St. John’s, Howard, SD
31Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. 34And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” Mark 7:31-37 (ESV)
Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Well, this is a familiar story to us. At least we’ve heard it in Sunday School as a child and it seems to come up occasionally in church, at least a couple times a year. It’s a good story about Jesus and the compassion he has for those who are sick. It’s comfort for us to know it, but even more important is a comfort to us to hear it again.
Remember, too, that Mark is a very fast paced book. His favorite word is “immediately.” Some have said that Mark is a Gospel written for our modern attention span. He moves from one account to the next sparing the details as he moves the Gospel along quickly covering mostly just the high points. But here, in this account, Mark breaks with his regular practice and gives a few more details than we expect. And because he does that he makes some important points I’d like us to look at as we read through the text again.
31Then he [Jesus] returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis.
Tyre and Sidon are in the north part of that area. But what’s really important about these places isn’t where they are located but who lives there. They aren’t areas that are full of Jews but they are the areas that are full of gentiles. The best equivalent I can think of today would be to say “I was traveling in “Little Havanna” the other day.” When you heard that you would know that the people I was among were Cubans. Or if I said I preached at a church in Chinatown, you’d probably expect that the people I was with were from the Far East. That’s what Tyre and Sidon meant to the Jews. Jesus is coming back from that area and moving along the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee, to a place called the Decapolis. That means “ten cities” there were ten cities clustered together there. Think again about the “Twin Cities” we know it’s Minnapolis and St. Paul. They knew what the 10 cities were, too. And again the primary thing to remember is that the Decapolis was an area filled with non-Jews. Jesus is traveling and teaching, and doing miracles among gentiles.
32And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him.
Now this is interesting, not because it happened, because people were always bringing their friends and relatives to Jesus to be healed. The interesting thing here is that the “they” are never completely identified. It seems to be purposely ambiguous. We could ask a lot of questions about it but in the end we really don’t know “who” these folks are, or even why they have brought this man. Most likely they have brought this man to Jesus to be healed because they want to see him do something miraculous. They want to find out if Jesus is really who he seems to be. They’ve heard about Jesus and want to see him “do his thing.”
We should also remind ourselves how people of those days viewed deafness, and speaking disorders. If you were deaf or couldn’t speak they believed that it was because of some unforgiven sin. It could be yours or your parents, but the main idea was that God was punishing you for something you or even your parents did wrong. In a way they believed that if you were deaf, or blind or unable to speak you deserved it. So bringing this person to Jesus had some other significance, if Jesus could heal him, it said something about who Jesus was. So the beg Jesus to do it.
33And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue.
Jesus takes the man aside. He puts his fingers in the man’s ears. He spits and touches the man’s tongue. Mark doesn’t say why, but I think it easy to understand what Jesus is doing. “Look at me and pay attention.” Jesus says by taking the man aside. He pokes his fingers in the man’s ears, and touches his tongue. “I understand your problem, you’ve got ears that don’t work, and a tongue that doesn’t work. I’m going to do something about it.” And Jesus spits. “I’m going to get rid of the evil in your ears and tongue.”
34And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”
Jesus sighed. It seems like and insignificant detail, just some filler in the middle of the sentence. But I think it’s key to understanding what’s really going on here. Jesus sighed. Look at what sin has done! Look at the pain and separation it causes. Of course this man wasn’t deaf as a direct punishment for sin as those standing there might have thought. But sin in general is the cause. Sin in and among the human race brings sickness, disease, blindness, deafness, cancer, aids, and finally, ultimately, it brings death. When Jesus lets out a sigh we sigh right along with him. We sigh as we see the effects of sin all around us. We sigh with friends and neighbors dealing with their own problems, illness, suffering. And we try to be understanding but in reality we are afraid because we know that we are more than just bystanders. We sigh with Jesus because we know that illness will come, weakness will come, and death will come. And it won’t just come to our neighbors and friends. Death will come to us. That’s where we are just like the “they” in this text; the folks who brought this deaf man to be healed. Remember I said we really don’t know who “they” are. Well, here is why it really doesn’t matter. They sighed with Jesus. We sigh with Jesus. They brought him to be healed for the same reason we hold up our friends and family in prayer and ask for them to be healed. We want it all to end. We want cancer to stop ravaging us. We want the blind to see, and the deaf to hear, we don’t want to be sick anymore. We want our families whole again. We want the picture painted for us by Isaiah.
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. Isaiah 35:5-6a (ESV)
Jesus sighed. He wants that for us, too. In fact that’s exactly what he’s doing with that deaf man, there in that crowd. He’s bringing and end to it all. “Be opened!” he says. “Ephphatha!”
35And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.
Jesus canceled the effects of sin on that man’s ears and tongue. He ended the separation of that man from his family. He ended the pain and suffering caused by deafness. “Be opened!” and the man was healed. Just like the sign language Jesus used to communicate with the deaf man, Jesus communicates with us in language that we can understand. “This is why I have come,” he tells us, “to end the control of sin in your lives.”
Jesus cried out “Ephphatha!” and opened the man’s tongue and ears. He cried out again “in a loud voice” on the cross when he gave up his life. You see, the two events are connected. Jesus came to end sickness and disease and death. He came to end them by his death on the cross. He shows us that by all that he did among the people that swarmed around him. He healed the deaf and the blind. He cleansed lepers and even brought the dead back to life. He came to end the effects of sin in the world. Jesus tells us that when he says to the man “Ephphatha!”
36And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.
It’s odd to our hearing. Why not tell everyone what he did? Why not let the whole world know that Jesus is healing deaf people and making people who can’t talk, talk plainly? Who better to tell the story than those who have been personally touched? Isn’t that the message that Jesus wants everyone to know? That he came to heal our sickness and remove the effects of sin? We can see it again in the “them.” We can again relate directly to “them.” They wanted to tell everyone and Jesus’ words didn’t stop them.
Well, remember when I said Jesus calling out Ephphatha was like his crying out on the cross. That’s the part that’s missing. The people there saw the healing but they didn’t have the whole story. Jesus came to make us whole in body and soul, but he came to do it through the cross. In fact, without the cross what Jesus does doesn’t really mean anything at all. The deaf man went back to his regular live, connected again with his family, but he still faced sin there. He still faced illness and danger. And death still waited for him. All that happened for him was temporary restraint of the effects of sin. And Jesus didn’t come to bring temporary relief. He came to make it permanent. In order for pain and suffering, illness and death, to come to a permanent end, sin would have to come to an end. The whole story is really seen when Jesus hangs on the cross and dies. That’s were sin is done away with. That’s were sin has its final word. And Jesus pays the final and complete price for the sins of the world.
21For our sake [God] made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV)
And he nailed that sin to the cross to die. To be done away with forever.
37And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
I think that they are saying more here than they really know. Jesus does do all things well. He heals a deaf man, but that’s only part of the picture. What he really does well is seen in his willingness to go to the cross to die for our sins. “This is my beloved son.” The father says of Jesus. And to prove it he raises Jesus from the dead. That’s right. Jesus does all things well. He dies for sins of the world and God raises him again to life. It proves it. The resurrection makes it plain that Jesus did just what he came to do. He came to do away with the affects of sin in the world, and his resurrection show us just how it has been accomplished.
3Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. Romans 6:3-5(ESV)
The resurrection like his is ours, through baptism. A resurrection that promises no more sin, no more suffering, no more deafness, no more cancer, no more anything but joy! You see, Jesus has done all things well.
And while we may still have to deal with sin, and sickness and yes even death. The days of living with these things are numbered. They will all come to an end when Jesus shows up again on our doorstep. That too he promises and is verified by his resurrection. You see; we have the whole story. The healing that Jesus gave to that deaf man is a healing that is promised to us, too. That promise is sealed in Jesus death on the cross, and his resurrection, is given to us in baptism.
So Jesus doesn’t say to us “don’t tell this to anyone.” In fact he tells us to tell everyone “all nations.” He says. It really is good news to tell. And it goes like this: “Hey everyone! I know we are suffering now with death and pain and sickness. But just look at what Jesus has done. He healed a deaf man, and he’ll heal you, too. Believe in him and what he has done for you in his life death and resurrection. Look to Jesus, he has done all things well.” Amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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