“He Has Done All Things Well”
Mark 7:31–37
Then [Jesus] 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, and 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.” (ESV)
Prayer: Almighty and everlasting God, who created all things, we thank You that You have given us sound bodies, and have graciously preserved all our members from the power of the adversary: we ask You to give us Your grace so that we may rightly use our ears and tongues; help us to hear Your Word diligently and devoutly, and with our mouths to praise and glorify your grace, that no one is offended by our words, but that all may be edified by them; through your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen.
Dear Fellow Redeemed,
When I was growing up, one of my favorite things about going to the movie theater was watching the previews before the movie. These short one-to-two-minute clips would get you excited for an upcoming movie—coming soon to theaters near you. While they wouldn’t tell you every single detail about the movie, it would give you enough information to know what a movie was about and what to expect. Our Old Testament lesson for today was a prophecy by the Prophet Isaiah, which was a preview of sorts for the coming Messiah. Isaiah wrote, “In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see.”
Jesus was the real deal. He was the one who all of Israel had been waiting for with great anticipation. Unlike many of those who claimed to be the “messiah” before him and those who would come after him, Jesus fulfilled every prophecy about the coming Messiah. He fit the bill. He made the deaf hear and the mute speak.
Before we begin to make application or think about what this miracle means, the very first thing we must acknowledge is that this miracle, really did happen. Jesus really did heal this deaf and mute man. Before meeting Jesus, the man could not hear, and he could not talk. But after Jesus took the man aside, put his fingers into his ears, spit, and touched his tongue, and spoke, “Ephphatha,” the man’s ears were opened, and his tongue was loosed. Jesus healed this man performing a wonderful miracle.
God cares for both our bodies and our souls. Our bodies get hurt, decline over time, and one day die. This is a sign and symptom of a much deeper problem. We have become estranged from God and so have come under the curse of sin, and our bodies breaking down is a result of that. But God cares about us in our misery. This is why Jesus came. He came to heal our souls and bodies, to redeem us from sin and all its consequences.
We aren’t told much about the deaf-mute man. We are simply told that Jesus was traveling through the region of Decapolis (the ten cities near the Sea of Galilee), when people brought this man to Jesus. We also don’t know much about the friends of the man who brought him to Jesus, but they believed that Jesus could help him. They begged Jesus to heal him. They knew enough about Jesus to bring their friend to the one who could help him.
There is no greater love than to bring your friend to Jesus. And this isn’t a hard thing to do. It simply requires that you have a friend, that you now where Jesus is, and that you bring your friend to where Jesus is. Your friend can be your husband or wife, your son or daughter, your neighbor, your teacher, your classmate, or coworker. Your friend needs Jesus.
You know exactly where Jesus is. Our Lord promised to be with his Church until the end of time. What could be more loving than to invite your friend to church? The deaf man who suffered from a speech impediment had good friends. They couldn’t help him. They couldn’t do a thing for him. But they knew who could! So, they brought him to Jesus.
You have friends who suffer from all sorts of problems. You and I can’t fix them. We often don’t know where to begin. But Jesus can and he will. Our Savior is both willing and able to help people in need. Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13). It is true Christian love, to bring your friend to him who laid down his life for us all.
The Lord might not perform a miracle like the one in our reading on us, but this miracle still has great significance for you and me. The miracles of Jesus reveal to us who he is. He is a merciful Lord who cares about us in our troubles. And he can do something to help us! Jesus does what no ordinary man can do. Why can Jesus simply speak and heal this man? What does it mean that he was fulfilling Old Testament prophesies? Jesus is God. He is the Son of God incarnate—taking on human flesh and blood—so that he can save us from our sin and all its consequences.
Jesus became man so that he could restore creation to himself. By Jesus healing this deaf and mute man he undoes the works of the devil. The devil would love to tempt us to question God’s word like he did with Adam and Eve. Even more so, he would love for us to be deaf towards God’s word. But the devil’s attacks stand no chance against our Lord Jesus, the God-Man. By his word the heavens were made and by his word the man’s hearing and speech were restored. “One little word can fell him” (A Mighty Fortress is Our God).
Jesus performed miracles throughout his earthly ministry. Miracles upon miracles! But not everyone who was sick was healed by Jesus. That was not the point of his life. Jesus came to restore us to God eternally, so that our bodies would never again have to face the consequences of sin. Jesus did all things well so that he could redeem our bodies and souls. Our breaking bodies are a result of sin and so Jesus got to the root problem. He lived the life we could not and died the death that we deserved so that we could be forgiven. His resurrection on the third day is proof that he has won the victory, death has been defeated, and that heaven is our home. Because Christ lives, so shall we!
Jesus offers his forgiveness, life, and healing to anyone who comes to him. The people begged Jesus to lay his hands on the deaf and mute man, and he did. The thief asked Jesus to remember him in his kingdom, and Jesus did. We ask for Christ’s mercy and forgiveness, and he gives it! This is why we come to Jesus, and this is why we want others to come to him too—He is the way, the truth, and the life.
But then you think, “I can’t bring my friend to Jesus. They wouldn’t understand. They won’t believe.” I think we sometimes forget that we too were enemies of God—as Paul says, “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (I Corinthians 2:14). But what did God do? He opened our ears. He spoke his word over us. He took us aside in the waters of Holy Baptism, where we were made his own dear child. God creates faith in us out of nothing—we who were enemies of God, blind to his salvation, and deaf towards his word—so that we can hear and believe his word and proclaim his wonders. This is why in the ancient church, when the Pastor would baptize, he would first take his fingers and touch the person’s ears, and then say, “Ephphatha,” that is, “be opened.”
We come to Christ deaf and mute, but he opens our ears and hearts. Christ has compassion on us and he is God! He made the deaf hear! He raised Lazarus from the grave! He defeated death! You should be confident that Christ can and will help you. None of us should ever feel that we or anyone else is a lost cause—we have the same Lord who turned the hardened Saul into St. Paul! And as Paul says, “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God.”
Sometimes we forget who God is—both his mercy and his might. This is really unbelief. And we need to repent of it. But we have comfort, that while we often forget who God is, he never forgets us. The only thing God forgets is our sins, when we confess them to him. This is why studying the Scriptures is so important for you and me. For there we see our Savior—what he can do and has done for us. Jesus paid for your sins on the cross and promises you eternal life—and he wants you to never forget it!
Imagine that there is a TV show with many episodes and a grand finale. Before you watched all the episodes, you skipped ahead and watched the grand finale—you now know what happens in the end. In a similar way, as Christians, you know the grand finale. Christ has won the victory—heaven is your home. Christ has died for your sins and because he lives you will live also. In heaven you will not have aches or pains, you will not have sorrow and sin—you will have Christ and be with him for all eternity. But you still need to get through all the rest of the episodes of your life.
I don’t know all the episodes that you have had in your past or the ones you will have in your future. God certainly gives us great joys, but we are also given sorrows and challenges along the way. While we may be discouraged at times and feel as though God is far from us or does not care about us, we need to remember the grand finale. You know your future. You know what God promises to those who believe in him. So, take heart in good times and bad, knowing that you have Christ and because of that you know the final result. The challenges you may face are brief episodes—they do not last forever.
What’s more, Christ is with you in every day of your life good or bad. Jesus said, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” In every stage, every joy, every hardship, you know where Christ can be found. Where two or three are gathered in his name, in his Holy Word, and in the Lord’s Supper where you receive his body and blood for the forgiveness of all your sins. He gives you his grace, and his grace is sufficient for you. Jesus gives you a foretaste of heaven—a preview of what is to come.
I enjoyed watching previews at the movie theater. Yet, it was sometimes the case that the actual movie wasn’t as good as the previews. But that’s not the case with God. Heaven is better than we can imagine or hope. “As it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him’” (I Corinthians 2:9). Jesus’ healing of the deaf-mute man changed his life forever—he could not restrain himself from telling others what Christ had done for him. Because of Christ who has done all things well for us and for our salvation, believers have God’s promise of eternal life. May the promise of salvation sustain you and give you joy to sing God’s praises, in every episode of life, until you see him face to face. Amen