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Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon\u2019s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. So, he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them. At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, \u201cYou are the Son of God!\u201d But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah (Luke 4:38-41).

Today\u2019s text continues with Luke\u2019s chief concerns: who is Jesus and where does his authority and power come from? In yesterday\u2019s devotion, Pastor Anthony talked about how a demon tried to use Jesus\u2019 name to claim authority over him, but Jesus would have nothing to do with such power plays. With a simple, forceful command, \u2018Be quiet; be gone\u2019, Jesus showed just how great his authority is.

Our story for today is linked to that one. Luke tells us that Jesus rebuked the demon, now he rebukes the fever. Why does Jesus treat demon and sickness the same? Because he came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8) and both demon and fever are Satan\u2019s work. We are to notice that Jesus words are effective against both forms of evil. The demon and the fever flee.

Both people are set free. Have you ever woken up from a high fever? Do you recall how tired and weak you were? Not this woman. She gets up and serves dinner. This is not a story about a woman\u2019s place being in the kitchen. No indeed. This is a story about the authority and power of Jesus to send the devil packing. He heals so completely that this woman needs no recovery time. Jesus says the word and she is ready to go.

Luke is hiding other treasures in this story that are worth shining some light on. Its still Sabbath. Note that when the sun set, people felt free to bring their sick to Jesus. They would not do it earlier, lest they be guilty of working on the Sabbath. Not Jesus, he goes to work healing the sick on the Sabbath. This will get him into hot water with the religious authorities, but he doesn\u2019t seem to care.

Our Lord came to bring Sabbath, that is, freedom from the effects of the fall. The biblical arc of the Sabbath lands here, freedom from evil (see the book of Hebrews). The Heidelberg Catechism summaries the purpose of Sabbath keeping with these words, \u201cevery day of my life I rest from my evil ways, let the Lord work in me through his Spirit, and so begin already in this life the eternal Sabbath\u201d (A 103).

Luke also paints a picture of how Jesus did ministry. \u2018He bent over her\u2019 and \u2018laying his hands on them\u2019 are phrases that show us Jesus\u2019 deep compassion. He came close to people, both male and female. Disease isolates. COVID has shown us again how true that is. Jesus was not afraid of diseases nor of diseased people. He could, of course, have healed people from a distance. But he wasn\u2019t interested in just having a disease-free society. People are important to him. He wanted to heal people, for that, he needed to touch them.

As the son of God, he was welcoming them into the very presence of God. Talk about healing.

Jesus shows a commitment to service and compassion. When Jesus rebukes demons and diseases, he shows that he is the King, everything is subject to him. These miracles gave the folks of Capernaum, and they give us, a glimpse of the eternal Sabbath.

The ease with which Jesus sends away all forms of evil reveals that he does have the power to save. Since he is Immanuel, God with us, we can be sure that such forces can never totally overtake us. Hostile forces may try to destroy us, but he has the capability of helping us resist. The obstacles of life that threaten us humans are not so great or powerful that Jesus cannot overcome them.

These forces are sometimes very strong. They many even appear to block out the light of Christ. As those times, Luke would have us picture Jesus bending over Peter\u2019s mother-in-law and touching the sick as he heals them. His compassion for us is just as great. Let these stories give you courage in whatever darkness you are walking.