Verse 8:11-17: “Will take their places at the feast”

Verse 8:11: “Will take their places at the feast”:

The Heavenly kingdom is compared to feast both in Old Testament (Isaiah 65:13) and in New Testament (Matthew 22.2, 25:10; Luke 22:30). The Jewish scribes taught that the Heavenly kingdom that our Messiah establishes starts with a feast in which all Israelites will participate and in that feast the Gentiles will have to wait outside. But our Lord taught opposite of this. 

Verse 12-13: “‘But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth’”. Then Jesus said to the centurion, “‘Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.’" And his servant was healed at that very hour.”

This verse declares the sure experience of people who believe whole heartedly. 

Verses 14-17: “And Jesus came to the house of Simon and saw his wife's mother prostrate, confined by a fever. And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose and ministered to them. And when it was evening, they brought many demoniacs before him; and he expelled their demons by a word, and healed all them that were diseased: that so might be fulfilled that which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, who said: ‘He will bear our sorrows, and our infirmities he will take upon him ( Isaiah 53:4)." (Also refer Mark 1:29-34; Luke 4:38-41)

St. Matthew describes it as Simons’s home, while St. Luke describes it as both Simon’s and Andrew’s home. So we can infer than both Simon and Andrew lived together in this home. Simon was married (1 Corn. 9:5). Except for John, all other apostles were married before they were called into the ministry. He lived in Bethsaida first and then after marriage lived in his or in his mother-in-law’s house in Capharnaum. It was this home that hosted our Lord and His disciples. It was at this home that he healed the paralytic (Matthew 9:2). St. Clement of Alexandria has written that Simon had a daughter, too. Rev Ahad Rabban* says, “Both Simon and his wife were martyred on the same day. First, his wife was taken to execution. At that time, Simon called her by name and asked her to remember the name our Lord.” (Ref: Abdul Ahad Rabban – ‘Syrian Church’).

(* later became the supreme head of Syrian Orthodox Church – HH Ignatius Yacoob III)