Cleansing the House for the Celebration

Passover was a significant festival for the Israelites, remembering and celebrating their departure from slavery in Egypt. Combined with the festival of Pentecost that followed fifty days after Passover, these celebrations lasted over two months! Before these festivities, however, everyone’s entire house had to be cleaned of any bread with leaven. They must not eat leavened bread for seven days before the celebrations begin. As such, even to this day, the Hebrews start cleaning their refrigerator, pantries, kitchen, house, and cars of any food items with any ingredient closely related to yeast before they celebrate Passover.

Jesus did a similar symbolic act in Simon and Andrew’s house in Galilee. As he entered their house with Jacob and John, he saw Simon’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a high fever. Nearing her, he laid his hands on her, and immediately the fever left her. She got up and served him (Mark 1:29–31).

Just like the cleansing of the house began the festival, this miracle of healing initiated a series of miracles.

“In the evening and after the sunset, they brought to him everyone with something evil happened to them and those demonized. The whole village gathered at her door. And Jesus healed many who had evil happened to them and with various kinds of diseases. He cast many demons and wouldn’t permit them to speak because they knew who he was.” (1:32–34)

People under various oppressions found deliverance that evening. Their lives changed, and the celebrations began.

Mark listed three kinds of oppressions: something evil (kakos) that happened to them (1:32, 34), demonized or having demons (1:32, 34), and illnesses (nosos). These oppressions dealt with a person’s soul, spirit, and body. Jesus healed their physical ailment (illnesses) as much as their spiritual (demonic) and soul/psychological oppressions – something evil that was done to a person’s soul, his/her psyche.

Some lepers, for example, endured physical suffering from Hansen’s disease caused by a slow-growing bacteria called Mycobacterium leprae. It affected their nervous system, skin, and nose lining, hindering them from daily active life. Others suffered from various forms of skin issues wrongly termed leprosy. Regardless, their social and emotional isolation was more painful than their physical pain and discomfort. They were cast away from their families and villages, made to live on the outskirts, and treated as unholy and impure. (Covid pandemic is a close modern-day example.) When they approached Jesus, he healed them of their physical illnesses (nosos) and their emotional pain caused by evil that had happened to them (kakos).

The same was true of those oppressed by demons – they endure physical, psychological, and social oppression. Jesus delivered them of those. Sometimes, even physical illnesses can have such multilayer oppression (fever or gout might not have such extensive social and spiritual damage but handicap and long-term physical illnesses would). Whatever their struggles were – physical, soulish (psychological, emotional, and social), and spiritual – the Lord delivered them of those oppressions and gave them a chance to celebrate.

All these people received healing because the healed mother-in-law opened her door for the oppressed even after the dark – “in the evening and after the sunset.” She could have been selfish, rejoiced at her healing, and ignored others. Instead, she wanted to share the joy with others, just as Passover was a community celebration.

We are expected to do the same as we are healed of our physical, emotional, or spiritual healing. Open our doors and invite people in so that Jesus can heal them.