Jesus Heals Many
Luke 4:38-44
38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. 39 So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.
40 At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. 41 Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.
42 At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them.43 But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” 44 And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
Observations & Reflections
At this point it is worth noting that Jesus has been teaching almost exclusively in the synagogues. This was the exact same approach that Paul had for his own ministry. They went to the Jews first and then the gentiles. In Jesus’ case, the Jews were partially responsive.
However, what is strange about this passage is Jesus’ instance that people not reveal (yet) that He is the son of God. After all, did He not just previously reveal in the temple that He was the fulfillment of Isaiah 61? Does that mean that there is an aspect of Jesus’ teaching that deviates from what was expected by the Jews? I think a more logical answer is that Jesus was likely trying to preserve His life until the right time. Just previously He was almost thrown over a cliff, so it would seem normal that He would want people to not refer to Him publicly as “the Son of God”. But there will be coming a time soon when it will no longer be possible to hide this truth.
“I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.”
As we pointed out earlier in Luke, Jesus seems much more concerned with sharing the gospel to as many would listen than to just the Jewish people or to His particular sect of Jews. The gospel was going to the ends of the earth…eventually.