He does all things well

 

Bring out the people who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet have ears!  All the nations gather together, and the peoples assemble.  Who among them can declare this, and show us the former things?  Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right, and let them hear and say, it is true.  --Isaiah 43:8-9

When my kids were small we took them to see Toy Story On Ice.  I know, I know--as an adult, you think of any Ice Capades type show and roll your eyes.  But when the dancers were out on the ice in perfect rows performing in unison, in their sparkly costumes with colorful lights shining on them from above, my daughter pressed her hands to her cheeks and exclaimed, "Mommy!  I can't believe my glasses."

There are few things that can cause us to stand in slack-jawed amazement.  Few things in this world render us speechless.  We have become so jaded by the things of this world that we have ceased to be amazed.  Imagine, though, if we had been alive when Jesus was alive and on this earth.  We would be like the residents of the Decapolis in Mark 7:37 who were "astonished beyond measure"--literally "hyperastonished" (Greek hyperperissos ekplesso, translated "thoroughly astounded and completely overwhelmed" in the Amplified Bible).

But I'm getting ahead of myself.  Let's look at the passage:

Then He returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis.  And they brought to Him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged Him to lay His hand on him.  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." And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.  And Jesus charged them to tell no one.  But the more He charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.  And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well.  He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."  --Mark 7:31-37

Jesus and the Disciples had just left the seaside area between the cities of Tyre and Sidon on the Mediterranean coast.  They traveled on foot to the Sea of Galilee to the east, and then went to the east side of the Sea of Galilee to the Roman outpost of ten cities known as the Decapolis.  Huge crowds gathered around Him; some to be healed, some to hear His teaching, but all of them wanted to be near Him.

And unidentified man was brought to Him, one who was deaf and could not speak clearly.  The fact that he could speak at all probably meant that he was not born deaf.  The Greek word mogalilos indicates that he was speaking with difficulty, but was not mute.  Perhaps you have heard a hearing impaired person speak publicly--you can understand him or her, but sometimes it takes a bit of concentration.

Jesus took him away by himself, to a more private and secluded place.  You must remember that Mark, the author of this Gospel, was not one of the disciples; he likely heard about this second- or third-hand from others who were there, but even those who were there could only observe from afar, because Jesus took the man aside.  They saw Him put His fingers in the man's ears.  They saw what looked like Jesus spitting, maybe on His own hands but maybe into the man's mouth.  The Greek verb ptuo is used just 3 times in association with Jesus, and each time it dealt with healing.  John 9:6 says Jesus spat on the ground and made mud or clay with His saliva.  Mark 8:23 says He healed a blind man by spitting in his eyes (this may have been two accounts of the same healing).  In our passage, however, it was not the eyes that were opened, but the tongue that was loosened.  I tend to think (and I could be so wrong here) that although it appeared from afar that Jesus spat into the man's mouth, He actually expelled air in a puff that looked like He was spitting, but no saliva was expelled.  This would correlate with the Creation story where God breathed life into Man. Here, Jesus was breathing life into the man's tongue, so that he could not only speak, but speak clearly.

Next, Jesus looked to Heaven and sighed.  I think He saw more than just the sky when He looked up.  I think He saw God smiling down on Him, and the angels who ministered before His throne.  I think He was homesick, longing for God's presence.  I think that if we looked less at the world and all the evil therein, and turned our attention to God, we would begin to be amazed.  If we walk daily with Jesus, we can see supernatural things, things that are out of this world, and we will be happier for it.  I think if we spend any time at all outside of God's presence, not walking with Jesus, we become a little homesick, too.

When Jesus spoke, He said to the man, "Ephphatha."  According to Strong's Definitions, this word has Chaldean roots.  It is the only time the word appears in Scripture, and I can find no significance to it, other than the story that precedes this one in the book of Mark, when Jesus spoke with the Syro-Phonician woman, who also had Chaldean roots.  Maybe Mark was trying to tie the two stories together, or maybe the term had significance to someone who was present there in the Decapolis (which was not a Jewish region, and was outside of Israel proper).  

The word means, "Be opened," and that's just what happened.  The man could hear, and he spoke plainly.  Those around were amazed, even astounded.  They couldn't believe their eyes and ears.  The words they spoke were profound:  He has done all things well.

Think about this: we speak of people as flawed--"Nobody's perfect," we say.  He has done all things well.  We look at our lives and sometimes it seems everything is spiraling out of control.  If we look to Jesus, though, we know He has done all things well.  There are many times when things are so out of control, we don't believe that even God can fix the situation we are in.  What does Scripture say?  Say it with me boys and girls: He has done all things well.  We listen too much to those who are not called according to His purpose, the atheists and agnostics and those without faith, who say Jesus was just a man, a prophet maybe, but surely not without sin.  Then that still, small voice says in our hearts, He has done all things well.

If we set our hearts on things above (Colossians 3:2), we can be blown away by the power and majesty of God, and overwhelmed by the grace and mercy of Jesus.  We can be hyperastonished by what the Lord is doing, and has done, and will do.  If we live in His presence daily, and walk with Him moment by moment, we, too, can be a little bit homesick for Heaven.  Even now, Lord Jesus, come!  But until that day, let me sit at Your feet, hear Your voice, do Your will in this earth as long as I live.