Daily Devotional For Monday, September 29, 2025
Good morning or afternoon or evening, whichever it might be for you right now. Have you ever had family or friends come to stay with you? If you have, you know that for most people, getting your house ready to be a home for your guests can be a task, even if it is done in love. When we read Matthew 8:14-15, “When Jesus arrived at Peter’s house, Peter’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a high fever. (15) But when Jesus touched her hand, the fever left her. Then she got up and prepared a meal for Him” (NLT).
Back then they did not have an immediate means to those coming in from out of town as we do today to inform the soon-to-be guest that the host of the home was sick. When we read Mark and Luke, they record that this happened after the healing of the demon-possessed man in Capernaum (See Mark 1:29-34, Luke 4:38-41). Mark recorded that Jesus, along with James, John, Simon Peter, and Andrew, arrived at Peter’s home, where he lived with his wife (mentioned in 1 Corinthians 9:5), his mother-in-law, and his brother Andrew.
We know that originally Peter and Andrew had lived in Bethsaida (John 1:44), but now lived in Capernaum, which is around 50 miles away. This was no easy task in those days since they did not have moving companies as we do today. Why did they move? – for economic reasons. Peter and Andrew were fishermen and living in Bethsaida they had to pay a tax from crossing the border. Peter and Andrew needed their fish processed (air dried or salted) for sale outside the immediate area, and the principal (if not the only) fish factory on the Sea of Galilee was at Magdala, a town in the same territory as Capernaum.
Fishermen from Bethsaida had to bring their catch across a border and pay a tax—hence the customs house at Capernaum (Mark 2:14). By becoming residents of Capernaum, Peter and Andrew avoided this tax. Such hard-headedness is a significant guarantee of the historical accuracy of the gospel stories. They were not religious romantics prepared to believe anything that took their fancy. They were pragmatic and realist businessmen trying to save every dime. Archaeology has shed some light on excavations of Capernaum. New Testament scholars and archaeologist James F. Strange & Herschel Shanks writes this:
“The houses were organized in blocks separated by streets. All the houses were of similar construction. The drystone black basalt walls could not have supported a second story. The roofs were made of crisscrossed tree branches sometimes cemented by a mixture of earth and straw. This fits perfectly with the Gospel of Mark’s account of a paralytic who sought out Jesus’ healing powers but had to be let down through a hole in the roof of a Capernaum house in order to reach Him (Mark 2:1-12). The floors were of rough basalt stones with spaces between—just the setting for the parable of the lost coin (Luke 15:8). The black basalt hovels and mean streets must have made it a depressing place” (Source: James F. Strange,.and Hershel Shanks. “Has the House Where Jesus Stayed in Capernaum Been Found?” Biblical Archaeological Review 8, No. 6, pp. 26-37).
It seems that when Jesus and His disciples traveled to Capernaum, they stayed in Peter’s home (see Mark 2:1, Mark 3:20, Mark 9:33 and Mark 10:10). We have an idea why she was sick lying in bed. This area was known for malaria type sickness due to the marshes near the mouth of the Jordan River. The Greek New Testament word is [πυρέσσω, puresso], in the noun form means “fire.” She was burning up with fever and thus was unable to be a host to Jesus and His disciples. Luke indicates this was a very high fever (See Luke 4:38). The Bible says that Jesus went in and touched her to heal her. In doing so, Jesus broke and violated 2 Jewish laws. No Jewish man was allowed to touch a woman who was not his wife and second, to touch a person with a fever was prohibited less the illness was contagious and spread the disease. People in the room would have been shocked by what Jesus did.
Now critics of the Bible often cite what they believe are apparent contradictions in this story. Why? In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus touched her hand (Matthew 8:14-15). In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus took her by the hand and helped her get up (Mark 1:29-31), and in Luke’s Gospel she spoke to her and the fever left (Luke 4:38-39). There is no contradiction here. Each Gospel writer told the story from their own perspective, emphasizing different details. Meaning, in all likelihood, it was all three. Jesus walked in, took her by the hand, spoke and healed her and then helped her get up. Matthew’s Gospel records that Jesus and His disciples did get a chance to eat a quiet meal, but not for long because word got out about what happened. Then crowds began to gather around the home. Something, we will look at more tomorrow.
Assignment: Jesus violated 2 Jewish laws (one legislative/judicial and one cultural) to heal Peter’s sick mother-in-law. With the anti-Christian culture we live in today, what cultural laws or traditions are you willing to break to cross that would shock people? Are there verses in the Bible you believe contradict other verses? If so, what are they and what is the basis for your thinking? What Scriptures do you question or wish you had more understanding of or explanation about today?
Scripture To Meditate On: 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. (17) God uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good work” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Lord, help me to trust Your word and to obey it completely. Just like a small child does not need to understand, like or accept a parent’s instructions, but just obey it, help me to have that same kind of attitude. Please give me the courage to go against cultural and political correctness just as You did in this story. I love You, Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly