Biblical commentary on the New Testament - The Christian ...

350 Luke VII. 16, 17 ; Matthew VIII. 14, 15.
cle ; raising from the dead was peculiar to the chiefs of the pro-
phetic order. On EmaKenreadai, see Luke i. 68.)
Ver. 17.—B}^ individual flashes of his divine power like this,
darting hither and thither, the Saviour aroused in the whole nation
the consciousness that great things were before them. From the
ardent anticipation connected with that consciousness, there arose a
deep sense of misery and present need, and a confident courage for
the futiire—spiritual elements which our Saviour understood how to
guide and to employ for his holy purposes.
§ 7. Healing of Peter's Mother-in-law.
(Matth. viii. 14-17 ; Mark i. 29-34; Luke iv. 31-41.)
After having narrated (Luke iv. 31-37) the history of the cure
of a demoniac in the synagogue at Capernaum, which, as it contains
nothing peculiar, we passed over, referring the reader to Matth. viii.
28, ff., Luke immediately subjoins the healing of Peter's mother-inlaw
with the words : dvaard^ ek TTjg Gvvayoyyijg. Mark also (i. 29)
introduces this narrative with the same words, while Matthew con-
nects it loosely with the account of the^ cure of the centurion's ser-
vant. It is surprising that Luke here mentions Simon Peter as a
well-known person, without having previously named him ; this fact
might be accounted for on the ground of Luke's being entitled to
suppose Peter known to Theophilus. Still it can hardly be denied,
that this circumstance also strongly favours the view, that Luke incorporated
memoirs into his Gospel ; and as Peter was mentioned
in them, Luke also named him, without noticing that no allusion
had been yet made to his connexion with Jesus. Matthew and
Mark had already prefixed a short mention of Peter, Matth. iv. 18,
ff. ; Mark i. 16, ff. The fact itself contains nothing particular ; the
general observations on the cures wrought by Jesus are applicable
to this case also. (See note on Matth. viii. 1.)
Ver. 14, 15.—The mention of Peter's mother-in-law (nevdepa),
implies that that apostle was married. According to 1 Cor. ix. 5,
Peter did not forsake his wife in the exercise of his apostolical call-
ing, but had her to accompany him in his missionary journeys. (To
attempt to explain the form of the disease from Luke's expression
Trrperw jueyaAo) cvvex^aOai, cannot but be unsatisfactory.) In this
case, our Lord again wrought by immediate contact {yiparo rrjg x^^P^?)>
an^ restored her so perfectly that she was at once able to employ
herself The diaKovelv avrolg, ministering to them, must be viewed
only as the resiUt of the cure ; its proper intention we must in this
case also regard as a moral one.
: