Bearing our disease

Matthew 8:14-17

14 When Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his 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 serve him. 16 That evening they brought to him many who were possessed by demons; and he cast out the spirits with a word, and cured all who were sick. 17 This was to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah, ‘He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.’

Some things to note:

Peter has a mother-in-law, that means Peter was married. Further Peter’s spouse was willing to let Peter spend significant amounts of time away from home with Jesus. Peter in Matthew 19:27 indicates that he and the other disciples have left their homes to follow Jesus. We don’t often think of what that decision would have meant to Peter’s family, and to the families of the other disciples.

Second, Jesus touches Peter’s mother-in-law. For a man to touch a woman he was not related to was a violation of cultural norms. It indicates Jesus’ desire to treat women as important members of the family of the Kingdom of God. Jesus is building a new family, the family of the kingdom of God, where the family ties are not rooted in blood relationships – but are rooted instead in being siblings of Jesus through faith in Jesus.

Third, the material in vs. 16 is found in both Mark and Luke when they tell the story of the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law and the crowd bringing the sick. What is different in Matthew’s telling is vs. 17 (the quote is from Isaiah 53:4). It has become common in our time to interpret “infirmities and diseases” in spiritual terms – our sin, guilt, shame. The way Matthew uses the quote points to infirmities and diseases in practical, physical terms, not only in spiritual terms. Jesus bears our disease and illness even as we face medical challenges. Matthew is not saying everyone gets healed physically, but he is saying that Jesus feels the burden of our physical suffering, illness, and disease.

PRAYER:

We rejoice, O Lord, that your Son, Jesus, has come to bear our diseases – physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. We thank you that he sees, that he knows, and that he cares. We rejoice in the resilience he brings to us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.