GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
MARK 1:29
A House for Jesus Recently, Alice and I visited the house in which I was born—yeah, at home under the care of midwives, grandmothers Nora and Olie, thirty minutes before the doctor arrived in his buggy—according to family lore. Some of the original house still stands, but it is now a winery. The owners dismantled part of the house and used the lumber to refashion the building. Interesting. The house in which I lived with my parents and two younger brothers for the first five years, across the road from the birth house, is gone. There’s not even a monument to mark the place, as I told some friends (meant humorously); the house is completely gone.
St. Mark wrote, “And then having come out of the synagogue, they went into the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.” (1:29) The other writers (Matt. 8:14; Luke 4:38) simply called this Simon’s house, but Mark, likely writing under the tutelage of Peter, said that it was also Andrew’s house. That’s all that is recorded about this house; however, there is circumstantial information that may support an additional description. First, the house was large enough to house two brothers, a mother-in-law, a wife, and other guests. Second, it seems that Jesus was a frequent guest at the house. Third, the reason for being at this house was probably to take the Sabbath meal, which, according to tradition, came immediately after the synagogue service; therefore, the house would need to be large enough to accommodate at least nine people on this occasion.
Still, this was the house of working men—fishermen. It was likely in what would be described today as a “working-class neighborhood.” To Jesus, though, this seemed irrelevant. He was with friends and disciples in the house. So Jesus’ presence was not predicated on surroundings; he’ll be present in any house in which he’s welcome. Directory