CSSA 1-4-08 - JESUS IN CAPERNAUM

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83. JESUS IN CAPERNAUM

"And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about"

Aim

To show how Jesus healed many people at Capernaum and his fame was spread afar off

After his unpleasant visit to Nazareth, Jesus made his way to Capernaum on the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee. He stayed there for some time, performing many wonderful miracles. Capernaum was a busy fishing town, on the great trade route from Damascus in the north to Egypt in the south. Here, too, Jesus called Matthew from his tax-collecting to follow him. What a great honour it was for this city to have the Son of God in its midst.

Luke 4:31-44; Mark 1:21-39

JESUS TEACHES WITH POWER: Mark 1:21-28

On the sabbath day (the seventh day of the week, our Saturday) the people used to gather in the synagogues to hear the reading of the scrolls of the Law of Moses and the Prophets. The synagogues were simple buildings, quite different from the Temple in Jerusalem, but they were all built to face toward the Holy City.

The people were excited about this new teacher in their midst. Perhaps the nobleman whose son had been healed was there. The stories of Jesus' miracles had gone before him. There was a different atmosphere here from that on the sabbath before in Nazareth, where the people had "despised and rejected" him (see Isa. 53:3). So Jesus stood up to teach. As the people listened to his words they were astonished. How different he sounded from the scribes, for this man spoke with authority (v22). He taught them as one who really knew what the words meant. And so he did, for he had spent his whole life in study of that word and in prayer to his Father. So when he spoke, "His word was with power" (Luke 4:32). Here was a teacher who could really help them to understand God's ways.

The people gave Jesus their full attention, until suddenly the meeting was interrupted by a loud voice shrieking out: "Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God" (v24). Jesus knew that this was not just some rude person trying to spoil their meeting. This poor man could not help himself. He had no control over what he was saying. Jesus took pity on the poor man and answered his words by saying: "Hold thy peace, and come out of him"'(v25).

What did Jesus mean by these words? In those days, they thought that insane people were controlled by "demons" or "evil spirits". So Jesus spoke as though he was talking to an "evil spirit" in the man. After Jesus had spoken, the man collapsed on the floor, thrashing about as though in a fit, crying out as he did so. Then, suddenly, he was quiet and stood up unharmed and in his right mind (Luke 4:35). The people in the synagogue were amazed. Everyone knew that Jesus' words had truly healed the man of his mental sickness. What sort of man was this who not only spoke with such authority, but had power over "unclean spirits" as well!

This was a day to be remembered. "What a word is this!" they said. The fame of Jesus spread far and wide.

JESUS CURES PETER'S MOTHER-IN-LAW: Mark 1:29-31

When they left the synagogue at Capernaum, Jesus and his disciples went to Peter's house. Things were not very happy there however, for Peter's wife's mother was very sick with a terrible fever. When they told Jesus and asked his help, he immediately went in to see her. Standing over her he "rebuked the fever" and taking her by the hand he lifted her up. Straightaway the fever left her and she got up from her bed and went about looking after her family and guests, quite well again. Jesus had performed a wonderful miracle, this time on behalf of those who had left all to follow him. What blessings God gives us while we serve Him, as Peter especially would have learned at this time.

HEALING THE SICK AT SUNSET: Luke 4:40

What a busy and exciting day it had been on this sabbath day in Capernaum. Tired though Jesus was, the people gave him no rest. At evening, as the sun began to set at the end of the sabbath, everyone in the district brought their sick relatives and friends to him to be healed. "He laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them" (Luke 4:40). What kindness and compassion he showed! There had never been a prophet or a healer like this man. When Matthew tells this story (see Matt. 8:16-17), he remembers the words of Isa. 53:4: "Himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses". To those like Matthew, who had studied the Old Testament prophets, many things in Jesus' life showed quite plainly that he was the Messiah whom the prophets had foretold.

LEAVING CAPERNAUM: Mark 1:35-39; Luke 4:42-44

Jesus did not sleep long that night, but rose up "a great while before day" to go out and find a quiet place, right away from everyone where he could pray to his Father undisturbed. Peter and the other disciples Andrew, James and John, went out looking for him. He had done so many wonderful things the day before in Capernaum, that everyone had come early to Peter's house to see him. "All men seek for thee", they said (Mark 1:37), but Jesus had other plans. "I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also", he said, "for therefore am I sent" (Luke 4:43). So he continued to do the work of God throughout the land of Israel, teaching everywhere that Messiah had come to bring them salvation.

LESSON FOR US

Jesus did indeed have the power of God, but he was a man, like us, who grew tired and needed a rest. Yet look how hard he worked in God's service. Jesus knew what God required: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind" (Luke 10:27). He was prepared to do that, every day. That is what God expects from us too. In one way he was so very different from us; he was completely unselfish. He thought of others and not himself. When he saw so many sick people, his heart went out to them and he healed them. We have not that power to help others as he did, but God has given all of us the ability to be kind and thoughtful and caring towards others. There are many ways in which we can show this.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

We will find in later lessons that Jesus often healed people on the sabbath day. The leaders of the Jews, whose job it was to teach the people from the Scriptures, used to get very annoyed about this. The Law of Moses clearly said that no work should be done on the sabbath day. "Six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of Yahweh thy God" (Exod. 20:8-11). So they thought that Jesus was breaking the Law. This was, of course, not true. When God wrote that commandment, He meant that people should stop doing their own work (v9) on the sabbath day and remember the things God had done for them. Jesus showed them how foolish they were. If a man had a sheep and it fell into a pit on the sabbath day, would he leave it there? Wouldn't he go and lift it out? "How much then is a man better than a sheep?" said Jesus, "wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days" (Matt. 12:10-13).

QUESTIONS

Short Answers

Why did the people gather in the synagogues on the sabbath days?
What did the people think of Jesus' words and teachings compared to those of the scribes?
What suddenly happened while Jesus was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum?
What did Jesus say to the man who called out in the synagogue?
Where did Jesus and his disciples go when they left the synagogue?