After he left the synagogue, he entered the house of Simon. Simon’s mother-in-law was afflicted with a severe fever, and they interceded with him about her. 39 He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up immediately and waited on them.
40 At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to him. He laid his hands on each of them and cured them. 41 And demons also came out from many, shouting, “You are the Son of God.” But he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Messiah.
42 At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place. The crowds went looking for him, and when they came to him, they tried to prevent him from leaving them. 43 But he said to them, “To the other towns also I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God, because for this purpose I have been sent.” 44 And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
Luke presents three connected movements in this Gospel. Jesus restores one woman in Simon’s home, heals and delivers the crowds of Capernaum, and then leaves to proclaim the good news in other towns. Together, these scenes reveal the advance of the kingdom of God through both His authoritative word and His power to heal. What begins with one person extends to a community and then reaches beyond Capernaum to others.
After teaching and driving out a demon in the synagogue, Jesus enters Simon’s home, where those present intercede for Simon’s mother-in-law. His mission is not confined to a public gathering or sacred setting but reaches into the ordinary circumstances of human life. In the synagogue, His authoritative word delivered a man from an unclean spirit; in the home, that same word restores a woman suffering from a severe fever. Jesus’ saving power reaches men and women alike and extends to both spiritual oppression and physical suffering.
The use of the same word, “rebuked,” for the demon and the fever does not mean that her illness was caused by demonic possession. Illness and demonic oppression are distinct realities. Both, however, belong to the suffering and disorder from which Jesus came to liberate humanity. His authority extends over the visible and invisible creation, and His healing works anticipate the complete restoration that God will bring through Him.
The woman rises immediately and waits on those in the house. Her recovery is complete; she does not require a period of recuperation. The word translated as “got up” is also used elsewhere for rising from the dead. Her physical restoration therefore points toward the new life that Jesus ultimately brings through His Resurrection. Her response is service. Having received new strength from Christ, she uses that strength for others and imitates the One who said, “I am among you as the one who serves” (Luke 22:27).
At sunset, the Sabbath had ended, and people could carry the sick and travel greater distances. They bring to Jesus people suffering from many different diseases. He does not treat them as an anonymous crowd. Luke tells us that Jesus lays His hands on “each of them.” His power is universal, but His compassion is personal. He sees and attends to every person individually.
The healing of the sick and the expulsion of demons fulfill the mission Jesus announced in Nazareth: He was sent to bring liberty to captives and freedom to the oppressed (Luke 4:18). His miracles are signs that the kingdom of God is arriving. This kingdom is not merely a territory or an earthly political power. It is God’s saving rule breaking into human history, freeing His people from sin, evil, and everything that separates them from the fullness of life for which He created them.
The demons recognize Jesus as the “Son of God” and the “Messiah.” “Messiah” means “Anointed One”; its Greek equivalent is “Christ.” Yet Jesus silences the demons. His identity and mission will not be proclaimed by evil spirits or defined merely by His miracles. People must gradually come to understand that the Messiah’s saving mission leads to the Cross and Resurrection. Jesus will reveal who He is according to the Father’s will and at the proper time.
At daybreak, Jesus withdraws to a deserted place. Luke later tells us that Jesus regularly withdrew to deserted places to pray (Luke 5:16). The people of Capernaum search for Him and try to prevent Him from leaving. Their response contrasts sharply with that of the people of Nazareth, who tried to drive Him away. Yet neither rejection nor popularity determines what Jesus will do. He remains faithful to the mission for which He was sent.
Jesus must proclaim the good news of the kingdom to other towns as well. The healings and exorcisms reveal the same kingdom that His words proclaim. As He teaches, heals, and drives out demons, God’s reign advances and the dominion of evil retreats. Jesus brings this good news to others because the Father sent Him for this purpose. Luke’s reference to “Judea” may be understood broadly as the land of the Jewish people, including Galilee.
Jesus continues to come to each person with the same authority and compassion. He invites us to intercede for others, receive the healing and new life He gives, and use His gifts in service. He also calls us to share the good news beyond the familiar boundaries of our own homes and communities, so that others may come to know the saving rule of God.
Lord Jesus, free us from everything that keeps us from the life You desire for us. Teach us to bring the needs of others to You, receive Your healing with gratitude, and use the strength You give us in service. Help us proclaim the good news of God’s kingdom through our words and our lives. Amen.
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Sources and References
- The New American Bible, Revised Edition. Washington, DC: Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, 2011. Luke 4:38–44 and notes.
- Hahn, Scott, and Curtis Mitch. The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010. 115.
- Casciaro, Jose Maria, gen. ed. The Navarre Bible: New Testament, Expanded Edition. Dublin: Four Courts Press; New York: Scepter Publishers, 2008. 264.
- Brown, Raymond E., Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy, eds. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990. 691, paras. 65–67.
- Gadenz, Pablo T. The Gospel of Luke. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2018. 106–108.
- Aguilar Chiu, Jose Enrique, et al., eds. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. New York: Paulist Press, 2018. 1048–49.
- Collins, John J., Gina Hens-Piazza, Barbara Reid, OP, and Donald Senior, CP, eds. The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century. 3rd fully rev. ed. London: T&T Clark, 2022. 1311.
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