(Joseph Bianco)
Matthew 8:14–22 And when Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. 15He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. 16That 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. 17This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.” 18Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 21Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
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Church family, in this passage from Matthew 8, we witness the compassionate healing ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ as he enters Peter’s home and touches his mother-in-law, instantly curing her fever. She responds not with lingering weakness but with immediate service to him and his disciples. This healing extends into the evening, where Jesus casts out demons with a mere word and heals all the sick brought to him, fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy that the Messiah would bear our infirmities. These acts demonstrate Christ’s sovereign authority over disease and evil and point us to the ultimate redemption He accomplishes through his atoning death and resurrection. We see here a foretaste of the kingdom where sin’s curse—including sickness and living in an evil world—will be fully reversed, yet in this age, such miracles serve to authenticate Jesus as the promised Savior and to call people to faith in Him alone.
The narrative then shifts to the sobering demands of discipleship. A scribe, presumably knowledgeable in the law, boldly declares his intent to follow Jesus anywhere, only to be met with the reality that the Son of Man has no place of comfort or security in this world. Another disciple requests to first bury his father—a culturally honorable duty—yet Jesus insists on immediate, unqualified allegiance: “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.” These encounters underscore that following Christ requires radical priority: He must come before family obligations, personal comfort, and even legitimate earthly responsibilities.
Beloved, this text contrasts two truths. First, Jesus will meet us in our weakness, our illnesses, and will even protect us against the evil one. Second, there is a cost to following him, and he asks for nothing less from us than everything. Give him everything, and you will be whole. Refuse him, and he will not allow you to follow him. How can we give him everything? We can’t, not on our own. Perhaps the only thing we can do, as the hymn suggests, is to feel our need of Him and to go to Him for the grace we lack.
You are not alone, dear friends: you have help. I’m sure Peter rejoiced for the help Jesus gave to his mother-in-law, but then she rose and served him. Jesus loves us so much that he wants all of us. Like the holy jealousy of a spouse, he isn’t satisfied with half of us. Would you pray and offer anything to Jesus that you have previously withheld, trusting and resting in his provision for you? The Lord bless you.