After he left the synagogue, he entered the house of Simon. Simon’s mother-in-law was afflicted with a severe fever, and they interceded with him about her. 39 He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up immediately and waited on them. 40 At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to him. He laid his hands on each of them and cured them. 41 And demons also came out from many, shouting, “You are the Son of God.” But he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Messiah. 42 At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place. The crowds went looking for him, and when they came to him, they tried to prevent him from leaving them. 43 But he said to them, “To the other towns also I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God, because for this purpose I have been sent.” 44 And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
In Luke’s Gospel, Simon Peter’s mother-in-law was cured of a high fever before Jesus called Peter to be a disciple (Lk. 5:1-11). Jesus cured her instantaneously by his words alone. Jesus ‘rebuked the fever’ and cast it out in the same way he cast the evil demon out of the man in the Synagogue (Lk. 4:35). Peter’s mother-in-law immediately got up and began to serve Jesus similar to when he later cured some Galilean women of evil spirits and infirmities and they followed him (Lk. 8:2-3).
At sundown, out of compassion, Jesus continued to heal others after the Sabbath Rest was over. In these instances, he laid hands individually on each person and cured all who came to him, exorcising demons from some of them. As the demons were exorcised, they recognized who Jesus truly was and declared him to be the Son of God, the Messiah. Followers of Jesus only came to that realization after a long journey of faith, the Cross, and the resurrection.
At daybreak, Jesus left by himself to find solitude. Jesus was rejected at Nazareth where he had grown up but the people in Capernaum went looking for him and did not want him to leave. Jesus explained to the crowd that his mission was to, “proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God” to other towns. The Kingdom of God was being ushered in by the preaching and mighty deeds of Jesus, the Holy one of God, the Messiah, who was anointed by God, and who is the reflection of God.
Almighty God, hear the prayers of your unworthy servants and lift us from the darkness of sin into the light of Christ so that through him, we may be made worthy of his promises and attain eternal life. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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