Almighty God, help me to take to heart those things you would show me in your Word today and to use them in ways that can make a difference for eternity.
Read MARK 7:24–37
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Jesus Honors a Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith
24 Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre.[a] He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. 25 In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.
27 “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
28 “Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
29 Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”
30 She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
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.[b] 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.”
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
‘Silently now I wait for thee, / ready, my God, thy will to see. / Open my ears, illumine me, / Spirit divine!’1
Think Further
Jesus’ initial mission was to the Jews, the remnant of God’s ancient people. Only after Easter was it clear that his mission embraced the whole world. The wideness of God’s ultimate plan could not be contained. Mark emphasizes Jesus’ visits to foreign places. In Tyre, in today’s Lebanon, Jesus’ reputation preceded him. A local woman, not a Jew, desperately crossed the ethnic boundary to seek her daughter’s healing. Jesus’ response seems harsher in English than Greek. Jews belittled foreigners as ‘wild dogs,’ but Jesus uses the word for pets, prompting the woman’s response that pet dogs ate table scraps. I have come to the view that Jesus’ apparent harshness arises from the condensation of a longer conversation, making Jesus seem dismissive and brusque, whereas he was, by nature, accepting and expansive rather than terse. Jesus’ two sentences here are Mark’s summary of Jesus’ conversation. Jesus accepts the woman’s faith. In the coming kingdom of God, ‘There is neither Jew nor Gentile’ for all are one in Christ.2
Jesus and his followers then journey from Tyre to the Greek colonies in Decapolis. Here, it is possibly not a foreigner who comes to Jesus but an indigenous Jew. Jesus gives the deaf man his undivided attention. My deaf colleagues in the Auslan (Australian Sign Language) Bible Translation enlightened me. Jesus takes the man aside to avoid visual distraction, communicating his intentions in gestures. Then Jesus speaks one word, ephphatha. This always puzzled me. Why speak at all? My deaf friends understood. Deaf people can lip-read only their mother’s language. Jesus spoke to him in Aramaic. The man read the lips and simultaneously heard the word. Hearing and speech returned. The messianic prophecies were being fulfilled.3 For those whose eyes and ears were open to the truth, God was present in Jesus.
Apply
May we have ears to hear, eyes to see, minds to understand Jesus, and hearts to follow him.
Closing prayer
Jesus, thank you for the many ways you speak to me, both in the Word and in life. Help me take to heart the things you tell me; help me to apply them in ways that glorify you.
Last Updated on October 31, 2024 by kingstar
