Matthew 8:14-17, Mark 1:29-34, and Luke 4:38-41
RTNT 2021. Today we do something different – we read small sections from each of the three Synoptic gospels. Each of these gospels reports on Jesus healing Peter’s mother-in-law, in four, six, and four verses, respectively. This will happen quite often in our chronological read since two or three of these Synoptics often report on the same incident. Bible scholars believe that Mark was the first gospel written and that Matthew and Luke possibly had a copy of Mark’s gospel when they wrote their own. So where we see two or three of the writers reporting on the same incident, Mark will regularly be one of the gospels. We’ll seldom see Matthew and Luke writing about an incident with Mark’s account absent. There are also theories that another source was available to all three writers, but that source has never been unearthed or identified. I had suggested a few weeks back that you might want to have four bookmarks in your Bible(s) to help you find your place. But even so we see in our readings today that in Matthew we have jumped ahead almost four chapters, completely skipping the Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5-7). We’ll get back on track with him tomorrow.
I have a number of comments in the links below since we read these three sections on three days in 2019. Still, I noticed one thing that I hadn’t seen before. Yes, the people followed Sabbath laws and waited until after the sun had set before bringing the sick to Jesus. But Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law almost immediately as He entered the house, performing this healing on the Sabbath. There were no Jewish authorities present so He was not charged with breaking the Sabbath as we see later. There is also an interesting progression about this healing in our three readings. In Matthew Jesus sees the woman sick and He goes to her right away. In Mark the disciples inform Jesus of Peter’s mother-in-law’s illness and he goes to her. And in Luke, the disciples clearly ask Jesus to heal her. Each writer describes the incident a bit differently.
See also: February 10 / Matthew 8:14-17; February 11 / Mark 1:29-34; February 12 / Luke 4:38-41
What a great demonstration of Jesus’ power and authority, huh?! Power over us, our physical bodies, healing and also His power over the spiritual world. He removed the demon or sickness from Peter’s mother-in-law AND ordered demons not to speak. Having read this before, I’ve wondered why Jesus would order a demon not to speak…? Now I realize He is demonstrating His authority and control. I’m also reflecting on my attempts at control over someone or some situation and what a dismal failure I was at that. Once again I have to remind myself that I’m not Jesus. And to let go of what I cannot control.
I have a similar reaction to “casting out demons” as you expressed in the Feb. 10, 2019 post. My thought is that it must be mental illness that he healed, and that those witnessing such a healing could only think of a mentally ill person as one possessed by evil spirits or demons. This supposition is based on superstition and/or ignorance in a modern world; much as Debbie described as seen in Africa, and what we see still in Caribbean “voodoo” belief.
I am sure there are various natural things that science can now explain that have been attributed to demons in both the ancient world and third world areas of today. As Tom said, mental illness could fall into that category. But I don’t think we can chalk all of it up to superstition or ignorance, especially references to demons in the Bible. One thing to note here is that Mark and Luke both report that Jesus did not permit the demons to speak “because they knew Him” (Mark 1:34) or “because they knew that He was the Christ” (Luke 4:41). That is not the description of a mental illness.
I don’t think that we should “over-spiritualize” every problem (“seeing a demon under every rock,” so to speak), but we shouldn’t “under-spiritualize” the world, either. We need to recognize that there are indeed spiritual forces of evil, and that is where the real fight is, as Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:12.
I find myself agreeing wholeheartedly with you, John. I think we are too reluctant to call something demonic in our society—we are way too educated and sophisticated for that!
But I believe that is part of Satan and his work in our westernized world.
I also find that many people do not believe that God really has any power or does anything to intervene in our lives. He is simply a nice addition to daily/weekly routines, but does not have any influence over circumstances. This is wrong, of course. I KNOW he answers prayers!
The question I have is — how do we foster that kind of faith in the people around us, a vibrant, living faith in who God is and how he acts?
John et al, I too appreciate your point about demons, sort of “moderation in everything”, neither always demons, nor never demons, haha.
What jumped out at me this time is Peter’s mother in law. Jesus healed her, and what did she do? She got up and immediately began to serve Him! How often has He touched me and I just breathed a sigh of relief, maybe said thank you or a short Praise God. Jesus heals us — for His service, I need to work on immediate obedience!
Debbie, in my “warped sense of humor” I imagine the disciples all just standing around doing nothing, so Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law so as to have somebody who can manage to cook dinner. 🙂
But on the more serious side, I think you are right on target. How often have I taken His abundant blessings for granted and then just used them to please myself rather than to serve Him?! Ouch!
Very interesting discussion about demons and I agree with Carol and John. I think that we as a society are far too ready to assume that science today has all the answers to everything. Undoubtedly, medical science has advanced in amazing ways in the last 100 years, but we do not put that in a proper perspective. 150 years ago, doctors were still blood-letting patients in an attempt to rebalance the blood “humours”–whatever that is. We know a lot more today, but we are still just scratching the surface of the why’s and how’s of health, disease and treatment. Medical science does not currently explain the very real “miracle” cures that doctors see from time to time. There is little scientific explanation for the placebo effect (where patients improve after being given a sugar pill). There is no scientific explanation for why people who pray seem to do better than nonbelievers in certain medical cases. With mental illness, medical science can point to imbalances in certain brain biochemistry that may be a factor. And with certain treatments, the disease can be managed–but not necessarily “cured”. But what causes the imbalance in the first place? Medical science is just getting started on a long journey and there is going to be much more to discover and be amazed at.
So, what does this have to do with demons? To say that demons have nothing to do with human misery, is naive. God is real. Spirituality is real. And I think there is a real struggle between good and evil in this world. I don’t rule out demons.