An inconvenient guest

At one point Jesus came into Peter's house in Capernaum. (Both Mark and Luke relate that Jesus had just come from the synagogue where he had cast out a demon.) When Jesus entered the house, He found Peter's mother-in-law sick in bed with a fever. Jesus healed her, and she got up and waited on those who had come in.

When evening came, many gathered at the door. (The Sabbath was over when the sun went down.) The people brought many who were afflicted by unclean spirits; Jesus cast out the spirits; He also healed all who were ill. Peter's house became a very crowded place.

Peter had brought this Jesus home; Jesus healed his mother-in-law who had been suffering from a high fever. But a crowd soon gathered at the door, bringing every diseased and possessed person in Capernaum. Jesus was not a convenient guest.

Matthew made it clear that this was prophecied of Jesus: "He Himself took our infirmities, and carried away our diseases." This is what Jesus was intended to do; Jesus would never be a convenient guest.

Both Mark and Luke relate that Jesus got up very early in the morning, and went out to pray. In the morning everyone in the city was looking for Him; when Peter and his companions found Him, Jesus told them that He must go preach in other cities, for He was sent for that purpose.

Peter brought Jesus to his home; perhaps Peter thought that this Jesus could stay in his home. But it became quickly clear that He drew the oppressed and hurting. Peter's family was probably relieved in the morning that Jesus left to preach in other cities, taking Peter and the others with Him.

But His disciples saw what happened when Jesus stayed in Peter's home for one night; his house was overrun with the possessed and the sick. This was difficult for everyone in the house. These same people came to Jesus as He went about preaching, but at least it was away from their homes.

This is the point: Jesus cannot just be a convenient guest, healing only the residents of the house. We say we want Jesus to heal us, and to work with power among us. But if He did, we would find the same problem; the oppressed and hurting would overrun our nice church. Jesus has work to do; if we want to be a part of it, things are going to get bumpy.

Jesus saves the lost, the hurting, the oppressed. Do we really want them in our church?