This sermon was preached at St Peter’s Evangelical-Lutheran Church, Public Schools Club, Adelaide, 9am
Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.
And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.
Prayer: Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
Today in our Gospel reading, we read about an event where Jesus is travelling near the Sea of Galilee, in what is called the region of the Decapolis. The word “Decapolis” means “Ten Cities” and referred to an area where there were 10 Greek speaking cities, mostly on the Eastern side of the River Jordan, in a region which is in modern day Jordan and Syria.
In this region, a man is brought to Jesus who is both deaf and is not able to speak. We read: They brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. It is often the case, that when people are born deaf, they have a lot of trouble speaking, because people normally learn to speak from listening to the speech of those around them.
We read in the Gospel reading: 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.”
There are many amazing things here in what Jesus does. First of all, we read that he took him aside from the crowd privately. The man whom Jesus is dealing with is not able to hear or talk, but he is able to see. And Jesus takes him aside privately, because he wants the man to recognise that Jesus is dealing with him, and him alone. We read: He put his fingers into ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. It is probably the case that Jesus was perfectly able to heal this man without these gestures, but it is obvious here that Jesus really wants the man to see for himself, and feel for himself that Jesus is doing something for him. He puts his fingers into his ears, because he wants to demonstrate to the man that he is going to do something for the benefit of his ears, and he touches his tongue because he wants to indicate to him that he is going to do something for the benefit of his tongue. We read also, that Jesus looked up to heaven, and sighed. Jesus wants to show to the man that he and the Father are one, and that Jesus’ power to heal comes from his unity with the Father. So Jesus lets this man see the fact that he looks up to heaven, and sighs. He shows to this man the gestures of prayer.
Also, we read here that Jesus says, “Ephphatha”, which means, “Be opened.” Now, in the Gospel of Mark especially, there are a number of places where it is recorded where Jesus said something, and it is recorded in Jesus’ native language, which was Aramaic. Aramaic was like a later version of Hebrew that was spoken at that time, and it is still spoken today in parts of Syria, especially by Christians in Syria. But this is also significant in our reading today, because it reminds us of the way in which we all learn to talk, and how Jesus learnt to talk—that is, from our parents. That’s why we often call our native language, our “mother tongue”. With Jesus here, he also learnt how to speak Aramaic in his mother tongue, but the man he is speaking to doesn’t have a mother tongue, because we assume he wasn’t actually able to hear his mother, and so couldn’t learn how to speak from his parents.
Jesus then speaks a word in his own native language, his mother tongue, and enables this man to hear and to speak.
We read: And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. This is an amazing thing. Actually, in Greek, the word “plainly”, in the words “he spoke plainly”, can also mean rightly or correctly. This man then spoke in a normal way, without any trouble.
In our reading, then, there is a very interesting verse, where it says: And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.
Often in the Gospels we read about this, where Jesus performs a miracle, and Jesus tells the people not to tell anyone about it. However, we often read too that even though Jesus told them not to say anything, they did it even more. Actually, in our reading today, it’s almost as if there’s a kind of proportionality with it! The more Jesus tells them not to say anything, the more zealously, the more enthusiastically they tell people about it. It’s as if Jesus tells them three times not say anything, so they go out and tell six people about it, or nine people! If Jesus tells them four times, then they go and tell eight people or even sixteen people!
It’s a very strange thing! In some sense, it shows us that the most important thing in this miracle was the miracle itself. The fact that the man was healed was the most important thing here that happened. Jesus was not doing it, so that he might get some kind of publicity out of it. He did not heal the man, so that he could get some advertising out of it!
I assume that Jesus knew perfectly well that the news would spread and that the people just wouldn’t be able to keep their mouth shut about this event. It would have been completely natural for them to want to tell people! When something amazing happens, people just want to tell someone else. And so, it’s almost as if Jesus is telling them not to something that is completely natural for them, and is trying to stifle their most natural impulses.
But I think we know that Jesus knows that they will do the exact opposite of what he says, but Jesus forbids them anyway, to demonstrate to them that is not some kind of show-off, he is not trying to gather an audience at some kind of side show, he is not trying to promote himself. The fact that Jesus healed for the man was for the benefit of this man, not for the benefit of himself.
And we read at the end of the read: And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
Here we read about how the crowd was amazed at Jesus, because of his healing power, and also his creative power. When they say: He has done all things well, it is very similar to what we read at the end of the first chapter of Genesis, where it says that God saw all that he had made, and behold, it was very good. Here in our reading too, we see that Jesus does something, creates something, makes something, and behold it is very good. He has done all things well.
The crowd also say: He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak. Of course, they are just saying what happened. But also, in Isaiah 35, we read a prophesy about Jesus, where it says: Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. Four things are mentioned in this verse: blindness, deafness, lameness and muteness. And two of these things are fulfilled in the event in our reading. And so, we can see that in discussing these things with each other, people are wondering whether Jesus really might be the Messiah who was prophesied. Of course, we believe that he really is the Messiah who was prophesied.
Actually, in Matthew chapter 11, we read an event where John the Baptist, who at that time was in prison, sent some of his disciples to ask Jesus if he was the Messiah or whether they should wait for someone else. Jesus instead of pointing to himself, points to the people he had healed instead. He says: Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.
And so, we can see here, that Jesus actually does commend the people when they look to these miracles, and when they look to the fact that these people had been healed, because these people and these miracles that were performed in them are all part of the witness which testifies to the fact to Jesus is the Messiah. He is the one who will come to be king, but also in a way that many people won’t recognise. He will suffer and die for their sins on the cross, and rise from the dead.
Now, let’s think about this reading, and how it applies to us today. First of all, we see Jesus simply performing a miracle for this man, and really makes it very clear to this man that he cares about him, that he is happy to heal him, and that he has no other motivation in the whole business except to heal him and make him glad and happy and to rejoice. Jesus performs miracles, because he wants to make people happy, and he is the source of happiness. It really is as simple as that.
And this is very important for us too, because in western countries we can sometimes be so intellectual and academic and theological about our faith. But what we sometimes forget is that when we are in need, we should turn to Jesus in our need. When we are sick, we should turn to Jesus. When we are sad and depressed, we should turn to Jesus. When we are struggling and tired and weary, we should turn to Jesus.
Because in all our own most bitter darkness, whatever it might be, Jesus is our light, and our peace, and our joy.
Now, of course, when we are sick, we might go to the doctor. When we are depressed, we might go to a psychologist or a counsellor. When we are tired, we might look to take some vitamins. But one thing we often forget: just because we go to a doctor, or a professional person, or seek some medicine, or treatment, or vitamins, or whatever, no matter how good the person is or how good the product is, nothing works without the good and gracious will of Jesus. We should always remember that.
Of course, sometimes, there are some Christians who refuse to go to a doctor, because they say, “Jesus will heal me.” Actually, Jesus also provides doctors and other professionals in order that he might work through their vocations for our benefit. But nothing works for out benefit and no one can do anything for our benefit without the good and gracious will of Jesus.
So, when we are in some need, or some turmoil, or some trouble, or some darkness, we shouldn’t go to Jesus as our last resort, after we have tried to solve our problem by ourselves in hundreds of different ways. No, we should bring our suffering or our problem to Jesus first, and let him send his blessing to us in our need, and send the cure to it, however he may do it, whether it is through means, through people, through professional people, or whatever, or whether he does it without means, in a miraculous way.
Now, when it comes to miracles, we should not be ashamed to ask Jesus for things that to our reason seem to be unanswerable prayers. There are some people in our world who are deaf and can’t speak, and almost can’t imagine for a moment what it must be like to be able to hear and be able to speak properly. And yet, Jesus allows this for this man, and heals him.
When it comes to prayer, and bringing our needs to Jesus, most of the time, we have absolutely no idea of what he could possibly have in store for us, because it is beyond our comprehension. As it says: What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him. We shouldn’t limit what we ask God to only those things which we can already imagine an answer in our own head. No, ask God for things for which we can’t even begin to imagine an answer. Jesus performs miracles, because he wants to make people happy, and he is the source of happiness.
Now, also, when it comes to asking for miraculous things of God, we should always ask in the name of Jesus, which means, according to the will of Jesus, whatever would glorify the name of Jesus. In our reading, the name of Jesus is glorified by the people, even though Jesus doesn’t glorify his own name, and asks the people to be quiet about it.
Jesus says in many places: Ask, and you will receive. Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. He says: Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. He says: If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move and nothing will be impossible for you.
Now, often when we hear these passages of Jesus, we can become discouraged by them, because we think: I’ve asked for this or that, and I never received it. Maybe I don’t have a strong enough faith.
Well, of course, your faith is weak. Everyone’s faith is weak, and is not as strong as it should be. When we talk about “salvation by faith” and “justification by faith”, we’re not talking about strong faith, because otherwise we would be justified by strength, and saved by our own strength. Rather, Jesus is the one who is strong, who sacrificed himself for us, and died for us, and we trust in him, in all of our weakness.
So, Jesus actually does want to encourage us in asking him for things for which we can’t see an answer. We should not be ashamed to ask him for such things, and also to persist and keep asking him, and not to give up. Because, you see, in our reading today, Jesus addresses the needs of this man in a way in which he is very clear that it is Jesus who has healed him and no one else. And sometimes, in our lives, it takes some time for us to recognise that it has been Jesus who has answered our prayer, for us to see him and recognise that it really was him, and it was not by our own doing and our own efforts. Sometimes, even Jesus really does answer our prayer, and we don’t even notice it anyway.
Of course, sometimes in Pentecostal circles, people carry on as if we should all line up and receive our miracle on tap. Let’s also remember that we need to keep our eyes focussed on Jesus, and whatever it is that he decides for our lives, and not look to the thing we ask for and make it a kind of idol. For example, let’s say we have become paralysed in one leg. Then a person looks for a miraculous healing, but in such a way that it doesn’t matter whether God grants it or the devil gives it. Jesus prophesies that false prophets will also perform miracles. We don’t seek miracles in such a way that we sell our soul to the devil. So, we should always commend ourselves into the hands of Jesus, and say to him: Jesus, I’m praying about this thing. I know that you can do all things, and I pray that you would glorify your name in me in such a way that I learn to bear this cross as long as you would have me bear it. But also, if it would glorify your name, that this thing would be taken away, then I pray that you would do it. But if I glorify your name that I would continue to bear it, then I pray that you would glorify your name in me in such a way that I may have the strength and the faith to bear it. In everything, we pray that Jesus would glorify his name.
But let’s also look at another aspect of this reading. Jesus actually shows us here how people are converted. The man who is brought to Jesus is actually deaf and dumb. He can’t hear and he can’t speak. And when it comes to spiritual matters, we are the same. Without the Holy Spirit, we can’t actually hear God’s Word, and we can’t actually speak it. St Paul says in Ephesians: you were dead in the trespasses and sins… but God made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved… And so, if we hear the Word of God and believe it and trust in Jesus, this has happened because Jesus has actually come and sent to us the Holy Spirit. He has come to us, he has baptised us, he has absolved us and spoken his forgiveness to us, he has preached his Word into our ears, and he has put his fingers into our ears and uncorked them, if your like, by the power of His Holy Spirit. Even in the Baptism, he has made sure, just like in the way that he did with this deaf and mute man, that we can actually see his Word and his Holy Spirit apply specifically to us, with the water actually coming down on our head personally.
In a similar way, with the Lord’s Supper, he actually wants to make sure that we can see and taste and experience him actually feed us and enter into us for our continual encouragement and forgiveness and strengthening as Christians, by giving us his body and blood through these earthly means of bread and wine. It’s like he touches our tongue, just like he did for this man in our reading, and he wants us to know that this is really for us individually and personally. And so, it is a great wonder and a great astonishment and amazing thing that he should do all things well for us like this.
Sometimes, too, in our lives, we see people whom we love, who are close to us, who we really and genuinely feel for, who seem to be completely unable to hear the Word of God, and are deaf to it, and because they are deaf to it, they can’t speak it, they can’t pray, they can’t do anything. In this case, we should be like this man’s friends who brought him to Jesus to lay his hand upon them. He will not just lay his hand upon them, but unblock their ears and release their tongue. And in these cases, we should not despair and give up hope when something doesn’t happen immediately, but persist, and let their inability to speak spur us on more and more to speak for them, and intercede for them, and pray for their conversion, and for their opening of their ears and hearts. Because, this is exactly how God has dealt with us. If we hear and speak his Word, if we believe with our hearts that Jesus has risen from dead, it is because the Holy Spirit has come and worked this in us. Jesus himself has come and spoke to us his own “Ephphatha”, and says to us, “Be opened”. Don’t be deaf any longer, but hear, and believe and speak. And so, we should continually come to Jesus with our songs of praise and say: He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak. Amen.
The peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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