Jesus Heals

                                                                                                                                           
The healing of Peter’s mother in law                                                                       Pg.1
Luke 4:38  And he arose out of the synagogue, and entered into Simon's house. And Simon's wife's mother was taken with a great fever; and they besought him for her. 39  And he stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her: and immediately she arose and ministered unto them. 40  Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them. 41  And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ. 42  And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place: and the people sought him, and came unto him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them. 43  And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent. 44  And he preached in the synagogues of Galilee.

There is a God who loves us and cares about the things in our life that cause us harm and misery. Jesus is our soul’s refreshment, and we are to learn of him and continue in our seeking him for every aspect of life, no matter what the conflict or condition which affects us. Jesus heals, and this was his time to let it be known that the Kingdom of God is near.

1.Why is Jesus there?
Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John are with Jesus and either by invitation or by divine providence Jesus goes to Peter’s home. We are not told why he went there. Most likely it was out of a hospitable concern for Jesus that they asked him to stay with them. Or it was the fact that the mother in law was ill. It was definitely not accidental, There was motive, Christ goes nowhere and does nothing without cause or reason.

Q.1 Simon had met Jesus previously at another place and time. Do we recall that incident?
Q.2 What was the relationship now of Simon, with Jesus? Still just a friend?
Q.3 Was Jesus invited to Peter’s home as a guest or as a healer? What do you think?
Q.4 What are we told, was the first thing Jesus did after entering Peter’s home?

2. Do we have great expectations of Jesus?
Probably the group with Jesus, had seen the miracle of the demon exorcism and knew or had faith that Jesus could heal Peter’s mother in law. And since he had no place to stay, it was very convenient and hospitable of them to ask him to visit. And while there he could help the ill woman. They had seen what Jesus can do.

Q.1 Jesus, there as a friend would be there as a healer too. Is this the providence of God?
Q.2 Jesus was asked to help the Mother in law, or did they know he could heal her?
Q.3 Are there those who would find it difficult to ask Jesus for his help? What about us?
Q.4 What far reaching benefit did this miracle of healing foster?

As soon as Peter began to follow Christ, his family began to benefit by it.  Every person who knows the virtue and authority of Christ should earnestly seek his grace in behalf of all the spiritually suffering in their family and in their circle of friends.  All who seek the aid of Christ in truth, will never do so in vain.


3. Who asks what of Jesus ?                                                                                              Pg.2
We are not told who did the asking, but it must have been agreeable with all there that Jesus could help. Otherwise there would have been more discussion. We are not told the details of her illness, only that she had a fever. And the group asked for Jesus’ help. Who indeed? We do not always know who it is that asks for Jesus’ help on our behalf. We do know that it was not the woman who was ill.

Q.1 What must be the thoughts of those who need his help?
Q.2 Which person in the group is more likely to have asked for Jesus’ help?
Q.3 Would that request have been confirmed within the group?
Q.4 Is there a truth revealed in what this group did?


4. What has Jesus Done?
We are told that Jesus stood over her , and the fever left her. It was just that simple. Or was it that simple? Jesus, with all the power of God came into the presence of this ill woman, stood there, over her, and presented her illness with all the power of God that he has been given by His Father so as to be able to cast out demons and to heal the sick and even to raise the dead. We do not need a fire truck to come to our home to blow out a candle, but we do need to know how to call on the ability and the effort to get the flame extinguished. Jesus can do anything, no matter what the challenge may be. And all we need to know is how to call on him. And to do so with all faith and trust that he will do as he has promised. If we're God's own possession, we have to take our faith public and share how awesome is the God who called us out of the darkness of our sin, and into his marvelous light of eternal life.
Q.1 What must be the thoughts of Jesus right at that moment?                                                                                 Q.2 Why is it that the presence of Jesus is so powerful in this instance?                                                   Q.3 What is there about Jesus that gives these believers such confidence?                                                              Q.4 What are the expectations of this group?

5. All is well with Jesus?
After she was healed of her fever, the woman rose from her bed and began to minister to them. Life indeed, was recovered, to her and she  must be more than ever in his service, to his glory. If illness be rebuked, and we arise from our sickness, we must set ourselves to minister to Jesus Christ. Those that minister to Christ must be ready to minister to all that are his for his sake: She ministered to them, not only to him that had cured her, but to them that had besought him for her.

Q.1 How is it that this woman so sick with fever is now ready to serve others?                                                                                 Q.2 This miracle seems to work for the benefit of all, how does that happen?                                                   Q.3 How is it that just from this incident, now others outside this group call on Jesus ?                                                            

6. Jesus Heals all?                                                                                                               Pg.3
Now that this healing was accomplished, no doubt the news had spread throughout the region, and at sundown people came to him for healing of diverse diseases and even those possessed of demons were healed and the demons cast out. The sign he used in healing was laying his hands on the sick; not lifting up his hands for them, for he healed as having authority. He healed by his own power. The Bible frequently invests this simple gesture with weighty symbolism. Its significance can be fruitfully evaluated in connection with four concepts: blessing, miraculous power, separation, and the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Q.1 Is this not what anyone would do when ill, seek to be healed?                                                                              Q.2 What is there about the laying on of hands that is so significant?                                                                                                                                                                                      

7. What everyone wants of Jesus?                                                                                                            
When the morning came they all wanted him to stay  and continue to bless them and work his miracles. We are sometimes too dedicated to the presence of Christ in our midst, and do not want the special occasion to end. Some people actually think that Jesus Christ belongs to their denomination or fellowship. We become so accustomed to depending upon him that we forget that Jesus came to us so that all might have salvation that honestly seek his saving grace.  John 3:16

Q.1 Are we sometimes judgmental of those who do not worship as we do?                                          Q.2 Would we also want him to stay with us in the same way?                                                            Q.3 Do we not also want that for our country, to be healed?                                                                                                                                                                                      


8. What Has Jesus done?
Luke 4:43  And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.
Christ, though he preached in the synagogue at Capernaum, would not be tied to that. It is well for us that our Lord Jesus has not tied himself to any one place or people, but, wherever two or three are gathered in his name, he will be in the midst of them. Jesus was not preaching that He had come to set up an earthly, material, physical kingdom, but that He had come, commissioned by God the Father, to establish a spiritual kingdom in the hearts of His people, and that this would be accomplished by the gracious gospel of the grace of God toward poor non-deserving sinners who would repent and believe Him as the Messiah, the One sent down from heaven, the Savior, God's Gift to the sinners of this world that if we but repent of our sins and call on the name of Jesus that he will forgive our iniquity, and will remember our sin no more.

Q.1 How best to preach the Kingdom of God than to take it to the people?                                          Q.2 Would you say that Jesus was as effective as possible in that day?                                                            Q.3 How is it that his methods could have been improved?                                                                                                                                                                                      

Meditation :                                                                                                                                Pg.4

What is there in life that we value most? I would have to say our health would be at the top of the list. Millions of dollars are spent in research and development of cures for all types of illnesses, and still there are illnesses for which there seem to be no medical cure. A regular health checkup is one way that we, and God can help with our own healing. In Jesus’ day, there were very few known cures for any disease, and many died for lack of just minimal care. Many in Jesus’ day believed that sin by an individual or by their mother or father was the cause of many infirmities. And even now there are still questions and controversy that swirl around ministries of healing.
Questions often asked include: 1) Does God heal everyone? 2) Why are some people not healed? 3) Whose faith is necessary for healing: the sick person’s, the minister’s, or both? . 4) Does God simply choose who he will have healed? No one this side of Heaven can truthfully answer these questions. Yet there are many miraculous healings that we can recall where there is no other explanation, than it being the providence of God.  However we choose to believe, the Bible gives us at least 10 ways the Christian has access to God’s healing power:

1. Through the presence of the gifts and the anointing to heal. There are times when God releases the gifts of healing in certain places. “To another faith [is given] by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:9). Clearly healing is a gift given for the benefit of the Christian Church and for the glory of God.
2. Through the laying on of hands. It is the privilege of every true believer to lay hands on the sick and pray for their recovery. “they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mark 16:18).
3. Through elders, prayer and anointing oil. Here the believer by his own volition calls for the pastors to pray over him. “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord” (James 5:14).
4. Through speaking the Word to your sickness.  This word must be spoken confidently. “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says” (Mark 11:23).
5. Through the power of agreement and healing.  “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:19-20).
6. Through your own faith.  “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (Mark 11:24).
7. Through the name of Jesus.  “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” (John 14:13-14).
8. Through praying for others. . “And the Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before” (Job 42:10).
9. Through the faith of others. Jesus healed a paralytic because of the faith of the man’s friends. Jesus responded to their faith. Likewise believers can pray for others. “When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic , ‘I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house’” (Mark 2:5-11).
10. Through medicine.  “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick” (Matt. 9:12). God uses myriad approaches to effect healing for His own.




Opening Prayer:                                                                                                         Pg.5

Father God, we come to study about Your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ in whom we place our faith. Our study today takes us to the Home of Peter where Jesus is asked for help in healing a sick family member. We pray that you will enable our hearts to be open to your message, and no word be spoken that is contrary to your will . Bless our brothers and sisters in Christ who need your healing touch, give them reassurance that even though you are not present in body, you are most certainly with us in spirit. Offer them your healing touch as you truly are there with them. We ask this in the name of Jesus Amen

Overview
Our study is about Jesus visiting Peter’s home in Capernaum. He is asked to help Peter’s mother in law who was sick with a fever. Jesus had only to rebuke the fever and it left her. Even though Peter’s mother in law did not ask to be healed, nor did she speak at all, Jesus healed her. She then began to serve others.
A miracle is a phenomenal or supernatural event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers, and more often than not cannot be explained by the laws of nature. God never operates contrary to His Word or to the laws of nature which He has established, but He has the prerogative to supersede them. Instantaneous healings always constitute a miracle.
In this instance, Jesus gained more respect for his message as he continued to heal all who came to him for help and healing. It is further encouraging to read that Jesus was determined to deliver his message of salvation to all people. The good news found in the gospel is that we are not strangers to God and he will not leave us desolate and alone or ill with no recourse.

Closing Prayer:
Father God; Be with us now as we leave this place. May we carry with us your blessing as we continue in our efforts to live the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ. We pray for your continued watch over our loved ones and those among us who need your healing touch. We pray now that  we will have your protection and guidance as we continue in our day to day living. It is in Jesus name we pray, AMEN