Read: Matthew 8:14-17
. . . and healed all who were sick. (v. 16)
What makes you feel better when you are sick? Is it comfort food like homemade chicken soup? Or medicine for your symptoms? Children (and sometimes even adults) want their mommy when they are sick. They want the feeling of love and comfort a caring mother gives. Even her nearness can help them feel better. The Covid-19 pandemic prevented us from being with our loved ones when they were sick. We had to trust them to Jesus’s care, knowing that he was with them.
We see throughout the Gospels, that Jesus healed many people because of his compassion for them (Matt. 14:14). In our passage today, Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law who was sick with a fever. Jesus touched her hand, and she was healed. While he remained in Capernaum, Jesus cast out demons and “healed all who were sick” (Matt. 8:16). He fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy, “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases” (v. 17). But we also know that Jesus did not heal everyone. For example, why did Jesus only heal the man who was waiting by the pool of Bethesda and not all the others that were there (John 5:1-17)?
We may not understand why some people are healed and some are not. But we know that Jesus is with them and us. His presence brings comfort just like a mother does with her child. If you are suffering today, be assured that Jesus is with you, ready to care for you. Share this truth with a friend who may need to hear this today.
As you pray, give thanks for Jesus’s comforting presence.
Nancy Boote, an ordained minister in the Reformed Church in America, lives in Holland, Michigan, with her husband. She serves in a variety of leadership positions within the denomination. Besides being a wife, mother, and grandmother, Nancy enjoys taking prayer walks, hiking in nature, mentoring, and has a heart for justice matters.
