Mark 1:29-31

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And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.


Now Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her.


And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

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v29:
Καὶ εὐθέως ἐκ τῆς συναγωγῆς ἐξελθόντες ἦλθον εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν Σίμωνος καὶ ᾿Ανδρέου μετὰ ᾿Ιακώβου καὶ ᾿Ιωάννου. (GNT)

And immediately from out of the synagogue having gone forth, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. (AB)

And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. (ESV)

This was Simon-Peter's & Andrew's house (it's later referred to in Mark 8:14 as just "Peter's house") in Capernaum, though they are originally from Bethsaida (John 1:44).  I was curious about the geography at this point.  I found the above map and tried to get some sense of the proximity of the two towns.  

Some tidbits of trivia:  Bethsaida means "house of fishing" in Hebrew; Capernaum would have been "Kefar Nahum" in Hebrew, and it was a small port town on the road between the Mediterranean Sea and Damascus in Syria.

v30:
ἡ δε πενθερὰ Σίμωνος κατέκειτο πυρέσσουσα. καὶ εὐθέως λέγουσιν αὐτῷ περὶ αὐτῆς. (GNT)

And the mother-in-law of Simon was reclining in a fever; and immediately they speak to him concerning her. (AB)

Now Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. (ESV)

Mother-in-law = Peter was married.  Paul makes mention of this in 1 Corinthians 9:5. 

I'll try to limit my comments about this: All of Scripture holds marriage in the highest esteem.  Marriage between one man and one woman is an image of the union of the Bridegroom (Christ) and His Bride (the Church); it has been that way since the Garden, and the New Testament continues to uphold it.  True, Paul does make mention of those gifted with "singleness", but that is the exception.  When we deny the God-given gift of the union of a man and his wife, we set ourselves up for temptation and sin.  Vows of celibacy are a man-made religious work - not a biblical mandate.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled program...

I'm supposing that since they just saw Jesus expel a demon from the man in the synagogue, they must figure something like a fever should be within His means.  Or did they immediately tell Jesus about her fever because they didn't want Him to be exposed to whatever ailed her?  Or maybe because they wanted to account for her absence?  Since the next verse has her serving them, maybe they just needed some help in the kitchen.  But if Peter is married, his wife would have been around, right?  So, it must have just been because she was ill and they knew Jesus could heal her.


v31:
καὶ προσελθὼν ἤγειρεν αὐτὴν κρατήσας τῆς χειρός αὐτῆς, καὶ ἀφῆκεν αὐτὴν ὁ πυρετός εὐθέως, καὶ διηκόνει αὐτοῖς. (GNT)

And having come forward he raised her, holding her hand; and [4left 5her 1the 2fever 3immediately], and she served them. (AB)

And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them. (ESV)

He took her by the hand... and lifted her up... and the fever left her immediately.  Like this, He too takes us by the hand, lifts us up from our helpless state, and immediately we are healed.  Then see what she does in return, to show her gratitude to her Healer?  She serves.  And we should not suppose that it was begrudgingly, or out of some sense of duty or religion - but graciously and in love.