Rebuked


Luke 4:38-44
38And 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. 39And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them. 40Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. 41And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ. 42And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, 43but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” 44And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

As I read through the text for today it feels almost casual. I don’t mean that the events were not important. Clearly they were – especially for those who were relieved of their sickness or demons. But it seems that Jesus is just going from place to place being Jesus and doing His miracle thing; rebuking a fever, rebuking a demon, teaching a lesson about the Kingdom of God. All in a day’s work. But it is so much more than that!

I was rather captivated by the word “rebuke” since it is used in reference to both sickness and demon possession. (Later Jesus will also “rebuke” the weather.) So I looked up the Greek to see if there was any differentiation between rebuking a fever or a demon. There isn’t. It’s the exact same word.

The word for “rebuke” (ἐπιτιμάω) is used three times in this section. Jesus makes no distinction between body and soul. Demon possession, sickness, sin, and death are all manifestations of creation’s bondage in its fallenness. Jesus frees those in bondage by rebuking that which binds them. He rebukes the demon, and it comes out after a violent struggle (4:35). He rebukes the fever of Peter’s mother-in-law, and it leaves her (4:39). He rebukes demons who call him “the Son of God” because they know him to be the Christ, and those demons come out (4:41). This word ties together not only demon possession and sickness, but also sin, for Jesus encourages his disciples to rebuke those who sin, and if they repent, to forgive them (17:3)
Just, A. A., Jr. ©1996. Luke 1:1–9:50 (p. 201). St. Louis, MO: CPH.

Dr. Just is right. The consequences of sin upon the creation are vast, encompassing our bodies and our spirits. Even the “earth groans” under the burden of our sin (Romans 8:22). Even in the casting out of a demon or the healing of a feverish woman we find that Jesus is dealing with the consequences of our sin. That was His mission and ministry. Right up to and including the cross, He stays focused on the goal – the redemption of the world from the ravages of sin. What He does in the individual (Peter’s mother-in-law and the demon possessed) He does on the grand scale for us all.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

יהוה שָׁמַר--Yahweh Shamar (God Watches)

Image
Psalm 121 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. There are numerous passages I cling to when stress takes over my life. I would be hard pressed to declare a favorite, but this psalm would come close. So this morning I listened to Psalm 121 about 20 times as I meditated through the verses. First, I want to point out that the word or idea of shamar appears in every verse expect 6. The NIV uses the word "watch" while the ESV uses "keep". The...
Read more

Excusez-moi

Image
2 Kings 23:31-37 31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco. 36 Jehoiakim was twenty-fiv...
Read more

Narrow Door

Image
Luke 13:22-30 22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them , 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at tabl...
Read more