Mark 1 v 29 - 31

Two things may well IMMEDIATELY impress themselves on your thoughts as you read this passage. One is the excitement that Mark brings to his story: things are happening and they are happening FAST! The second thing is a little window into the world of Jesus and His disciples. Peter's mother-in-law is sick, Jesus heals her at the request of the disciples and when she is made well, she 'attends to their needs'. It appears then that the group stayed at Peter's old home when they were in the neighbourhood. In another Gospel, Luke 8 v 1-3, we read that it was a group of wealthy women who provided for Jesus and the Twelve, presumably giving out of their wealth for food, shelter and enough room for them all to sleep! So, in the synagogue Jesus had spoken and acted in the most amazing way. When the service ended, Jesus went with His friends to Peter's home. Now it may well have been that Jesus was exhausted after His preaching and miracle working- we read elsewhere that energy went out of Jesus when He healed, it cost Him. However, He was called to give of Himself again for others. Mother Teresa stated: ''Give and give until it hurts and then keep on giving'': this is what Jesus did, He gave Himself for human beings, not just on the cross, but throughout His ministry period. This miracle tells us something about three people: 1. Jesus. He did not require an audience to exert His power and the needs of others took precedence over His own need to rest. It is important to remind ourselves that Jesus did not heal to demonstrate how wonderful He was and to bring the maximum number of people to follow Him: He did it because He loved! It is also helpful to recognise that there were many exorcists around in this time, but they worked with lots of elaborate incantations and spells: Jesus spoke a couple of words and the person was healed COMPLETELY, IRREVERSIBLY, HOLISTICALLY. 2. The disciples. They had not known Jesus long, but they were already taking all their troubles to Him. We can 'take it to the Lord in prayer', anything and everything and He is always prepared to listen. Nothing is too great or small for Him, because He loves us. 3. Peter's wife's mother. No sooner was she better than she got on with helping practically. She used her recovered health for renewed service. In the pantheon of the miracles of Jesus, this is mostly forgotten, but it gives us a beautiful glimpse into the person-centric love of Christ.