Our Saviour’s next miracle, after the miraculous draught of fishes which I described in our last Sunday talk, took place also at Capernaum, and consisted in healing the mother of the wife of Simon Peter the fisherman. Peter had become a disciple of Jesus, and indeed was soon afterwards created one of the twelve apostles. The Master often visited the house of His disciple; and one day on entering it, He was told that Peter’s wife’s mother lay seriously ill. Christ immediately went into the room of the sick woman; stood over her, and holding her hand, bade the fever leave her. She arose at once from her bed, perfectly well; not merely better; not weak, as people usually are on first recovering from a fever, but quite well. St. Matthew says of her:—“And she arose and ministered to them:” meaning that she was able to get up and attend to her household duties as usual.
Our Saviour now went down to Nazareth, where, as you know, my dear children, He was brought up, and where He had lived for many years unknown and in poverty. He there performed many wonderful miracles, healing the sick, and doing good to the poor or afflicted who came to Him. But you must not expect me to describe to you all His wonderful works of this kind; I shall tell you only of the most important, that you may learn the loving kindness and mercy of Him who “bore our sins and carried our sorrows.”
It often happened on the Sabbath, in the cool of the evening, that the sick were brought out on their beds or couches to Jesus to be healed. They were not brought till the sun was setting, for fear of breaking the commandment which forbids all manner of work on the Sabbath: but the Jewish Sabbath ending at the setting of the sun, people did not scruple to bring their sick to be healed by Jesus after that hour. And He healed all that were brought to Him.
But once on a Sabbath day, before the hour of sunset, a man came to Him for help. The hand of this man was withered and helpless, and he came to Christ hoping that He would heal it. We are told in the Bible that the Scribes and Pharisees watched Jesus to see whether He would heal on the Sabbath day, that they might find an accusation against Him for breaking the commandment. But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand: “Rise up and stand forth in the midst.” And he arose and stood forth. Then said Jesus unto them: “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath day to do good or to do evil; to save life or to destroy it?” And looking round upon them all, He said unto the man: “Stretch forth thy hand!” And he did so, and his hand was restored whole as the other.
Now our Saviour did not mean by performing this miracle to teach that the observance of the Sabbath should be lightly thought of. The teaching of our Lord and His example do not tend to lessen our reverence for this holy-day. But what He intended to show was that works of mercy are quite consistent with the holiness of the Sabbath, and that the Sabbath was intended for the advantage and happiness of mankind.
You would think that the gentle reproof of our Lord would have made these Scribes and Pharisees repent: but it was not so. They felt that they were put to shame before the people, and their rage and hatred against our Saviour increased. They felt that they could not stand before His teaching, even had this teaching not been sustained as it was by such signs and wonders. They were losing influence, and if Christ was allowed to go on, their own power would be gone.
Then the Pharisees and Scribes went and held council together against Jesus, consulting how they should destroy Him.
