to heal every disease. He came to preach to as many people as possible so that you could hear and be healed. Let him preach to you through his Word and to heal you, not always necessarily physically, but spiritually and eternally. That is Jesus’ plan for you – to work through physical pain and health so that you can be of service to him, but above all be served by him through his Word. That’s why Jesus heals you! Amen.