I’ve been mentioning in my sermons of late a bit about the nature of how the four Gospels have been put together and some of the decision their authors make in terms of how they want to present the story of Jesus to us. I’ve said Mark is a mystery story, presenting the true identity and purpose of Jesus as something the other characters in the story are always struggling with.

One of the other characteristics of Mark is the fact that he doesn’t spend a whole lot of time filling in the blanks for his readers in regards to culture and history. Undoubtedly, Mark never expected that people 2000 years later and half-a-world away would be reading his writings. He knew his audience and his work is directed at them and them alone, whereas Luke or John might occasionally include a little aside in their stories to explain “This is what Jews of 1^st century Israel do.”

Bearing that in mind, we might misinterpret this particular story about Jesus’ encounter with Peter’s extended family. Looking at this story with 21^st century eyes might make us wonder if Jesus and his disciples aren’t being a bit sexist. After all, Jesus heals this poor woman of her ailment just so she can then serve them dinner. Are these young and capable men somehow unable to poor their own drinks and cook their own food, or are they convinced that such things are beneath them as “women’s work?”

If that is what we see in this tale, then we have missed Mark’s point entirely.

There is no question that Jesus and his disciples lived in a patriarchal world, one where opportunities for women were extremely limited. But along with that alien patriarchy are other customs of which we are often unaware. Thus, this story really isn’t about the fact that Peter’s mother-in-law is a housewife and hostess, and condemned by her society to be nothing more. What is going on here, what Mark leaves his audience to fill in, is about the ancient tradition of hospitality.

Hospitality is about respect, even affection, for the guests in one’s home. It’s about service to others, and as long as she is laid up with fever, Peter’s mother-in-law is unable to offer this respect and affection to her guests. She is unable to serve, unable to do not only what her society expects of her but also what she would wish to do. So Jesus grants her the freedom to serve, to offer her affection and respect to her guests.

The obstacles to her hospitality and service are not the only ones removed by her healing. To fully understand this story, we must also understand Peter’s role in it. He too is under the burden of certain expectations and obligations. If his mother-in-law is ailing, he is expected to remain in the home and care for her. That would, I imagine, put a bit of a crimp on his newly accepted role as a disciple and follower of this Jesus guy. By freeing the mother-in-law of illness, Jesus also frees Peter to become the disciple and apostle we all know and love.

Ultimately, what we see in this story is the two-fold nature of Jesus’ healing miracles. The first element is restoration and liberation. The body is healed, strength returned, obstacles are removed so that people are free to be who they are and who they are meant to be. The mother-in-law is no longer laid up in bed, but is free to be hostess and housewife, free to give honor and love to her guests. Peter is also set free to become a disciple, set free of his familial obligations, and put on a road to become not just any disciple, but one of the most well-known well-loved and effective of their number.

The second part of Jesus’ healing is to make a statement about who Jesus is and what he is about. This part is of particular importance to Mark as the writer of these tales. Jesus comes to set us free. Jesus comes to restore what is broken. That is who he is. That is what he does. And when we are the recipient of such restoration, our own lives become a statement about him.

We see this dynamic at work in this story as well. Mark continues with the tale that after Peter’s mother-in-law is restored to health, word begins to spread about Jesus. Did she gossip with her neighbors about what had happened to her? Perhaps, but regardless, the people come. They come seeking healing. They come seeking restoration. They come to be set free as she was. Her experience and the telling of it draws the people to Jesus.

What about us? Have any of us ever received healing? Perhaps not the miracle cure that Peter’s mother-in-law gets, but have you ever been restored to health and fullness? Of course. All of us have, in some form.

We’ve all been sick, either in body, mind, or spirit. Our bodies have on occasions been broken by injury. We have been afflicted with infections and disease. Our minds sometimes struggle with the stresses of this world, and the emotional bombardment we receive by the ugliness of life. Our spirits can be dragged down by these thing as well as our own tendencies to give into temptation and evil. All these can put us in bondage, and when in that bondage we become something unlike who we truly are. We are kept from family, work, school, church, and all the other things in life that we cherish, enjoy, and give us fulfillment.

Jesus sets us free from all that. It may be a complete cure of what ails our body and mind. It may not. But he grants us healing nonetheless. He grants us healing to be who we are and who we are meant to be. And within these four walls there are examples galore of his doing this with us. I’m one of them. I’ve got ADHD. I struggle with depression. I’ve got digestive troubles galore. I’ve been consumed by anger and hatred. I’ve been paralyzed by fear. That’s my life and in it, I’ve been broken. I’ve been in bondage to all sorts of ailments. But Jesus gives me the strength everyday to not only endure but to thrive in the midst of all that. I am healed, I am set free, and I am here today because of him.

Tommy Turner. We all remember his story. The man was dying of cancer for over 20 years. Jesus never granted him a physical cure, but I know in my heart of hearts that we was healed, because I have never met anyone as firm in his faith. Every day of his life was a statement about how his Savior had set him free, and when he breathed his last I have no doubt in my mind that in that moment, Jesus also set him free from the power of death and that he is with Jesus as we speak.

That’s two stories of healing. There are over two dozen more in this room today. Each one of you has a story of how Jesus set you free from what ails you, set you free from what kept you being who you truly are. Each one of those stories is a statement about who Jesus is and what he came to this earth to do. Tell that story. Share that experience, and you will draw people to Christ. Amen.