Showing Up and Healing

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

SHOWING UP AND HEALING

Matt 8:14-15

14 When Jesus came into Peter's house, he saw Peter's mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. 15 He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.

NIV

We are not told how much time after Jesus was at the pool of Bethesda and then at the temple, that he and his disciples arrived at Peter’s house. Having been there we are to understand that this was the house of Peter’s mother-in-law and Peter, and his wife was staying there, perhaps to care for an aging mother. Nevertheless, we are also not told that anyone asked Jesus to interrupt this woman’s life and heal her. From the narrative, it appears the group arrived at this house, and Jesus saw that woman was sick and just went into her room and healed her. This certainly appears to be a move of compassion on the part of Jesus. Here, Jesus just touched her. Again, we are not told he said anything to her, but only touched her and the fever left, and she got up and began to make dinner for this group of men that showed up in her home. We are sure that is not why Jesus healed her so that she could serve him dinner. Nevertheless, that is what she did, perhaps out of gratitude, or just because that was being the hospitable thing to do. There are at least two truths we can glean here. First, Jesus just shows up and it is his nature to heal, even when he isn’t asked. Certainly, this was an interruption in this woman’s life, although a pleasant one, having a fever and being in bed. Second, her fever is gone, she feels so much better like she had never been sick, restored to her healthy state, and able to do that which she loved doing, one of which must have been serving people in her home. No doubt, Jesus does cause some interruption in a person’s life, when he shows up, things change. We also know that it isn’t always when we ask him, however, He has told us to ask. But, here we are not aware of anyone asking him to heal this mother-in-law. We also know that we should not have to ask Jesus to show up in our lives, as we have already done that many years ago when we ask for the forgiveness of our sin, repented, changed the way we think, and asked him to be our Lord and Savior. He has never left our side, or rather our inside, in fact, in one respect. We know that the physical Jesus has ascended back to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, but we also know that Jesus is omnipresent, and therefore the Spirit dwells within us, and because they are three-in-one, we must conclude that Jesus is right here with us. We do not need to pray that he would touch us, because he just shows up and heals. Certainly, this does not preclude us from asking, but in one sense his nature is to heal, so we need only believe. We are not told this woman objected to her healing, telling Jesus, No thank you, I would prefer to be sick. So then why would we want to be sick? Jesus is right there, showing up and healing.