The Pilgrim Path---Mark 7: 31—37 (8—15—20)

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. And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, after spitting touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

HE HAS DONE ALL THINGS WELL

1. 31---He returned and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee: The LORD Jesus Christ was always on the move in terms of kingdom endeavors. If you cannot be personally “at it” for the kingdom---you may give and pray for those who are quite “busy” for the LORD. As my professor friend Dr. Douglas Kelly says, “pray down the power”---for the Holy Spirit’s aid is essential and necessary for the soldiers of the Cross!
   v. 32---He had a deaf man with a speech impediment brought directly to Him: The People knew the LORD Jesus Christ was close---So they brought those in need---close to Him! They come and beg for mercy---they beg for healing. That is what frail creatures do. They come and make their case before the Prince of Life (we continue to do this).
   v. 33---He takes the man aside: It is intriguing that The Christ of Glory desires that the blind man be very aware of His personal ministry on his behalf---He touches his ears, his tongue… The LORD Jesus is more concerned for the blind man’s healing---that he be “aware” of what He is doing for him---than that the crowd be cognizant of His actions. My---oh my---the personal Savior!
   v. 34---He (Jesus) looks up to heaven for acknowledged power and praise: “Ephphatha,”---“Be opened” ---first in Aramaic---the Mother Tongue…The Great Physician says the word…amazing things happen!
   v. 35---His ears opened / tongue set free / the man began to speak freely! PONTANUS: “Christ first opened the man’s ears, then untied his tongue; because we must hear well, before we can speak well.”
   v. 36---He (Jesus) charged them not to make much of the healing that had occurred: The Savior’s “time” had not yet come. As William Hendriksen says, “no need to hasten the arrival of the Cross.” Jesus had much more ministry to accomplish, so He asks the people to hold their “applause” for the time being. The Master was not looking for accolades…
   v. 37---“He has done all things well,” was the astonished testimony: The people who could not hear---begin to hear / the mute---begin to speak clearly!

A startling phrase in verse 34, “he sighed…” He SIGHED…The God-Man sighed? What did that mean?
From H. J. Wilmot Buxton, “Christ’s Sigh”---
Sympathy with the afflicted---the incarnation brings the heart of Jesus close to our own…
Grief at the effects of sin---Man, made in God’s image, had become infirmed due to sin---and Jesus was very much moved by what He saw ---He had to act…The sad contrast with Eden, and what man was now---brought on a sigh…
Apprehension about the future---What use would the man make of his restored faculties? Hitherto he had been unable to let any corrupt communication proceed out of his mouth, and his ears have been sealed to the cruel, false, impure words of the world. What evil he might now do with his tongue? What poison might now enter his ears? How could a sigh not go up from the Master?

From J. C. Ryle: Here we are meant to see our LORD’S power to heal the spiritually deaf. He can give the chief of sinners a hearing ear. He can make him delight in listening to the very Gospel which he once ridiculed and despised. Here also we are meant to see our LORD’S power to heal the spiritually dumb. He can teach the hardest of transgressors to call upon God. He can put a new song in the mouth of him whose talk was once only of this world. He can make the vilest of men speak of spiritual things and testify the Gospel of the grace of God. When Jesus pours forth His Spirit, nothing is impossible. We must never despair of others. We must never regard our own hearts as too bad to be changed. He that healed the deaf and dumb still lives. The cases which moral philosophy pronounces hopeless, are not incurable if they are brought to Christ.

“He has done all things well.”
---The great Shepherd of the sheep makes no mistakes. He leads every lamb of His flock by the right way to the city of habitation. We shall never see the full beauty of these words till the resurrection morning. We shall then look back over our lives, and know the meaning of everything that happened from first to last… J. C. Ryle

Grace and Peace in Jesus Christ Our Risen LORD, Pastor Jason