Jesus Heals a Deaf and Mute Man
31 Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis.[a] 32 There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.
33 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. 34 He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him,“Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). 35 At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.
36 Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. 37 People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
Observation: Jesus makes the impossible...possible.
Application: There are big things in life. Big. Things. Things that overwhelm us and consume us with their magnificent ability to take our eyes off of Jesus because they just seem so big. We may know in our head that "all things are possible through Christ" Matthew 19:26 or that "we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us" Phillipians 4:13 or that when we have faith as small as a mustard seed, we can move mountains Matthew 17:20 but do we actually believe it with our heart?
When reading this passage, I wonder if the deaf man believed with his heart. Did he know that Jesus could and would heal him? Did he think well...nothing else has worked so far so why not? Did he seek Jesus out? Did he ask his friends to take him? Did they believe? What prompted the friends to take this man to see Jesus? Did they know that Jesus would make the impossible possible?
I would like to think that it was the friends' idea to bring the man to Jesus. Our church is working really hard to connect people in the congregation. Our church is striving to be authentic, open, transparent, and supportive to each other to grow the body of believers--as flawed as we are--to grow closer to the people God wants us to be. I like to think that this man's friends sought out Jesus because they knew this man's needs and wanted to see him receive healing and they were going to go with him to get it.
Sometimes we all need a friend like that. A friend who knows our impossible needs but it willing to walk with us through the hard times and dark days. They know that God can restore and provide the impossible. They support us. Love us. Pray for and with us. They believe for us when the impossible seems so out of reach. They also rejoice with us when the impossible becomes possible and it is impossible to contain our excitement and our desire to share it with others.
Prayer: Lord. You are so amazing and the great healer of every situation. We fall so short of your standard for us and doubt and uncertainty are constant threats. They cause us to rely more on ourselves then You. Lord, thank you for not holding that against us and pouring your grace on us when we truly don't deserve it. Give us faithful prayerful friends to keep us close to You and help us to be that friend to others so that we can build each other up, hold each other accountable, and grow closer to you. Amen.
Tomorrow's scripture focus: Mark 8:1-10
1 comment:
I love that Jesus so often healed with touch, especially to those who likely had been denied that for so long.
Important also to note that it is only through the work of Christ that we are able to hear and understand spiritual truth as well.
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