16 November 2021  Devotion for Today  “Simon’s Mother-in-Law”   Mark 1: 29-31

“Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. 31 So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them.”  Mark 1:29-31

In this remarkable passage we take note of Jesus healing of Simon’s Mother-in-Law who had been ill and suffering a fever.  A similar account of this healing is also found in Luke 4:38-41.   This incident is very early into Jesus’ earthly ministry.  What makes it remarkable is that this relationship was obviously so important to Simon that he wanted Jesus to heal this woman.  I also find it remarkable as this actually the very first mention of Jesus’ healing anyone of a physical malady.   (Jesus had cast out a demon in the previous passage- but according to the other Gospels, this is the first time a person is delivered of a common physical affliction.)  We hear many jokes about “mother’s-in-laws” or their male counterpart.   I suspect the same jokes were told in Jesus’ day as well.   Why do people joke about the wife’s mother more often than most other family relationships?   Possibly because of the strong intimacy between a mother and her daughter which is very difficult to untangle once the daughter is wed to her husband.   Mothers are by instinct very protective of their children.  They may also be secretly jealous of a relationship that comes between the mother and the daughter.  Perhaps the mother does not feel her new son-in-law is worthy of her daughter, or cannot protect or provide for her daughter quite as well as she can.   A good son-in-law will be gracious and understanding of this relationship, and will do much to his credit if he accepts it so long as the relationship between mother and daughter is a healthy one.  Simon seems to be such a man.     He was greatly and genuinely concerned for his wife’s dear mother.  The fact that she lived in his home shows us that he was willing to provide for this woman who was not his own mother and this speaks volumes to Simon’s character, if not his love for his wife.   

Simon’s mother-in-law was remarkable in her own right.  When Jesus entered Simon’s house, we infer that the woman wished to stand in His presence to greet and to serve Him- as was the custom of the women at that time.  (Jesus lifted her up later).  But she was too sick to do so.  We also infer that it was Simon’s brother Andrew that brought the matter to Jesus’ attention.  Perhaps the Mother-in-Law was too ill for Simon to leave by herself.   Where is Simon’s wife in the story?  The Scriptures do not say.   All we know is that the illness was so severe that Jesus was sent for quickly, and Jesus responded quickly.    When Jesus took the woman by the hand to lift her up, “immediately the fever left her.”  Mark 4:21.   Another remarkable insight here is that  the healing was so complete that it did not require any time for recovery so that the woman could regain her strength.   Just as quickly as Simon’s Mother-in-Law stood up, she began serving Jesus as an honored guest in the home.  

I have always gotten along very well with my own Mother-in-Law, and I love her very deeply.  I cannot remember a single time that she ever said anything unkind to me though I was probably deserving of it.   She has always been there to help our family, babysit her grandchildren, and show love to my family and many others.  For over fifty years she has rocked young children and babies and taken care of them  in the church nursery.  She still does this even now in her late eighties.  She grew up on a farm in Perquimans County, NC.  She knows the hard work of picking cotton and pulling tobacco which marked the first couple of decades of her young life.  She was very devoted to her husband and continues to be to her children and grandchildren.  The reserved nature of her Quaker upbringing is still very much part of her personality, although I have managed to get a smile out of her now and then with a joke.  She has never exhibited jealousy toward my mother or my family since I have known her, and loves my mother as a sister she never had.  Many times Robin and  I have taken both of them on trips and vacations together which will be forever a blessed memory for me.  May the Lord bless others as much as I have been blessed by this woman.  Simon was a remarkable man to have cherished this remarkable woman in his home to the point of bringing Jesus to her.   If Simon could do that,  we could all bring Jesus to any relationship.   Have a blessed day!