He Does All Things Well!
Mark 7:31-37
Introduction:
700 years before the birth of Jesus the prophet Isaiah said “…He will come and save you. 5Then the eyes of the blind shall
be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of
the mute sing for joy…” (Isa 35:4-6). The hope that God would send a Rescuer at the
right time to save His people and set them free was at the core of the faith of
Israel in the first century. The nature and the means of that rescue was,
however, poorly understood. What would that deliverance look like? Mark
reports what Jesus said at the outset of his ministry,
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the
gospel of God, 15 and saying,
"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and
believe in the gospel..." (Mk 1:14,15).
The time had come, and God was sending the Messiah, the Promised One,
the long-awaited Savior into the world. But the people were expecting, for the
most part, a military or political leader, someone like David or Solomon, not a
Savior from sin. In the next chapter following our passage for today in Mark, in chapter 8, Jesus explicitly
begins to teach the disciples what was about to happen, what had to
happen…
31 And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and
be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed,
and after three days rise again. 32
And he said this plainly… (Mk 8:31,32).
Everything was moving toward Calvary.
The climactic confrontation would come in God’s time, for God’s purpose. All of
Jesus’ ministry looked toward what Calvary would accomplish. Much of His
ministry in the meantime, was giving the people a glimpse of the future,
insight into the curse undone in the New Creation!
The BIG Idea: The compassionate healing that
Jesus did was a glimpse of the restoration and life He came to provide and
which we are called to proclaim. We consider…
1) The Help of true friends;
2) A Healing Touch; and
3) An Hour for testimony… First then,
I. The Help of True Friends: As in the previous scene with the Gentile woman, again,
we see again the importance of intercessory prayer (31-32). We see a straightforward request: Some unnamed people brought a man to Jesus
and “begged” Him to touch him.
Then he returned from the region of
Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the
Decapolis. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech
impediment and they begged him to lay his hand on him.
I’ve been impressed as we’ve gone through the Gospel of Mark at the repeated
illustration of a principle we’ve tried to emphasize over the last couple of
years: That God would use us to impact the lives of the people He has
sovereignly and strategically placed in our lives, that is, our family and
others in our close sphere of influence (our oikos!). One striking
example was across the lake from this scene, back in Mark 2, where we saw how
the faith of the friends had a major role not only in a man’s healing, but also
in his salvation…
4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed
the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on
which the paralytic lay. 5
And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "My son,
your sins are forgiven." (Mark 2:4,5).
The leaders took exception to Jesus pronouncing forgiveness, and so to
make His authority crystal clear, He brought physical healing to the man as
well. But don’t miss how the crippled man got there in front of Jesus. His
friends cared enough to persist, they didn’t give up, the obstacle of the crowd
and even the hard clay roof was not going to stop them. And their friend found
healing and forgiveness!
Fast forward to Mark 7. By now maybe a couple of years have passed.
Jesus was again in the region of the Sea of Galilee, after taking a rather circuitous
route, a trip north from Tyre through Sidon, and then looping back east and
south toward the Sea of Galilee. This time rather than Capernaum or Nazareth, He
comes to gentile territory on the southeast of the lake, the area called
“Decapolis.” And Jesus continues to do works that reveal He is the Messiah.
There are several links between this scene at the end of Mark 7 and Isaiah 35. Look again at Isaiah 35:4-10,
…He will come and save you. 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall
be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6 then shall the lame man leap
like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break
forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; 7 the burning sand shall become a
pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt of jackals, where
they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. 8And a
highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean
shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way... 10
And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away…
The miracles of Jesus were a glimpse of the future, the “not yet” of the
Kingdom breaking into the “already” of today, because the King was present.
Mark wants us to connect what Jesus is doing to this passage in Isaiah. For
example, the word in Mark 7:32 that the ESV translates with “speech
impediment,” mogilalon, occurs only
here in the New Testament. In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the
Septuagint, it also appears in only one place, Isaiah 35:6. It is a context
talking about the coming King and His Kingdom, the undoing of the curse, the promise
of the life of blessing and abundance for which we were created.
So, we see these unnamed friends, “some
people,” bringing their deaf and mute friend to Jesus. Their help is expressed
by two verbs, they “brought” him to
Jesus, and they “begged” Jesus to
touch him. If they were aware of Isaiah
35, they were asking Him for a kingdom blessing, a messianic work, in
the life this man who was deaf and mute. The word “brought” is the verb phero, which often has the sense of
“carry, bear.” It gives me the picture of these guys hearing that Jesus was
there, and grabbing their friend by the hand and leading him to Jesus. And they
don’t just drop him off and hope for the best. They begin pleading with
Jesus, begging Him to touch their friend.
Another picture of persistent, caring, intercession! Like the mother pleading for her daughter in
the previous scene, these men bring their friend to Jesus, and plead with
Him for help. *That’s the Big idea: The compassionate healing that Jesus did
was a glimpse of the restoration and life He came to provide and which we are
called to proclaim-the fall undone!
II. A Healing Touch (33-35) – The Love of Jesus is evident - the man was deaf, so
here actions speak louder than words as Jesus, apart from the crowd, “acts out”
the healing through touching – no show, not a crowd-pleasing performance, just healing
grace!
33 And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into
his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. 34 And looking up to heaven, he
sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be
opened." 35 And his ears
were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.
Mark tells us Jesus took the deaf
man aside from the crowd, seemingly so that He could minister to him with a
little privacy. There is something “touching” about this scene, as though Jesus
wants this man to know that he is not just a face in the crowd, or someone who
He reluctantly blesses. He is showing His personal care and compassion. Just like Jesus taught the mother in the
previous scene, and was growing her faith, it seems that Jesus is building
faith into the life of the man, as well as the life of the friends that brought
him, along with Jesus’ own disciples.
Do you have, or have you ever had, a deaf person in your life?
Communication can be a challenge! When I was young my dad had a young deaf man,
George, who worked for him. My dad learned some sign language so they could
communicate. I was impressed that they
could seemingly understand one another. George could read lips, and make some sounds,
but since he couldn’t hear he never learned to speak. I had a student one
semester in the seminary in Brazil who was deaf. Later he actually became a
teacher of a class on sign language at the school. In my case, he had an
“interpreter” that was there with him, signing while I spoke, and translating
an occasional question from the student. In our scene in Mark, Jesus is essentially
using sign language, letting this man know what He is doing. By touching the
ears, He showed the man he was addressing his need. By touching his tongue, he
showed him that he would be able to speak. No speech therapy needed! Jesus
looks up to heaven, letting the man know from whence comes his help. Even His
“sigh” could communicate His compassion. Each of the miracles Jesus did was unique.
He knows us, and He understands. He will act in the way that is best, for our
good. And He will meet us at the point of our need…
Jesus “sighed” – Why? (see
also Mk 8:12; Jn 11:35). It certainly
showed intense emotion, expressing compassion… One writer called His sigh “An
emotional response to the wretched state of fallen humanity.” Another compared
it to Jesus weeping at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:35, “Jesus wept.”)
It seems to me the connection with Isaiah 35 helps us. There we read in verse
10,
And the ransomed of the LORD shall
return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their
heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee
away…
Jesus “sighed,” identifying
with the wretched state of fallen humanity. According to Isaiah 53 “He was a man of sorrows, acquainted with
grief…” He identified with us, He “sighed” for us, He wept for us, and
ultimately, He died for us, so we could have life. *Yes, the compassionate healing that Jesus did
was a glimpse of the restoration and life He came to provide and which we are
called to proclaim – the fall undone!
III. An Hour for Testimony: Jesus was about God’s will – in
God’s time (36-37; cf.
8:30,31).
36 And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the
more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 And they were astonished beyond
measure, saying, "He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear
and the mute speak."
The word of Jesus may seem a little out of place here. The last time He was in the region of
Decapolis, and he cast the Legion out of the Gadarene demoniac, the man now healed,
wanted to get in the boat and go with Jesus and the disciples. But Jesus had another mission for Him. We read
in Mark 5:19-20,
19 And he did not permit him but said to him, "Go home to your friends
and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on
you." 20 And he went
away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him,
and everyone marveled.
That made sense! Don’t come now, you
have another mission. Go to your oikos,
your friends and family, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you. Be a
witness! But wait a minute, now, a year or two later, “tell no one”? It seems
to me that the explanation can be found a little further ahead in the Gospel, Mark 8:27-31,
And on the way he asked his
disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" 28 And they told him, "John
the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the
prophets." 29 And he
asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him,
"You are the Christ." 30
And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him. 31 And he began to teach them that
the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the
chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.
Why tell no one? The time
was drawing nearer for Jesus to “set his
face resolutely toward Jerusalem” (Lk 9:51) to turn toward the City of
Peace where He, the Prince of Peace, would be rejected, unjustly accused, handed
over to the gentiles, tortured and executed (Cf. Luke 9:20,21,51). That hour was coming, there would be an
hour for testimony, but it wasn’t this day, not yet. There was more
revelation, and more teaching, that had to happen first. God was guiding this
story and everything had to unfold according to His plan and His time. The
Gadarene had been told to “Go and tell,” and through his testimony the fame of
Jesus had spread already through that predominantly gentile region. The day of reaching out to the gentiles with
the full revelation of the Gospel was still future, so for now Jesus tells them
to tell no one. Even so, in their human weakness and excitement they can’t keep
the news to themselves!
We see an overwhelming reaction in 7:36-37, Jesus charged them to
tell no one… “And they were
astonished beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done all things well. He even makes
the deaf hear and the mute speak.’" Utter astonishment! Notice the language: “He
does all things well…” The adverb “well” is the same root [kalos] translated “good” in LXX of Genesis
1:4,10,12,18,21,25, and in 1:30 “very
good.” As God brought the creation into existence, He pronounces it “good.” God’s
good Creation was marred by the Fall. In the light of the context, Mark may
want us to think of God’s “good” work in Creation, and to even think of Jesus’
kingdom work as re-creation (see also John 1:1ff. He is the Creator!). God created, it was all “good,” and now Jesus
does all things “well.” When I would pick up my southern Baptist colleague to
drive to the seminary in Sao Paulo, his wife would often call out, “Y’all teach
‘um good!” Was she saying to teach our students well, or did she mean to teach
them “good,” that is, God’s truth? I was never sure, but either way works!
Jesus did “all things well,” and all that he did was good.
The final phrase in v.7, “He even
makes the deaf hear and the mute speak”—in Mark’s context is clearly
alluding to the messianic Kingdom described in Isaiah 35—the curse undone—the
life of blessing and abundance God created us to experience! That is Good News!
Jesus said, I am come that you might have
life, and that you might have it more abundantly! Think of that—God was in Christ reconciling the world to
himself, and He has committed to us the ministry of reconciliation! And so,
as His ambassadors, we urge people on
behalf of Christ: be reconciled to God!
What is God saying to me in this passage? The compassionate healing that Jesus
did was a glimpse of the restoration and life He came to provide and which we
are called to proclaim – the Fall undone!
What would God have me to do in response to this passage? Who is Jesus? He will ask the disciples in the
next chapter of Mark, “Who do people say
that I am?” That is an interesting question to ask people today, you’ll get
all kinds of answers. But before you ask others, be sure in your own heart: Who do you say that He is? If we
believe that He is God, the Son, the eternal Word who was made flesh, that
means we owe Him our love, our allegiance, our obedience, our worship.
Think about this: He is the same,
yesterday, today, and forever. Just as He was doing with His disciples, He is
still at work in us, guiding each of us through life in this fallen world,
revealing Himself through the Word, using this time to teach us and to grow our
faith.
Why did He come? We see a glimpse of it here, pictured in this
story: He came to undo the Fall, to make it possible for us to be reconciled to
God. There is a lot of pain and suffering in this fallen world. Look at our
prayer list if you have any doubts. But this isn’t the end of the story (Cf. Jn
16:20)! He came to undo the fall. For those who believe, we have victory, in
Jesus!
What does it mean to follow Him? This, for me, is the amazing
part: He has entrusted to us the message of His grace. The unnamed
friends in this story brought their deaf and mute friend to Jesus. And it
didn’t stop there: they pleaded with Jesus to heal Him. Let’s determine to
bring our friends before the Lord, and diligently, persistently plead with God
to give them ears to hear the truth of the Gospel! Write down their names, and keep praying! After
all, Jesus is still building His church! AMEN.
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