NOTES for Luk 4:38-44

Why do three evangelists give attention to one of Jesus’ first miracles, the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law? Perhaps it has to do with the Gospel’s genre: testimony. Testimonies are strong and convincing when they are not anonymous, when they speak not in general about some people who were healed whom the witnesses themselves never met, but about particular people known to the listeners or close to those they know. Everyone knew Peter, and his mother-in-law is a very specific and convincing example. Interestingly, all three evangelists emphasize one detail: “She immediately got up and served them.” This probably does not mean that such behavior was unusual for her. Rather, the point is that miraculous healing is not given to a person without purpose (God does nothing without purpose!), but for service—for this is how love expresses itself in action.