Luke 4:38-44 Sermon for March 8, 2026

“After he left the synagogue, he entered Simon’s house. Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked him about her. So he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up immediately and began to serve them. When the sun was setting, all those who had anyone sick with various diseases brought them to him. As he laid his hands on each one of them, he healed them. Also, demons were coming out of many, shouting and saying, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah. When it was day, he went out and made his way to a deserted place. But the crowds were searching for him. They came to him and tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said to them, ‘It is necessary for me to proclaim the good news about the kingdom of God to other towns also, because I was sent for this purpose.’ And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.” So, this is a pretty simple, straight forward passage and, while it mentions demons coming out of many (which we breached that conversation last week), there is a strong presentation here of Jesus healing those who came to him. And with that said, I want to focus today on the subject of healing and miracles, and I want to do all that I can to present it in a way that honors the Word of God and stays true to its interpretation. There are two things we need to be guarded against. The first is the prosperity gospel which expects guaranteed healing. The second is cold fatalism which ignores Christ’s compassion and obvious power. To be extreme in either camps is a gross mishandling and misinterpretation of Scripture. There are also two phrases I want us to keep on the front burner when it comes to the Word of God. The first is prescriptive. This is reading in Scripture what God commands and demands. The second is descriptive. This is reading in Scripture what happened. Prescriptive is “Do this.” It’s “Flee from.” It’s “Put on.” It’s the Ten Commandments, Instructions for Christians, the Beatitudes, etc. It’s what is often repeated through all the genres of Scripture (a command that appears in the law, prophets, gospels, epistles). Prescriptive is what God wants His people to do. Descriptive is what God’s people did. Prescriptive passages are passages in Scripture that gives a command, instruction, or principle that believers are expected to obey. Why is this important? Because misreading descriptive passages as prescriptive can lead to legalism, confusion, and doctrinal error. When we understand the difference between the two, we are able to apply Scripture faithfully, avoid misusing narratives, see God’s commands clearly, and teach others accurately. For example, when we read about Gideon putting out the fleece and we think that’s what we ought to do as a model of decision-making, we’ve read something descriptive as prescriptive. Or when we cast lots for leaders in a church because that’s what they DID in Acts 1:26, we’re doing that again and this must be avoided. Many people know the Bible and what it says but struggle in hermeneutics (the art of interpretation) and this is why doctrine matters. My friends, I hope we didn’t get lost here. These are tools you’ll need going forward as you listen to sermons, engage in Bible studies, apply theology, and read your own Bible. Now, let’s move forward. The passage shows us Jesus healing those who came to Him needing to be healed. The question that many people have today is, “Does Jesus still heal today and if so, why haven’t I’ve been healed?” It’s a great question, but we also need to remember the mission. Why did Jesus come? It says it right here in verse 43 where Jesus says, “It is necessary for me to proclaim the good news about the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because I was sent for this purpose.” Don’t miss it here. While Jesus can and does heal many, it’s not his primary mission. His primary mission is to preach the good news of salvation which is why there is a strong emphasis on the preaching of God’s Word done rightly. Preaching is primary, even above miracles. Why? Because the kingdom of God advances through the Word, not spectacles. Now, if Jesus does heal, then amen! How do we respond? Just lie Simon’s mother-in-law here in the passage and it’s by serving. It’s by recognizing what God has done for her and responding in obedience and rejoicing, giving full credit to God alone. The problem today is that we expect God to heal. And when He doesn’t, we get mad. We begin to think that we’ve done something to upset Him. Or we think He really isn’t all the powerful. Or that He doesn’t care. Which, by the way, isn’t true! I can’t stand here and tell you why God heals some and not others. I’m not God! I can’t tell you why God hasn’t healed my daughter. But, I do know that sickness and diseases and all that do not have the final say. I do know that, if we are in Christ and the righteousness of Christ is on us, there will one day be no more of the things we groan about. And for someone to tell you, “You’ve got to have more faith and God will do such and such,” is a terrible abuse of Scripture. That doctrine must be slayed at all cost. God owes you nothing. God owes me nothing. We must start there. God isn’t at our beck and call. Romans 9:15 says, “For he tells Moses, ‘I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy, and I will show compassion on whom I will have compassion.’” Much of our theology goes south because we have a misunderstanding of who God is. A misunderstanding of who we are. The prosperity gospel is garbage. Jesus came and did a lot of things that the church has hijacked into prescriptive heresy. Don’t mishear me folks. I very much do believe that God heals. But I refuse to twist Scripture into an extortion of God. I pray that God heals certain things in me. I pray that God heals my daughter. I pray for all of that fervently. I also recognize that if God does not heal, that’s ok. Daniel 3:18 says, “But even if he does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.” If God does not heal me, I will still obey Him. I will still worship Him. I will still call on Him. I will still give Him all I got. I will still love Him. I will still talk about Him. I will still honor Him. I will still have hope and joy and every reason to continue serving Him. The question is, “Will you?” Why does God not heal me? I don’t know. 1 Corinthians 13:12 says, “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known.” Do you think I know God in full? No and neither do you. To try and attempt to understand God is a futile attempt. God does what God does and that is ok. Salvation is enough for me. And even that is not owed me. So the fact that God calls me a child of His is more than enough for me. When we come to grips with that, you’ll sail life much more smoothly. But let me addresses the obvious. Why is there so much pain and suffering anyways? Well, because that’s to effects of sin that has entered the world. Do not mishear something though: I did not say that your suffering or sin is a direct result of your personal, poor life decisions. As if my daughter is being punished due to some personal sin of hers. No, I reject a cause and effect theology here per se. At the same time, if you go out to drink, get drunk, and drive and then get into a car accident that makes you paralyzed, it should be obvious that poor decisions warrant devastating consequences. This doesn’t make for a vindictive God here though. Romans 5:12 says, “There, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned.” We live in a broken world due to sin and the wages of sin is death. We’ve got to stop thinking that God is explicitly punishing us because we are not healed of something. Reject that. I hope you can understand the balance here. On the other side of the coin, we must reject that the lack of healing or whatever is a result of a lack of faith. That is 100% hijacking Scripture into our own image. Any church that preaches the prosperity gospel must be rejected. Go ahead. Challenge me. You want your best Friday now? How that work for John the Baptist who was beheaded? The apostles who most all of them died gruesome deaths? Or your very own Savior who was nailed to a cross. You think that just because you’ve put faith in Jesus that life will be better? Quite the opposite! But we don’t stake everything here in this fleeting, short, temporary life on earth. We stake it in eternity. So, let me articulate a few things here. Jesus can and does heal today. It’s not normative, but He does. At the same time, His purpose and mission isn’t healing that’s physical. It’s healing that’s spiritual. It’s to bring forth redemption for us. In our passage, it says that “they” came to him and tried to keep him from leaving them. But He needed to go to preach the good news. So, some were not healed that day because Jesus had a mission to proclaim the gospel everywhere. What good is it to be healed physically but lost eternally? This is why we put an emphasis on the Word of God because it is the only way for man to come to a knowledge of redemption and how to be saved. With all that said, as I mentioned earlier in the message, I also reject cold fatalism, which ignores Christ’s compassion and power. So, when Jesus does heal back then or today, what’s the purpose? Well, it’s to display His glory alone. The primary purpose of His healing and miracles is to authenticate the King and His message, pointing forward to the cross and the restoration of all things. If we’ve been healed, we respond by boasting the glory of God. We serve. We worship. At the same time, this is the very same thing we ought to do even if He does not heal the things we want healed. I have seen so many people walk away from the church because they cried out over and over again for healing and Jesus has not done what they’ve asked. It’s a dangerous theology to grasp onto. Continue to seek Him, to cry out to Him, but still see God as good no matter the outcome. Still remember your salvation no matter what the day brings.