Jesus Heals Peter's Mother-in-Law

Luke 4:38-39:

And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. [39] And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.

What’s so significant about the words of Luke? To get the picture we must remember that Luke was a doctor.

Luke reports this with amazement. He writes that Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a (literally, mega fever) high fever. Luke knew what a high fever meant and the seriousness of it. No matter how high her fever was Jesus could cure her.

Then, only as a doctor could do, Luke goes on and shows Jesus taking a doctor’s position by standing over the patient. I wonder how long He stood there. I wonder what Jesus was thinking? We’re not told much except He spoke a word and the sickness left. With the command, the fever left.
The cure was sudden, the fever left her immediately. In other words, she didn’t lie in bed for hours as her fever became less and less, it left immediately.

The cure was also complete; she wasn’t totally exhausted after being bed ridden with a high fever. All her symptoms associated with a fever immediately vanished and her strength was returned to her.
I want to take a moment to look at what Jesus did here in this text. He rebuked the fever.

First of all, that sounds somewhat odd. I mean if someone is ill there is either a virus or some other biological cause for the sickness. Fever is a symptom of the fact that there is some sort of infection within the body causing the body to respond with a higher than normal temperature to rid itself of the virus or whatever.

Numerous times in the New Testament Jesus rebukes unclean spirits and they are cast out. With the rebuke in almost every case, the spirit is told to be silent and come out. Literally, be muzzled and come out. A muzzle, as you know, is something you put on a vicious dog so it can’t bark and won’t bite. Jesus was muzzling demons and causing them to be controllable. Luke places this account in the midst of Jesus’ work with demon possessed people to show that in the same way that He silences demons and removes them He also, silences the foreign substance in the people and cast it out. By the power of His Word the virus is rendered powerless and immediately removed and that same Word restores the sick person to health. They didn’t need a follow-up visit to the doctor, they were completely healed.