Day 3: Jesus shows His power to heal
In the third book of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings series, the strange-looking wanderer named Aragorn claims to be the rightful king of Gondor. A wise woman quotes an ancient saying: the hands of the king are the hands of a healer. “And so,” she said, “the rightful king could ever be known.” In today’s passage, Jesus announces His kingdom, gathers followers, and heals people suffering with spiritual and physical sicknesses.
Where did Jesus go on the Sabbath day, and what did He begin to do (v. 21)?
A synagogue is a Jewish place of worship, and the Sabbath (Friday sundown to Saturday sundown) was the special day of rest and worship. The fourth of the famous Ten Commandments that God gives to His people in the Old Testament is to “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy” (Exodus 20:8).
How did people react to Jesus’ teaching (v. 22)?
How was He different from the teachers of the law (v. 22)?
Who started shouting (v. 23)?
Okay, maybe this fact isn’t so fun! But in the Gospels, Jesus often encounters people with evil or “impure” spirits. Another term for this would be “demon-possessed.” These spirits all tend to have a similar reaction to Jesus.
What two questions did this evil spirit, speaking through the man, ask (v. 24)?
In Jesus’ day, people didn’t have last names in the same way we do, so sometimes they were known by their first name and where they came from. Jesus was often called “Jesus of Nazareth” because He had a common first name.
What did the demon-possessed man say about Jesus (v. 24)?
What two things did Jesus say to the evil spirit?
In the Gospels, Jesus often tells people to keep quiet about who He really is, because He isn’t yet ready to reveal His true identity to everyone. He knows that when He does that He’ll be killed. This has always been Jesus’ plan, but He knows the right time for it. He also knows that people will misunderstand His mission when they hear that He is God’s anointed King, so He keeps things quiet.
What did the impure spirit do on Jesus’ command (v. 26)?
Why were the people amazed (v. 27)?
Where did Jesus go (v. 29)?
What was wrong with Simon Peter’s mother-in-law (v. 30)?
What did Jesus do and how did the sick woman react (v. 31)?
When Jesus heals people in the Gospels, they often want to serve or follow Him.
In verses 32–34, what things happen again that have already happened in this passage?
Thank God that Jesus has the power both to teach us and to heal us. Thank Him that Jesus has control over physical and spiritual sickness. Pray for someone you know who is sick, that Jesus would heal them and that they’d respond like Simon’s mother-in-law by serving Him!