Matthew 8:14 says, And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother laid, and sick of a fever. When Jesus came to Peter's house, He found Peter's wife's mother to be sick with a fever. This tells us that Peter was married, so he had to put following Jesus ahead of his wife. I don't believe that this means that he just abandoned his wife, but that following Jesus became his priority. We cannot allow a spouse to keep us from following Jesus and doing what He calls us to do, nor can we use following Jesus as an excuse to abandon a spouse. Verse fifteen adds, And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them. When Jesus touched her hand, her fever left. She then got up and ministered to them. I don't believe that Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law simply so she could minister to them, but that He did so out of love for her. God does not save us simply so that we can do what He wants us to do, but because He loves us while we are still sinners. Then, like Peter's wife's mother, we need to start ministering to the needs of others, starting with our family. Verse sixteen declares, When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: While Jesus was there, the people brought many to Him who were possessed with devils and He cast the devils out with His word. There was no great battle, simply Jesus speaking to the devils. Jesus also healed many sick people. We need to realize the power of the word of Christ. We do not have to go through any great ritual to be saved, but simply have to put our faith in His word that He will forgive us of all sin. Verse seventeen adds, That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses. Jesus healing others was also the fulfillment of a prophesy of Isaiah. We know that when we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord that He forgives our sins and takes the penalty for them on Himself. Verse eighteen adds, Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side. When Jesus saw the great crowd, He gave the command for His disciples and Himself to depart to the other side. This was not because of a lack of concern for the people on the part of Jesus, but because physical healing alone was not why He came. Jesus was preparing His disciples to carry on His work after His death, and this was His priority. We today need to make certain that we do not allow concerns for the physical well being of others to keep us from doing what God has called us to do to meet their spiritual needs. Verse twenty states, And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. A certain scribe came to Jesus and said that he would follow Jesus wherever He went. This is what we should declare today when we accept Jesus. Verse twenty adds, And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. Jesus basically told the scribe to count the cost and that following Him was not going to lead to material riches. Before we accept the call to follow Jesus, we must acknowledge that it is not a call to material wealth, and that we come to Him because He calls us and not just because we decide to follow Him for our own reasons. Verse twenty-one declares, And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. One of Jesus' disciples asked Jesus to allow Him to first go and bury his father. Verse twenty-two declares, But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead. Jesus said to the disciple to let the dead bury the dead. This might seem calloused to us, but I believe that Jesus was saying that following Him must come above everything else. We cannot allow anything or anyone in this world to come between God and us if we are to truly be obedient followers of Christ.
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