Mark 1:29-31 - And [immediately], when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. But Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever, and [immediately] they tell him of her. And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.
As we read through the book of Mark, we are struck with the fact that there is a repetitious use of the word immediately. Mark writes in such fashion that the reader is drawn in and becomes part of the story; there develops a sense of immediacy about it. Contrary to many people’s view, God is near; He is not disengaged, detached and watching from a distance; He is standing ready and in close proximity to us and Mark seems to always highlight that fact.
Jesus had just been in the synagogue and had cast a demon out of a man, which caused quite a stir among the assembly. Jesus then left the roused up synagogue and entered into Peter’s house with a few of His close disciples. It is entirely possible that he was hoping for a rest, however, upon entering the home He is informed of a lady who is suffering terribly. A normal fever is the bodies’ way of fighting sickness but, the language used here seems to imply that Peter’s mother-in-law was held down under the power of an unusually strong and unnatural fever to the point that she was incapacitated by it. Knowing the ladies of our families as we do, we know that it is almost always a last resort for them to lie down. This was a life-threatening and extremely debilitating fever.
Once Jesus had heard of this dear lady’s condition, He came to her right away, thus demonstrating His caring heart and His desire to be near. The description of how Jesus ministered to this lady is very interesting and grants us insight into the tact and bedside manner of the Great Physician. He took hold of her hand and lifted her up and, by so doing, we see an indication of the heart of God. We were not created to be held down under the power of sickness or any other force. We were created to stand upright and to walk straight and tall, with dignity and majesty as children of the King.
What would it feel like to have the Master’s hand take firm hold of our hand? The purest heart reached out through the hands that had never done any harm to anyone. Those hands had only been used for dignified and noble purposes. They were a working man's hands. They were strong, yet, gentle hands. They were kind and compassionate hands. And without any contradiction; they were healing hands. The hand is the extension of the heart; if there is compassion and healing in the heart, then there is compassion and healing in the hand.
The fever takes on personality and seems to have understood that it could not remain because the simple touch of the Master’s hand made a resounding statement; ‘She belongs to the Father and there is no place in this woman’s life for you’. Darkness always leaves at the presence of light for it will never be able to overpower it. We do not necessarily need to fight the darkness; we simply need to turn on the light and remove any obstacles that may be blocking it. God is the ever-shining light and in Him there is no darkness at all; not even one particle.
Health is a gift that most of us take for granted and when we don’t have it, we go to great lengths to get it back, and rightly so. However, it is important to stress that health, although desirable and enjoyable, is not the goal in itself; it is simply a resource enabling us to achieve the goal; which is to fulfil the plan of God by walking out His will for our lives. Peter’s mother-in-law was a grateful recipient of the healing touch of God. While she was under the power of the fever, she was not able to give to others the way she normally would, but once she received healing ministry from Jesus she got up and ministered to the guests by serving them. Jesus elevated this type of service to humanity by declaring that if we simply give a cup of water in the name of the Lord that it will be rewarded, and we, too, must never undervalue the seemingly menial tasks that are done to serve and bless others. This beautiful lady has gone down in the record of history as a selfless and sincere servant of Christ and His body. She ministered then by her actions, and she ministers now as we read what she has done.
The wonderful truth is that Jesus, the Great Physician, has never changed; He still makes house calls. He came to her bedside then, and He comes to the bedside of the afflicted today. He took her by the hand then, and He takes the sufferer by the hand today. He lifted her up then, and He lifts up all those who are brought low through sickness today. He lifts all of us up so that we are able to see Him face to face and have a noble relationship with Royalty. We are not lifted up by our own bootstraps but by His powerful hand. Indeed, He is, as the Psalmist of old has said, ‘My glory and the lifter of my head!’
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