Mark 7:34-37

Passage

Jesus looks up to heaven.  He sighs.  He then commands the man’s ears and mouth to be open.  The man was immediately healed.  Jesus commanded the people to tell nobody, but the more the people saw the miracle the less they could possibly keep quiet about it.  The people were astonished by what they saw.  They were especially astonished that He could make the deaf hear and the mute to speak.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Jesus looks up to heaven and then sighs.  This word in the Greek doesn’t simply mean to exhale; it means to sigh out of a deep emotional or spiritual concern.  Look at the sequence of events that happen in this story.  First, Jesus sees the crowd put this man before him as though they want a spectacle.  Jesus pulls him away from the people and moves to heal him.  Then He looks up into heaven and can see the contrast between the Father’s will and the will of the people around Him.  No wonder He sighs.  Jesus has a deep concern for humanity and how easily we ignore the agenda of the Father and choose our own agenda.

How often are you guilty of missing what God is doing in your life because you are too busy doing what you want to do?  Why is it so easy to get distracted from the work of God?

Second Thought:

Again we see Jesus commanding the people to not make a big deal about what has happened.  As I have taught in other places where this has happened, Jesus is no doubt concerned that the more people talk about what He’s doing the closer the crucifixion will draw as the Jewish leaders will want to get rid of Him sooner.  But I think here there is an additional comment being made.  Jesus knows that these people wanted to see a spectacle.  They don’t want to talk about Jesus because of their belief; they want to talk about the spectacle because it will increase their own 15 minutes of fame since they were actually there to see it.  They aren’t genuinely spreading the Word of God and telling people about Jesus.  They are glory seeking.  There is no motivation of humbleness in their testimony.

Does it make sense at first read why Jesus would be telling people not to talk about Him?  What does this story tell us about God’s concern not just for what happens but also for the motivation behind what happens?

Third Thought:

The people were nonetheless astonished by what they saw.  A man who could not hear and could also not speak properly was now functioning completely normally.  That doesn’t happen just every day.  Jesus is an astonishing man.  There is reason to be in awe over what He can accomplish because He is God.

Are you ever in awe of God?  What usually leads to you being in awe of God?  What things about God do you typically find awe-inspiring?

Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 8:1-4