The Touch of Jesus

-

"Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva; and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He said to him, 'Ephphatha!' that is, 'Be opened!' And his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he began speaking plainly." (Mk. 7:33-35, NASB)

   On Sunday nights at our church I am preaching through the book of Mark, and I have been looking forward to this text. When I read this passage, I am struck by the unique manner in which Jesus healed this man. Throughout the gospels Jesus healed people by speaking to them or about them, touching them, or commanding them to go and do a certain task. Some were healed when they approached and touched Jesus. There was also one incident in which Jesus smeared a mixture of dirt and His own saliva on the eyes of a blind man. And yet, among all of the recorded acts of Jesus in the gospels, this stands out as different.

   This man had two maladies: he was deaf and mute. According to Scripture, Jesus first stuck His fingers in the man's ears, then he touched the deaf man's tongue using His own saliva. I am guessing that Jesus spit into His hand to do this, but Mark is unclear precisely how this happened. I am fairly confident that some who witnessed this must have had doubts as to what Jesus was doing, especially given the manner in which He was choosing to work. Nevertheless, after these two gestures, Jesus looks to heaven and speaks in Syriac language, "Be opened," and the man is miraculously made new. 

   There are numerous "explanations" for why Jesus did what He did. For me, it seems fairly simple: the man needed Jesus to touch him, and that is what Jesus did. In both cases, Jesus touched precisely where the man needed to be touched. We have a tendency to "tell" the LORD how to work, as if He needs our help. Our attempts to "help" the LORD usually end up placing limitations on our own faith. We expect God to work  in "such-and-such manner," when God may (and usually does) have something else planned. However, there is a freedom that comes when we simply ask the LORD to work, and then let Him work in the manner He chooses. 

   It no longer seems odd to me that Jesus healed the man as He did, for Jesus understands us better than we understand ourselves. Jesus knows right where we need to be touched.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Don't Waste Your Pain

-
Image
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction... - 2 Corinthians 1:3-9    Affliction (pain and suffering) is an inevitable, unavoidable, and repeatable part of life. None of us are exempt. While  we would all like to avoid affliction, the truth is that pain and affliction  serve a greater purpose , whether it comes from our own choices, the ordinary course of life, an attack of spiritual forces, or from God Himself.  Richard Cecil is noted as saying, "God's way of answering the Christian's prayer for more patience, experience, hope, and love often is to put him into the furnace of affliction.” Even  though we cannot avoid affliction, we can use it for the glory of God. That’s right. Your pain can be used to glorify God. How do we do this?    First, we need to learn to receive God's comfort. Much like in life, some folks are better at letting others "in" th
Read more

Dependent Upon God

-
Image
Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and camp..." Exodus 14:1    Have you ever stopped and considered why God led the Israelites to freedom by taking them through the desert? Really, think about the process for a moment. He led them out of the slavery for a day or two, then told them to turn back towards the city of their captivity, next to the sea, and make camp. This lead to their being trapped. Then He led them to a place with with plenty of water, but it was undrinkable. Not too long after that, when all their food provisions were depleted, He led them to a place where there was no food or water for themselves or their livestock. Why would God be so cruel? Well, if you know the rest of the story, then you may already know the answer. They were never trapped, for God parted the waters, allowing them safe passage through the sea and drowning their enemies. The undrinkable water was made drinkable, and they were provided food
Read more

Biblical Apprenticeship

-
Image
"...Go therefore and make disciples... ” - (Matt. 28:18-20)   The Greek word mathetai is the term we usually translate as disciple, and it expresses the idea of "student" or "pupil". To me, the best understanding today of the biblical principle of disciples is apprentices. Think about it, in a typical apprenticeship a new generation of practitioners are prepared with on-the-job training and often some accompanying classroom work and reading.  Apprenticeships typically last 3 to 6 years, and generally involve four steps:     (1)  Commitment - At this level the apprentice makes the commitment to stay the course by receiving the education and training necessary to become the “journeyman”.       (2) Classroom - At this phase, the apprentice receives the information necessary to understand and work within the sphere of labor.      (3) Training - At this phase, the apprentice begins to put the information they have learned into practice. First by wat
Read more