"Being Raised Up By Jesus"

Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever,

and they told him about her at once.

He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up.

Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

(from Mark 1:29-39 )

During a small group healing service, there was request to have a little boy’s bad cold healed.

The next morning, the person making the request called me asking, “has the cold gone away?

The expectation was that since God hears prayers and God answers prayers, the little boy would be healed by the next morning.

However, the prayer request and phone call missed the message.

Understanding this healing story begins in Mark 1:1; “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

In Mark’s healing stories, details matter.

It matters that Jesus takes the woman by the hand and he “raised her up”, because “raising up” makes this is a resurrection story.

It matters that the fever “leaves her”, just as the demons leave in of Mark’s stories.

It matters that, having been raised, she “serves” them, because to serve at a table is also to do ministry because “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve”

It matters that there are no individual healings in Mark, because the healings repair relationships.

She is a symbol of resurrection and an example of Christian ministry.

The Good News of Jesus Christ continues in this healing story because as we are released from our illness, we are free to carry on our service to Jesus.