Daily Reading and Devotional from the Gospels
Mark 7:31–37
31 And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. 32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. 33 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. 35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. 36 And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it; 37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.
I am often astounded at how my Lord saves and helps us. I am surprised at the similarity of our stories but also at the variations of our experiences. I believe we can relate to some of the details of this story in today’s reading but mostly we delight in the differences. This is one of the most unusual of our Lord’s miracles. The result seemed fairly common for him during his earthly ministry but the methods, well let’s just say they were just a bit unorthodox. The miracle begins in typical fashion, “they” bring a deaf man to Jesus for healing. I don’t know who the “they” are in the story but I do know that the Lord likes to use men and women to bring hurting and lost souls to himself.
Most of the time when Jesus heals, he does it on the spot. In this instance he takes the man aside. I wonder why? He instructed the man and those that had brought him to Jesus to “tell no man” what he had done in Mk 7:36 after the miracle, maybe he wanted it kept quiet. Perhaps he did this to keep the man from embarrassment from the gawking crowd. Maybe he did it this way so when the healing was accomplished the very first voice the man will ever hear is the voice of the Lord, not the noise from the crowd. I actually think it is a teaching example of how we all must come to Jesus. I can be brought to him, but in the end, what happens must be between just us. I must receive him for myself.
Then we get to the most unusual methods we mentioned. Jesus put his fingers in the deaf man’s ears. Like I said, the methods here were not from a typical pattern. The deaf man’s hearing was not the only impairment he endured, his speech was also impeded. Jesus, healed the man’s speech by spitting and then touching the man’s tongue. What? Did he really spit on his finger and then touch the guys tongue with the spittle? I believe that is what the Bible says. Ha, I told you that the Lord used unusual methods for this miracle! Of course, then again, by definition every miracle is unusual isn’t it? The Lord then looked up to Heaven and sighed, and said, “be opened”. The years of silence ended, an appreciation for the symphony of creation began for this man. The guy heard and spoke clearly in an instant! No speech therapy required! The crowd left there saying about the Lord, “he hath done all things well”. Jesus does great work! I wonder, why the unusual methods? Why the theatrics? What’s the deal with the fingers in the ears? I believe that he might have been teaching a universal spiritual lesson, his touch is required for us to have ears to ear spiritual truth. Why the spit on the tongue? We need to know that there is power in what proceeds from the mouth of God. Those are but educated guesses but one thing is certain, Jesus doesn’t follow the same precise pattern in his dealings with us. His methods are as different as the men and women on whom he performs his miracles. He tailors his touch to the individual’s needs and I am glad. That is how he does all things well. He gives individualized care! Be patient, let him take his time so he can do it well. Just because he is working differently for you than another person you know don’t get stressed. He doesn’t use the same mold. He does all things with care and that is how we know he does all things well!
BB