Healed to Serve – Matthew 8:14-17

I came across a blog by a woman whose mother died in 2011 of cancer. She was grief stricken but came to the decision that rather than becoming bitter she would write to encourage others who are in pain. She calls her blog “Healed to Serve” because that is the name of the book her mother wanted to write before she died.

Jesus chooses to do a miracle of healing for someone who in turn then serves him.

And when Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.” (Matthew 8:14-17 ESV)

Matthew now shows us a third miracle in his first set of three. And unlike the first two miracles, faith is not made an issue.

Though Peter is following Jesus now full-time, traveling with him when he goes from village to village, proclaiming that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, he nevertheless comes back to his home town Capernaum where his wife and mother-in-law live, and most probably his children.  And this has become Jesus headquarters and home, the place to which he returns and finds lodging in Peter’s home. 

But now Peter’s mother-in-law is sick with fever.  Unlike the leprous man and the Centurion, she does not ask Jesus to heal her, does not express any faith in his ability to do that, may not even be fully conscious, but is undoubtedly a believer.  Jesus heals her with a touch and she is immediately able to get up and serve him.  This is a picture of our lives, too, rescued, healed and now serving Jesus.

But news of Jesus being home brings many from the area who are oppressed by demons and many who are sick.  They are asking for healing.  So Jesus casts out the unclean spirits or demons just with a word of command.  Demons have to obey Jesus.  And those who are sick (Scripture always distinguishes between sickness and demon oppression) he heals, without exception. 

And Matthew says this fulfills Isaiah 53:5, the prophecy of the servant of Yahweh who will bear our sins in his own body and be stricken by God for our iniquities.  And through that striking that is orchestrated by Yahweh the Servant bears our illnesses and diseases and heals us.  Isaiah seems to be focusing ultimately on our spiritual illness but the Servant’s demonstration of power over physical illness is evidence of his ability to heal our spiritual illness.  The final fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, the removal of all illness by God, will not take place until the kingdom, when, in our resurrected bodies, we will never taste illness or death again.

Jesus wants us well, though there may be times when he needs us to not be well (2 Corinthians 12), because it meets his higher purpose to make us holy. And certainly faith in him to meet our needs is important. But sometimes he simply responds to us and meets our needs without responding to our faith. He simply shows his compassion for us and his desire to get us serving again.