He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon Him. Mat 3:16. This statement about John may well be the key to defining the ministry of Christ on whom the spirit of God descended.
And rising up from the synagogue, He entered into Simon's house. And Simon's wife's mother was being seized with a great fever. And they asked Him for her.
And standing over her, He rebuked the fever. And it left her. And immediately she arose and served them.
And the sun sinking, all, as many as had sick ones with different kinds of diseases brought them to Him. And laying hands on each of them, He healed them.
And also demons came out of many, crying out and saying, You are the Christ, the Son of God! And rebuking them, He did not allow them to speak; for they knew Him to be the Christ.
And day coming on, going out, He went into a deserted place. And the crowds looked for Him and came to Him, and held Him fast, not to pass away from them.
And He said to them, I must proclaim the gospel, the kingdom of God, to other cities, because I was sent on this mission.
And He proclaimed in the synagogues of Galilee. Luke 4:38-44.
And rising up from the synagogue, He entered into Simon's house. And Simon's wife's mother was being seized with a great fever. And they asked Him for her.
And standing over her, He rebuked the fever. And it left her. And immediately she arose and served them.
And the sun sinking, all, as many as had sick ones with different kinds of diseases brought them to Him. And laying hands on each of them, He healed them.
And also demons came out of many, crying out and saying, You are the Christ, the Son of God! And rebuking them, He did not allow them to speak; for they knew Him to be the Christ.
And day coming on, going out, He went into a deserted place. And the crowds looked for Him and came to Him, and held Him fast, not to pass away from them.
And He said to them, I must proclaim the gospel, the kingdom of God, to other cities, because I was sent on this mission.
And He proclaimed in the synagogues of Galilee. Luke 4:38-44.
It should be noted that not all three synoptic gospels record the same events in the same sequence and at places, this can cause some confusion. However, as far as I can tell these differences do not cause any major changes in the truths that are taught.
The Married Pope
Especial interest attaches to the mention of the mother-in-law of Peter, as proving that Jesus chose a married man to be an apostle, the very apostle from whom the celibate ministry of Rome professes to have received the keys. EBC
Even if one believes that the church is to have a human leader (pope), which is a teaching the Bible opposes, the teaching that that leader (pope) should not be married is in direct opposition to the teaching of the Bible. It is totally ironic that the Roman Catholic church chose Peter, a married man, to be the first pope of the church.
For more on the leadership in the church see:
https://kristamariia.wordpress.com/
After Christ had spoken in the synagogue He and His four disciples went directly to Simon's and Andrew's house.
And they asked Him for her. This could mean that she wanted to ask Christ to heal her but she was not feeling "up to it" so the son-in-law asked Him.
Some versions have, they asked Him concerning her. However, if this is the right wording it seems that it should have been asked after Christ had seen the patient, not before, as we have it in the book of Luke.
I wonder if Simon asked Christ to come to his house because his wife's mother was sick. As soon as they arrived at Simon's home they told Christ about his wife's mother's sickness; probably a local fever for which that lake shore was notorious, and which was bred from the malaria of the marsh. EBC
And they asked Him for her. This could mean that she wanted to ask Christ to heal her but she was not feeling "up to it" so the son-in-law asked Him.
Some versions have, they asked Him concerning her. However, if this is the right wording it seems that it should have been asked after Christ had seen the patient, not before, as we have it in the book of Luke.
I wonder if Simon asked Christ to come to his house because his wife's mother was sick. As soon as they arrived at Simon's home they told Christ about his wife's mother's sickness; probably a local fever for which that lake shore was notorious, and which was bred from the malaria of the marsh. EBC
Simon had never seen Christ heal anyone and maybe he was thinking, Well if this man can cast out demons maybe He can also heal the sick? I will just find out for myself.
Luke was a medical doctor and it is interesting that of all three writers of the synoptic gospels he is the only one that mentions;
as many as had sick ones with different kinds of diseases brought them to Him. And laying hands on each of them, He healed them.
Luke was a medical doctor and it is interesting that of all three writers of the synoptic gospels he is the only one that mentions;
- Simon's mother-in-law was seized with a great fever.
- Christ was standing over her bed, as a doctor would.
as many as had sick ones with different kinds of diseases brought them to Him. And laying hands on each of them, He healed them.
It is interesting that Christ healed the mother-in-law on the Sabbath but He did not heal the crowds of the sick until after sunset. On the Jewish calendar, Shabbat ends at nightfall, when three stars are visible, approximately 40 minutes after sunset and the first day of the week begins. Wikipedia, Judaism 101
It is sad that so often religious rules stand in the way of human welfare. Christ had been in Peter's house ever since "church was out" but no sick people were brought to Christ for healing before sunset.
This might have been either because the distance was further than "a Sabbath day's walk" or because carrying a sick person was more weight than was allowed to be carried on the Sabbath.
Cold religion can be so unfeeling, murderous even, as we see in the history of the church. Fortunately, many Christians have stepped outside the restraining church walls and have become involved in humanitarian agencies instead.
It is sad that so often religious rules stand in the way of human welfare. Christ had been in Peter's house ever since "church was out" but no sick people were brought to Christ for healing before sunset.
This might have been either because the distance was further than "a Sabbath day's walk" or because carrying a sick person was more weight than was allowed to be carried on the Sabbath.
Cold religion can be so unfeeling, murderous even, as we see in the history of the church. Fortunately, many Christians have stepped outside the restraining church walls and have become involved in humanitarian agencies instead.
Easy Fame - Not for Christ
also demons came out of many, crying out and saying, You are the Christ, the Son of God! And rebuking them, He did not allow them to speak; for they knew Him to be the Christ. One thing Christ did not need is some demons going about associating themselves with the Son of God. It might have spread Christ's fame, with negative consequences, but He was not looking for fame; His mission was to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God.
Christ had been working miracles ever since sunset and now after a little bit of sleep rising up quite early in the night, He went out and went away into a deserted place, and He was praying there. Mark 1:35.
the crowds ... came to Him, and held Him fast, not to pass away from them. They tried to hang on to Him but He made it clear to them that His mission was to proclaim the gospel, the kingdom of God, to other cities also.
Church Leaders with wives
Here are a few ideas about the involvement an apostle's wife might have had in her husband's ministry:
And Clement of Alexandria tells us that Peter’s wife acted as his coadjutor (a co-worker), ministering to women in their own homes, by which means the gospel of Christ penetrated without scandal the privacy of women’s apartments. EBC.
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