The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

September 8, 2024

Mark 7:31-37

How’s Your Followership?

Followers of Christ See the True Purpose of His Power!

31Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. 32There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man.

33After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. 34He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). 35At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.

36Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. 37People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” (NIV1984)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

“If your God is so wise and if your God is so powerful— then why doesn’t He do something about (you fill in the blank)? That is a statement/accusation that we hear from a number of different people, isn’t it. When we hear that statement/accusation from people outside of the church it very often goes something like this: “If your God is so wise and if your God is so powerful then why doesn’t He do something about all the pain and all the suffering we see in this world?” Or, “Then why doesn’t He do something about all the wars and all the crime that we see taking place?” Or, “Then why doesn’t He do something about all the people being used and abused by others and all the poverty and all the famines and all the disasters and all the homelessness we see on the news and in our cities?”

When we hear that statement/accusation from people inside the church it very often goes something like this: “If our God is so wise and if our God is so powerful then why does our congregation have so much trouble growing?” Or, “Then why did He let my loved one die?” Or, “Then why doesn’t He heal my body or heal my relationship with my family?”

As followers of Jesus Christ we, of course, know that the wisdom of our God soars far above and beyond anything that we can comprehend. As followers of Jesus Christ we, of course, know that the power of our God is limitless. Today as we continue our sermon series entitled How’s Your Followership Doing? God the Holy Spirit focuses our attention on the power of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To be more specific, today God the Holy Spirit focuses our attention on this truth: Followers of Christ See the True Purpose of His Power!

In the verses just prior to our text Mark tell us that after the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law had confronted Jesus concerning the “followership” of Jesus’ disciples, the Lord left the area of Capernaum and went thirty miles away to Tyre, a Gentile city located in Phoenicia— which is in modern-day Lebanon. Since the people of this area were Gentiles they could not lay claim to the promises that the Lord God had made to the children of Abraham. And yet, you may recall how a Greek woman who had been born in Syrian Phoenicia came to Jesus and begged Him to heal her daughter who was “possessed by an evil spirit.” After Jesus reminded her that “it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs,” the woman humbly replied, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Do you remember how Jesus responded to her? He said, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted” (Mathew 15:28). Did this Gentile woman understand the true purpose of Jesus’ power?

That event then leads us into our text for today where Mark tells us, “Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis.” This was not the first time that Jesus had gone to the area of the Decapolis. This is where Jesus cast a legion of demons out of a man, allowed the demons to enter into a heard of about 2,000 pigs which then rushed down a hill and drowned in the sea. When the people in that area heard about what Jesus had done we’re told that they, “began to plead with Jesus to leave their region” (Mark 5:17). Did these people understand the true purpose of Jesus’ power?

At the same time we’re told that news about Jesus’ power continued to spread. That’s why Mark tells us that when Jesus returned to the region of the Decapolis, “Then some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man.” Did these people understand the true purpose of Jesus’ power?

Jesus’ reaction to the deep heartfelt request of this man’s friends is both astounding and insightful. Mark tells us, “After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, ‘Ephphatha!’ (which means, ‘Be opened!’) At this the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.”

We simply cannot overlook the deep care and the loving concern that Jesus showed to this man. Deaf people are often embarrassed by the frustration of having other people try to talk to them, but they are not able to understand or reply to what that person is saying. Many physical handicaps such as blindness are usually quite evident, but oftentimes we are not aware that a person is deaf until we try to speak with them. To spare this man any embarrassment Jesus “took this man aside, away from the crowd.”

Since Jesus could not explain to this man what He was about to do for Him, and since this man was so dependent on what he could see and touch the Lord showed this man what He was going to do! Picture this scene in your mind: First, Jesus put His fingers into the deaf man’s ears. At this the deaf man may have thought, “Okay. You have my attention.” Then Jesus took some of His spit and put it on the tongue of the man who could “hardly talk.” At this the man may have thought, “Alright. What are you going to do?” Then to make it clear to this man where his healing was coming from we’re told that Jesus “looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, ‘Ephphatha!’ (which means, ‘Be opened!’). Instantly this man who was once deaf could now hear! Instantly this man who could “hardly talk” was able to “speak plainly,” or that could be translated as “speak correctly.”

Do you think this man now understood the true purpose of Jesus’ power? I’m convinced that at the very least he was starting to see it! While Mark doesn’t tell us anything about what this man did next, it is certainly not difficult for me to imagine that this man— who moments ago could not talk— knew that he now had something to talk about! Like the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well (John 4), like the man who had been cleansed from a legion of demons (Mark 5) and like the Syrophoenician woman whose daughter had been healed this man undoubtedly used his newly functioning vocal cords to tell everyone he could about Jesus and about what Jesus’ power had done for him! And soon he would use his gift of hearing to learn all about how Jesus died on the cross as the atoning sacrifice that takes away the sin of the world. Soon he would hear all about how Jesus physically rose from the dead on the third day as the Victor over sin, death and the devil. Soon he would confidently share with others not only what Jesus had miraculously done for him, but he would also share with them what Jesus had graciously done for them!

Then why? Why were the very first words that this man— and his friends— heard Jesus say were, “Don’t tell anyone!” While Jesus certainly has the power to perform miracles He did not want to be known simply as a “miracle worker.” He did not want people to think that the true purpose of His power was centered on healing whatever physical problem a person might have. The true purpose of Jesus’ power, the true purpose of Jesus’ miracles was to prove to people that He is indeed the fulfillment of God’s promise to send the Messiah into this world! The Holy Spirit points us to the true purpose of Jesus’ power when He has Mark tell us, “Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. People were overwhelmed with amazement. ‘He has done everything well,’ they said. ‘He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.’” Did the people who saw Jesus use His power to heal this man “connect the dots” between this miracle and the Messianic prophecy recorded in our Old Testament lesson for today? (Isaiah 35:4-7) We hope and pray they did!

So what can we take home with us today? How does this portion of Scripture help us to understand and remember that: Followers of Christ See the True Purpose of His Power? There are two things I want to emphasize here. First, I hope and pray that we will recognize and remember that the deep care and the loving concern that Jesus showed to the man here in our text has also been shown to us! The One who was willing to touch lepers and then use His power to heal them, the One who was willing to associate with tax-collectors and prostitutes and then use His power to forgive them, the One who was willing to reach out to Gentile “dogs” and then use His power to answer their heartfelt prayers— is the same One who has come to you, the same One who continues to come to you on a very personal level and use His power to heal you, to forgive you and to answer your heartfelt prayers!

Think about it, my friends. Through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism Jesus came to you and used His power to “open” your hearts so that you could hear the glorious message of what He has done for you (Pointing to the cross) and to “loosen” your tongue so that you can joyfully bring your thanks and your praise to Him! Through the Sacrament of Holy Communion Jesus continues to come to you and use His power to release you from the shackles of sin and the burden of guilt that Satan tries to use in an effort to destroy your faith. Through the power of His Word of forgiveness spoken by His servants Jesus comes to you and uses His power to heal you from your past and to strengthen you for your future. And one day— when He determines the time is right— one day Jesus will come to you and use His power to fulfill the promise He has made to you, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:1-3).

Secondly, I hope and pray that as followers of Christ, as people who have experienced on a personal level the true purpose of Jesus’ power, I pray that we will remember and recognize that the deep care and the loving concern that Jesus showed to this man here in our text, the deep care and the loving concern that Jesus continues to show to you and to me— is also there for others, including people you may already know. This man who was “deaf” and who could “hardly talk” did not come to Jesus on his own. His friends brought him to Jesus! Who do you know that you could bring to Jesus? Maybe it’s someone you know from work or from school or from the neighborhood? Maybe it’s someone you don’t know, maybe it’s someone who lives in another part of the country or even in another country altogether. Maybe it’s a fellow Christian who for whatever reason has wandered away from the Lord.

Since Jesus’ deep care and loving concern is there for them you can follow the example of the friends here in our text. If you cannot physically bring them to Jesus by inviting them to come to church with you, you can follow the example of these friends and “beg” Jesus to help them. To be more specific you can pray for them. You can go directly to Jesus in prayer and “beg” Him to help them. You can “beg” Jesus to use His powerful Word to heal them by opening their eyes and by loosening their tongues on a spiritual level. As Jesus Himself tells us through His brother James, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16).

If your God is so wise and if your God is so powerful then why doesn’t He do something about (you fill in the blank)? My prayer this morning is that as followers of Jesus we will take that concern/accusation and “correct” it. As followers of Jesus, as people who by the grace of God see and understand the true purpose of Jesus’ power I pray that we will proclaim to others what Scripture proclaims to us: Since our God is so wise and since our God is so powerful He has provided the Solution for all of our problems and difficulties! He sent His only begotten Son into this world so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. (Pointing to the cross)

Lift up your eyes to the cross, my friends, and you will see the true purpose of Jesus’ power!

To God be the glory!

Amen