Jesus entered the house of Peter, and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, the fever left her, and she rose and waited on him. 16 When it was evening, they brought him many who were possessed by demons, and he drove out the spirits by a word and cured all the sick, 17 to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet: “He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.”
18 When Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side. 19 A scribe approached and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” 21 Another of [his] disciples said to him, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” 22 But Jesus answered him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead.”
No one told Jesus that Peter’s mother-in-law was ill (v. 14). He “saw” she was ill and healed with a touch. Once the fever left her she got up and served Jesus.
The quote from Isaiah is, “Yet it was our pain that he bore, our sufferings he endured (Is. 53:4)," but Matthew changed it slightly; Jesus cast demons out of people with mental infirmities and cured the sick of diseases. Isaiah’s prophesy was fulfilled in Jesus’ healing ministry. The demons were expelled with just a word (v. 16).
Jesus said, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God (Lk. 9:62).” Discipleship is a challenge and Jesus’ responses to two would-be disciples demonstrate what he expects from his disciples. Scribes were scholars of the Law, professionals, and leaders in the Jewish communities yet one of them showed subservience and addressed Jesus as “Teacher (v. 19).” He wanted to be one of Jesus’ disciples. Jesus explained in a figurative way that he was an itinerant preacher with no fixed place to live so being his disciple would not be easy. One of his disciples wanted to go and bury his father but Jesus used another figurative way to explain the radical nature of serving as his disciple. It meant serving God first. Immediately turning away from one's previous life, leaving everything behind, and following Jesus.
Almighty God, through the teaching of your Son we understand that we are called to serve you without reservation. Grant us the grace to give up all that binds us to a life not worthy of your call and to look forward to serving you in accordance with your purpose. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Expanded Edition, Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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