Charles Spurgeon Commentary Matthew 8:14-15

"And when Jesus was come into Peter`s house, he saw his wife`s mother lying sick of a fever. And he touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she arose, and ministered unto him." — Matthew 8:14-15 (ASV)

And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever. And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.

That was, perhaps, the most remarkable thing of all; for, when a fever is cured, it usually leaves great weakness behind it. Persons recovered from fever cannot immediately leave their bed and begin at once to attend to household matters, but Peter's wife's mother did this.

Learn, from this, that the Lord Jesus can not only take away from us the disease of sin, but all its effects as well. He can make the man who has been worn out in the service of Satan to become young again in the service of the Lord; and when it seems as if we never, even if converted, could be of any use to him, he can take away the consequences of evil habits and make us into bright and sanctified believers.

What is there that is impossible to him? In old times, kings claimed to have the power of healing with a touch. That was a superstition; but this King can do it, all glory to his blessed name! May he lay his gracious hand upon many of you; for, if it could heal before it was pierced, much more can it now heal every sin-stricken soul it touches.

And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever. And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.

Peter had a wife, you see. Roman Catholics say that he was the first pope, therefore the first pope had a wife; and, mark this, if other popes had had wives, there would not have been any declaration of infallibility, for there is no man who will believe himself to be infallible if he has someone near enough to remind him that he is not. But one evil usually goes with another; so it is recorded here that Peter had a wife as a kind of incidental rebuke of the sin of compulsory celibacy that was yet to be committed by priests and popes.