Mark 1:29 And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her. 31 And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.
Read the accounts of Matthew and Luke to get the full picture on this story. See Matthew 8:14-17 and Luke 4:38-41.
Capernaum was a fishing town on the northern part of the Sea of Galilee. Peter and Andrew his brother were no doubt friends of James and John. They all made their living as fishermen. Peter was a young man with a wife. He had family to support and bills to pay. Not only did he care for his own family he was responsible for his mother-in-law too. All this was a big task yet when he met Jesus everything else became secondary. He laid down his nets. By doing so he didn’t shortchange his family. He did the best thing he could have done in putting Jesus first. When Jesus is there it all comes together. The Lord is to be the heart of the home. The first thing Peter did was take Jesus home with him. We can’t separate Jesus in our lives. He must be Lord at home, at work, and in any situation we find ourselves in. When we take Jesus home, it makes the difference.
Peter took his friends and Jesus to an already full house. The houses in that day were small. The roofs and the yards were used in a way of gaining more living space. In an already overcrowded house, there is ALWAYS room for the Lord. It is never a mistake to take Jesus home.
As soon as they got there Peter was told his mother-in-law was sick. She had been “taken by” a fever. Peter didn’t ignore the news. Jesus was there at just the right time. Peter wasn’t the blame for her sickness. He didn’t ignore it because she was his mother-in-law. The fever must have been the type that can be fatal; they would have feared for the others in the family. What did Peter do? He quickly told Jesus!
We don’t take a cold or virus; they take us. When a fever comes into a home it can spread from one to another. Homes are the same spiritually. We face the fever of sin. The devil works to “take us” with the fever and pass it on to the entire house. No matter how sick with sin we are, Jesus can help. When the fever of sin is in the house, left uncontrolled, there is a grave danger to everyone there.
While they were afraid, Jesus was not. He went right to her and stood over her. Germs and infections dare not touch Jesus. They may take us, but they will not take the Lord. In our virus of sin, Jesus is not afraid. He comes to us; he stands right over us. He’s there to help. He took the woman by the hand and touched her. What was in her body came down into her hands into the hands of Jesus and she immediately got up. She started to cook-she ministered to them.
How far do we take Jesus into our homes, into our world? What seems to be hopeless and impossible is not hopeless and is possible with Jesus. It’s time for the fever to be broken and call in the Master. It’s time to take Jesus home with you.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 