Luke 4:38-44 | Acts 3:1-10
A lot is packed into these seven verses. A potpourri of notes:
Peter having a mother-in-law is the only hint we have in the whole New Testament that any disciple was married.
The gospels include healings of the masses, but also some specific individuals, then also yet some with names. Peter’s mother-in-law is not named, yet there is a personal feeling to this short healing. (Perhaps because she immediately serves them a meal.)
For a moment, consider what it might have been like for Jesus to heal. What kind of energy did it take? No one likes to be yelled at, was Jesus just a solid rock in the face of demons screaming at him?
We know he was sometimes tired - the gospels tell us. So it’s no surprise that he would take time to be alone in a deserted place. Those of us with a hero complex or tendency to overwork ourselves…take note!
Not only did Jesus take breaks, but he kept on the move. There is much opportunity to do the work of the Kingdom in many places.
Luke tells us that Jesus specifically preached in synagogues.
Luke 4:38-44
After leaving the synagogue, Jesus went home with Simon. Simon’s mother-in-law was sick with a high fever, and the family asked Jesus to help her. He bent over her and spoke harshly to the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and served them.
When the sun was setting, everyone brought to Jesus relatives and acquaintances with all kinds of diseases. Placing his hands on each of them, he healed them. Demons also came out of many people. They screamed, “You are God’s Son.” But he spoke harshly to them and wouldn’t allow them to speak because they recognized that he was the Christ. When daybreak arrived, Jesus went to a deserted place. The crowds were looking for him. When they found him, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said to them, “I must preach the good news of God’s kingdom in other cities too, for this is why I was sent.” So he continued preaching in the Judean synagogues.
Acts 3:1-10
Peter and John were going up to the temple at three o’clock in the afternoon, the established prayer time. Meanwhile, a man crippled since birth was being carried in. Every day, people would place him at the temple gate known as the Beautiful Gate so he could ask for money from those entering the temple. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he began to ask them for a gift. Peter and John stared at him. Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gazed at them, expecting to receive something from them. Peter said, “I don’t have any money, but I will give you what I do have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, rise up and walk!” Then he grasped the man’s right hand and raised him up. At once his feet and ankles became strong. Jumping up, he began to walk around. He entered the temple with them, walking, leaping, and praising God. All the people saw him walking and praising God. They recognized him as the same one who used to sit at the temple’s Beautiful Gate asking for money. They were filled with amazement and surprise at what had happened to him.
Prayer
God,
As I begin this Monday, I begin it with you. I’ll saw “amen” here in a second, but let me not forget your presence with me all day. Work within me and through me.
Help me be productive in responsibility and productive in rest. Fill me with good food and keep me healthy. Protect my loved ones, keep us from evil. Yet help us to stand within the difficulties that may come our way, bolstered by your love to be an example of fortitude.
By your spirit & in Christ,
Amen.