Matthew 8:15 - Printer Friendly

ESV: He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him.

NIV: He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.

NASB: And He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she got up and waited on Him.

CSB: So he touched her hand, and the fever left her. Then she got up and began to serve him.

NLT: But when Jesus touched her hand, the fever left her. Then she got up and prepared a meal for him.

KJV: And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.

NKJV: So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them.

Jesus has just entered Peter's house in Capernaum, where they found Peter's mother-in-law lying down, sick with a fever (Matthew 8:14). Apparently without hesitating, or even being asked, Jesus immediately touched her hand and healed her. Once again, Jesus breaks with Jewish convention. His actions contradict social norms of that era.

First, He touches a woman, something many of Israel's religious leaders refused to ever do for any reason to avoid even the appearance of inappropriateness. Second, touching someone who was sick or had a fever was thought to make the person who did the touching unclean. Jesus, though, did not become ceremonially unclean; the woman stopped being sick the moment he touched her. The same thing happened in the case of the man with leprosy (Matthew 8:3).

In all these cases where Jesus seems unconcerned about Jewish convention, He never breaks the actual Law of Moses. He remains sinless (Hebrews 4:15). Instead, He shows that human traditions later added to the Law as customs were not, in fact, binding. Whatever the intention, those customs and traditions often created an unnecessary burden for the Jewish people (Matthew 23:4).

Peter's mother-in-law was instantly healed. Instead of needing time to recover from her fever, as would be natural, she immediately got up and started to fulfill her role as a hostess in the household, serving Jesus and the others. Her ability to do so is evidence that the healing was supernatural.

Matthew 8:14–22 summarizes several events. Jesus cures Peter's mother-in-law from a fever. He then spends the evening healing many other people from diseases and casting out demons with a word, fulfilling another of Isaiah's prophecies (Isaiah 53:4). Jesus next talks to two of His followers. One promises to follow Jesus everywhere. Jesus says this will be difficult because He has no home. The other wants to come back and follow Jesus after burying his father. Jesus tells him to follow now and quips that it's better to "leave the dead to bury their own dead."

Matthew begins a series of stories revealing Jesus' authority over sickness, demons, and even the weather. Jesus heals a humble man with leprosy and great faith. He then heals the servant of a Roman centurion who understands that Jesus does not need to come to his home; He can just speak a word. Jesus praises the Gentile man's amazing faith. After healing many more, Jesus and the disciples get caught in a deadly storm on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus stops the storm with a word. Later, He casts demons out of two men and into a huge herd of pigs.

Matthew 8 follows the conclusion of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1–2). He turns to telling a series of dramatic stories to show Jesus' power and authority over every kind of disease, over demons, and even over the weather. Jesus also gives brief teachings about the hard road of following Him on earth. He calms a violent storm with a single command and casts demons from two violently possessed men. Matthew will focus mostly on miracles until shifting focus to Jesus' teachings and parables in chapter 11.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.