Day 113: Mark 1:31–34

So He went to her, took her by the hand, and raised her up (v. 31).

Think of events such as Jesus’ birth, baptism, crucifixion, and resurrection as primary events that can indeed be placed in time sequence. Then consider the specific incidents from Jesus’ life as secondary events. We won’t often be able to put the secondary events of the four Gospels into an unquestionable chronological order. Each of the Gospel writers selected the events and stories for specific reasons. Matthew wrote to show that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah. Mark wrote to tell the Romans about what Jesus did. Luke wrote to show that Jesus came to be the Savior for all peoples, and John wrote to show the meaning of Jesus’ ministry. The Spirit led them to write to convey the message, not to tell us the order of events.

Based on identical time sequencing in Mark and Luke and with nothing in Matthew or John to refute it, however, I believe we can rightly assume that the first healing of the sick ever witnessed by the disciples was in Simon Peter’s home.

Before we talk about the healing, however, let’s consider a bit about the order of events in the Gospels. Surely an early turning point came in the hearts and minds of the disciples when healing hit home. I know it did for me. Seeing Him work in a church service is one thing. Witnessing His healing in the life of your own family is another. That’s when a person begins to get it through her head that Jesus doesn’t just love church. He loves people.

By comparing Mark 1:21 and 29, we see it was the Sabbath day. Jesus had delivered the demon-possessed man in the synagogue. “As soon as they left the synagogue, they went into Simon and Andrew’s house with James and John” (v. 29 hcsb). Christ raised the ire of the Pharisees on more than a few occasions by picking this particular day of the week for healings. It seems as if He were making a point. Later we’re going to see that in many ways this was the perfect day of the week for healing.

I didn’t realize until doing some research that even His first healing was on the Sabbath. Obviously, Christ saw the purpose of the day far differently than many of His contemporaries. Apparently Simon Peter’s mother-in-law was healed just in time to rise from the bed and get ready for company. As soon as the sun set, the whole town gathered at her door. They brought Jesus the sick and demon possessed for healing.

Have you ever seen someone receive an instantaneous physical healing like those described in this text? I’ve known plenty of people God healed physically, but I haven’t had many chances to watch the manifestation of an instant healing take place before my very eyes. Few of us choose to confront the suffering around us because we feel so helpless. Imagine the contrast between the agony of seeing human suffering and the ecstasy of seeing them healed. What would such an experience have been like for Mother Teresa, for instance, as she daily died to her own desire for personal comfort and confronted the unimaginable suffering in Calcutta? Then to see many healed? Somehow my mind can hardly even fathom the range of emotions.

John had observed hundreds of Sabbaths in his life. Imagine that he awakened on the morning prior to these miraculous events with a fresh wave of, “I can hardly believe what I’ve done! I wonder what my mom and dad are thinking right now.” He must have been excited and unsure, and his soul was filled with the reality that something new was looming on the horizon.

He prepared to go to the synagogue for services just as he had done all his life, only this time he got a bit more than he bargained for. The scroll was unraveled, and the Scripture for the day’s service was read. Then Jesus took the role of rabbi, sat down, and preached the curly locks nearly off their heads.

Just then a man possessed by demons started shouting, and John saw Jesus get stern, perhaps for the first time. In an astounding show of power, Jesus cast out the demons, causing the man to shake violently. John thought as long as he lived, he would never forget the sound of those demons shrieking. He and the other disciples then walked together to Simon Peter’s house, whispering all the way about what they’d seen. Simon Peter’s mother-in-law was sick with a fever, so Jesus took her by the hand, helped her up, and the fever left her so instantaneously she began to serve them. Then they began to hear sounds at the door. Murmurings. Shrieking. Crying. Sounds of moaning. Sounds of hope. What’s that—hope? Yes, hope—hope which says, “What He did for her, He might do for me.” And that He did.

When John had awakened that morning, his mind could not have conceived just how many mercies were new that particular sunrise. I can only imagine the kinds of things that went through the mind of the young disciple the following night. He probably tossed and turned, unable to clear his head and rest. Perhaps he and James whispered from their pallets until they were overtaken by exhaustion and finally fell asleep.