Dwell in the Word Mark 7:31-37

Consider these questions as we dwell in Mark 7:31-37:

1. Why does the story of Jesus healing a deaf and mute man hold special significance in the context of the Gospels? What does it reveal about Jesus' power and his mission?

2. What symbolic meaning can be derived from Jesus' actions in this miracle, such as touching the man's ears and tongue, and using the Aramaic word "Ephphatha"? How do these actions highlight a deeper spiritual truth?

3. How does the miraculous healing of the deaf and mute man serve as a powerful metaphor for our own spiritual condition? What does it signify about Jesus' ability to open our spiritual ears and empower us to proclaim the gospel?

Transcript:

What another great story of the healing of Jesus that we have here for us today. When we think about this story, we need to think about why did this make it into Holy Scripture? Yes, it's an amazing miracle. And I think I've mentioned this before, but yes, these miracles are amazing. But what are they telling us about what Jesus is doing and what Jesus will do for us? Because Jesus did tons of miracles. We read that there were more miracles than they could ever tell us. Many people were healed. So, why this one? What was it about this type of a healing that was so important? Well, let's look at what it is. There was a man who was brought to Jesus who was deaf. He also had a speech impediment. And so, these people begged Jesus to lay his hands on him. And what we see is that here, once again, we have people who have great faith that Jesus can heal, similar to other stories that we see in the Gospels. But here, clearly, people are bringing this man to Jesus to be healed. Well, Jesus takes him aside. Obviously, he doesn't want this type of a miracle to be too visible.

We're not sure what the reason is, but he takes him aside, and he touches him. Now, there was nothing magical about Jesus putting his fingers in his ears or spitting and then touching his tongue. There's nothing magical about that. Jesus has been healing people who aren't even in the same area as him. This was a sign of what Jesus was going to do. He was going to give him hearing. He was going to give him speech. So this happens. Jesus says the word, and it's an Aramaic word that I struggle to pronounce, right? Means to be open. And this man's ears were opened and his tongue was released, we read. And on top of it, he spoke plainly. We don't know how long this man had been mute, probably his entire life, but yet he is able to speak plainly as soon as he receives the gifts of speech, and as soon as he receives the gift of healing. This is an amazing miracle. And so, Jesus, once again, wants to try and keep it secret. Again, there's that messianic secret we've been talking about. And people are just amazed, and so, they can't keep it quiet.

And what do they say? He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak. And so, here is the big point of why Mark chose to put this story in. Well, Jesus has power over something that no one else has power over. He is able to make the deaf hear. He's able to make the mute speak. And so, he has a power that is over creation, that is over the created order that is amazing. He's able to do something that no one else is able to do. This is not a parlor trick. Jesus is able to actually heal this man. But there's something else here we need to see. What are the Gospels telling us about Jesus when these type of miracles are displayed? Well, you and I, apart from the Spirit indwelling us and giving us the gift of faith, we are spiritually deaf. We cannot hear God. We are dead to him. Our tongues, we can't speak the gospel. We can't speak the good news apart from our mouth being opened by Jesus coming to us when the spirit gives us faith. And so, this is a greater story. Yes, it's an amazing miracle, but the greater story is that Jesus has the power to open our ears, and he has the power to open our mouths.

And so, as we sit here on Good Friday, as we think about what this story means for us, what happened that allows us to be able to hear the word of God and able to speak it. It was Jesus saving us by his grace. And that's what we remember on Good Friday, the sacrificial death, where Jesus took on our sin upon himself and gave us the gift of his perfect righteousness. And so may we be thinking about that today that we have this amazing gift that we were able to hear that gospel, that we had our spiritual deafness taken away, and we were able to hear the gospel and believe by faith and receive the gift of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so may we also remember that not only can we hear, but we are now able to speak. And so as we go out into the world on this Good Friday, as we interact with people, may we be sharing that good news of salvation in Jesus, what he has done for us that we remember on this day that people may hear and that the deaf may hear, the spiritually deaf may hear, and then they will be able to speak the gospel too.