Matthew 8:14-15, Mark 1:29-31, Luke 4:38-39 (The healing of Peter's mother-in-law)

Rachel Workman: 

Matthew	Mark	Luke	John
14 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. I love looking at these readings side by side. Jesus didn't just heal her he restored her as well. If you were sick in the bed recovering from a fever you would be weak and unable to do anything. But when Jesus touched her she was not only healed but restored back to perfect health and able to prepare a meal for him. What I have read from Jesus' healing is it's instant and complete.	29 After Jesus left the synagogue with James and John, they went to Simon and Andrew’s home. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a high fever. They told Jesus about her right away. 31 So he went to her bedside, took her by the hand, and helped her sit up. Then the fever left her, and she prepared a meal for them. She served them. In the gospel of Mark, serving is a sign of greatness. It is interesting that only angels and women served Jesus in the gospels.	38 After leaving the synagogue that day, Jesus went to Simon’s home, where he found Simon’s mother-in-law very sick with a high fever. “Please heal her,” everyone begged. 39 Standing at her bedside, he rebuked the fever, and it left her. And she got up at once and prepared a meal for them. In Mark we see that Jesus took her hand. This is the helping hand of the servant. Matthew says “when he touched her hand...” Why the difference? Matthew is writing to a Jewish audience. If a Jew touched a sick person, it would make them unclean. Jesus can touch sick people without becoming unclean because his touch heals them. In Luke we see Jesus’ bedside manner - “He bent over her...” This may be pure speculation as to the reasons for the differences between the different authors, but it is interesting to see how the different writers emphasized different things for their audiences. If you asked the question, “Did he touch her, Did he bend over her, Did he grab her hand and help her up?” The answer is yes to all of them. It is not hard to harmonize.