Healing of the Deaf and Dumb Man

Introduction and General Setting of the Miracle

0:03 This sermon was preached on Sunday morning, January 5th, 1986, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey.

0:16 Now let us turn together in the Word of God to the seventh chapter of Mark's Gospel.

0:24 Will you follow, please, as I read the concluding paragraph of the seventh chapter, the paragraph which begins with verse 31, Mark 7 and verse 31.

0:41 Mark, writing concerning the activity of the Lord Jesus at this point in his earthly ministry, informs us that again he went out from the borders of Tyre and came through Sidon unto the Sea of Galilee, through or in the midst of the borders of Decapolis. And they bring unto him one that was deaf and had an impediment in his speech. And they beseech him to lay his hand upon him. And he, that is our Lord, took him aside from the multitude privately and put his fingers into his ears.

1:23 And he spat and touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said unto him, Ephatha. That is, be opened. And his ears were opened.

1:40 And the bond of his tongue was loosed. And he spoke plainly. And he charged them that they should tell no one. But the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it.

1:56 And they were beyond measure astonished, saying, He has done all things well. He makes even the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak. We come this morning to consider this miracle of restored hearing and of restored speech. One of those miracles found recorded only in the Gospel of Mark.

2:29 You could read all of Matthew, all of Luke, and all of John, and you would have no hint that such a miracle ever occurred. In God's inscrutable wisdom, the Holy Spirit prompted Mark and Mark alone to record this incident of hearing and, with typical Markian touch, to record it with graphic and minute detail. Now, at the outset of our study this morning, let me simply remind you of the general setting in which this incident is brought before us. According to chapter 7, In verse 24, Our Lord had left the area around Capernaum, that would be on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, and had gone northward and further westward in the direction of Phoenicia. Now, the two notable cities of Phoenicia were Tyre and Sidon, and so Mark tells us in verse 24 of chapter 7 that our Lord had gone into the borderlands, the lands of Tyre and of Sidon. There, our Lord, seeking retreat from the growing opposition of Herod and also of the religious crowd who were increasingly hostile to him,

3:52 desires to have a period of concentrated attention given to the instruction of his disciples. We are now approximately one year before his crucifixion and subsequent resurrection. And we are now approaching the resurrection and ascension back to the right hand of the Father. Now, while he is in that borderland, according to verses 25 through 30, his privacy is interrupted by the intrusion of this desperate Gentile woman who came with the tremendous passion to intercede on behalf of her demon-possessed daughter.

4:35 And as Paul Harvey says, for you who are here, for you who are here, for you who are here, for you who are here, for you who are here, and now you know the rest of the story. Well, after the marvelous intervention of our Lord in the life of this woman and her daughter, Mark tells us that he went out from the borders of Tyre. So the first thing he tells us about this miracle, and there are three main categories in the narrative, is the general location of the miracle. Verse 31, the general location is given to us in these words.

5:12 He again went out from the borders of Tyre and came through Sidon unto the Sea of Galilee in the midst of the borders of Decapolis. Now because men would be wiser than God, both the commentators and the people called the textual critics, that is those who try to ascertain what the precise words of Mark were, they've had real problems with this verse. Because it simply doesn't make much sense in terms of our reckoning. What it tells us is this, that after Jesus healed the Syrophoenician woman's daughter somewhere in the borderlands of Tyre and Sidon, that sit like this on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea north of Galilee, he went out from that area, actually went through either the city of Sidon or the area that would be in Galilee, which means he went further north at least 20 miles, for Sidon was 20 miles north of Tyre, and further westward, and then probably if he went up what we would call the inland route, he had to cross mountain passes to come into that area and back across and then a circuitous route that would take him south and east down the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee into the Sea of Galilee.

6:35 He went into an area over here that is called Decapolis, the area of the Ten Cities, the area that now we know as Jordan. And our Lord is found in that general area of the borders of Decapolis as Decapolis pressed up onto the region around the Sea of Galilee for both here and in what is roughly a parallel passage as far as the general location of this event is concerned, Matthew 15, and verse 29, Jesus is near to the Sea of Galilee, but he is not actually at the sea. Now this region was a region in which there were mixed inhabitants. Some who have studied the history of the day assert that it was predominantly Gentile country. Others say no, there were large pockets of Jews, and so it's an ongoing debate. But this much seems to be suggested that Jesus was still staying away from those areas where he would most likely be met with the open opposition of the religious leaders such as he had met earlier in this chapter in the area of Capernaum, such as he will meet again later on when he makes his way down to Jerusalem. But from the roughly parallel passage in Matthew 15,

8:05 there is some suggestion that there were more than an ordinary number of Gentiles present, for when Matthew records the many miracles that were performed in this general area, he tells us that the result of those miracles was this, Matthew 15, 31, and they glorified the God of Israel. The intimation being that here were Gentiles glorifying, not their pagan idols, but glorifying the God of Israel who had sent his Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was performing these mighty works. Well, so much then for what Mark tells us about the general location of the miracle. Now we come in the second place to examine the specific details of the miracle, and I have grouped them under three headings. First of all, our attention is directed to the man's need. Verse 32, the man's need.

The Man's Need and Jesus' Specific Dealings

9:13 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech, and they besought him to lay his hand upon him. An unnamed man is brought by some unnamed friends in the midst of a gathering, in the midst of a gathering, in the midst of a gathering, in the midst of a gathering, in the midst of a gathering crowd. For according to verse 33, when Jesus begins to deal with the man, it says he took him aside from the multitude privately. So the picture seems to be clear, that when the Lord Jesus reaches this area in Decapolis, somewhat near to the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, probably the southeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, a crowd begins to gather. And in the midst of that crowd, several individuals come bringing or carrying, taking along with them this unnamed man whose need is very clearly described in the passage. First of all, we are told that he was deaf. He was a man locked in that soundless world of the deaf.

10:35 He never heard, for at least some time, the chirping of a bird to cheer his spirits on a dreary day. He never heard the sounds of little children laughing and playing, or at least for some time he had not. And at this time, he was shut off from those privileges. He could hear no songs and psalms to cheer his heart.

11:01 He could not communicate to others or receive communication in any extensive way from others. He was shut in to that world which only the deaf understand in its full extent of its imprisonment. Now added to this, Mark tells us that he was literally thick-voiced. Not that he was totally mute, but that he had, as the 1901 renders it, an impediment of speech.

11:34 The indications are that it was one time he had the faculty of hearing and the faculty of speech. But as some of you know, if you've had relatives or loved ones or a friend who has lost hearing, in time the faculty of speech begins to go because we only articulate clearly as we are able to hear how we are to pronounce words, and then are able to hear our own words coming back on our own ears. And I think of a dear friend of mine who's in the United States, in the United Kingdom, who at one time did have the faculty of speech and of hearing, but lost his hearing and over the years his faculty of speech has become greatly impaired and it's difficult to understand him when he speaks. It's not impossible, but difficult. And I can remember the thrill I had when the first time I preached in the church where he is a member, he came up to me afterward and said in his garbled speech, I've arranged, and every word said more than I could ever say. And I said to him, I'm sorry.

12:36 What is it? He was telling me he could understand every word I had spoken. He was reading my lips and my hands and everything else that preached, I imagine. But his speech was very garbled.

12:49 Well, this man's condition was in that advanced stage. Now he was totally deaf whether by disease or accident, whether it was a judgment of God for some sin, the text is utterly silent. But this we know. His need was to be located.

13:06 in the fact that his ears could no longer receive and transmit the impression of sound to his brain, and he had a very aggravated speech impediment. This man knew not only the horrible pressure of that world of silence, but if, as the text seems to indicate, at one time he had the faculty of speech, he now knew the frustration of being able to frame words in his mind, to communicate accurately his thought, and yet was unable to frame those words with his faculties of speech. At one time he knew what it was to have exchange of thought by means of words, something we take for granted. I'm sure many of us go weeks and months and never thank God for our ears, and for the faculties of speech, and for the faculties of speech, and for the faculties of speech, and for the faculties of speech, and for the faculty of hearing. But this man, having known it and now no longer knowing it, felt the frustration, no doubt had experienced the humiliation of being the brunt of laughter and rude jests when he would try to speak, and people would pitter and snicker, and little children would point the finger and poke fun at him, for human nature is no different in

14:26 any generation. Well, that's a brief description of the man's need as it's set before us in the text. But now then notice secondly under the specific details of the miracle, not only the man's need, but Jesus' dealings with the man, verses 33 and 34. His friends bring him to Jesus, and they beseech, they plead, they entreat with him, they beg him that he would lay his hand upon him. They have heard enough about Jesus, and perhaps if we place this in the description, others all around him are being healed of various diseases. They are convinced that if the Lord Jesus will lay his hand upon him, help can be given to their friend. So they come with a prescription as to how the help should be given. They beg the Lord Jesus, they plead with him to lay his hand upon him, there in the midst of the multitude. But now

15:28 Jesus' dealings with the man are not according to their prescription, but according to the will of the Lord Jesus Christ. And in giving these minute details of Jesus' dealings with the man, Mark does something very unusual. He gives us three couplets of a participle in which he gives us what we would call the secondary activity, and then an ordinary verb in which he gives us the dominant activity. And you have three couplets leading up to what the grammarians call a historical present, in which he shifts into the present tense, and he wants us, as it were, having had those three couplets of description, painting the way to stand right there and be eyewitnesses of the word of command by which the man is delivered from his deaf and mute state. Notice the first couplet. We are told that Jesus took him aside from the multitude. Mark says in the first couplet, And put his fingers in his ears.

16:38 A more wooden but yet more accurate rendering would be Having taken him to himself from the crowd, that's the secondary activity, now the primary activity, he thrust his fingers into his ears. Now, can you picture that? Hear the man who cannot communicate, we don't know what kind of crude sign language his friends may have used to intimate that they were leading him to the great miracle worker? We have many questions. I have them. I've lived with the text for hours, and I have dozens of questions that are not answered by the text. But at this point, somehow the Lord Jesus intimated, either by taking His hand, putting His hand upon His shoulder, by motioning to Him, the text tells us that having taken Him to Himself from the crowd. In other words, whatever is to be done is going to be done in intimate, face-to-face, interpersonal dealings between Jesus and the deaf man. He's not going to be lost in the crowd. Our Lord is not going to give the impression that He has not been

17:57 lost in the crowd. He is not going to give the impression that He has not been lost in the crowd. He heals wholesale. He takes Him aside to Himself, and then, if you'll simply use your own imagination, you can see how close He drew Him to Himself, because your arms, if you stick your fingers at a right angle, only have about a two-foot distance. And Jesus, and the verb is a strong one, sometimes it has a weaker meaning, but most of the commentators are careful to underscore it, Jesus forced His fingers into the man's ears. Now, try to think what was going on. Here, you've been deaf. For a period of time, and some friends bring you to someone, and you're caught up in all of this. They can't explain it in detail, and then the person to whom you are brought suddenly puts his hand upon your shoulder, takes you by the hand, goes behind a rock under a tree. I don't know where, but it simply says he got away from the multitude for private dealings, and as you're looking at him, he draws you to him, and when you get close enough, suddenly two fingers are jammed into your ears. That's the first part. Having taken him to himself, he thrust his fingers into his ears. The second couplet

19:04 is this, and having spat, he touched his tongue. Now, if you want to get laughs, read the commentators on this. I laughed so hard last night telling one of my fellow elders what one of the commentators suggested, but Mark simply tells us that having spat, Jesus spat. He did the thing which if you kids don't know, he did the thing which if you kids don't know, he did the thing which kids do, mom and dad will spank you. You spit in the living room or even spit out in the backyard at someone, but the text says Jesus spat. Now, one of the problems is we impose our own cultural standards on another culture, and we seem to be offended by it. We must not do that. Now, some have contended that at that time, both in the Greek and in the Hebrew mind, there was thought to be some healing virtue in spittle, and there was a commentator who gave some learned footnotes of some German works in the page numbers.

20:07 Well, I don't have the works and can't read German, so I couldn't validate it, and I didn't have time to get the books if I did have them to Hartmut. So, I don't know. But all we know is that it does tell us that the secondary activity was one of spitting, having spat, and whether the Lord took some of the spittle from his own fingers and then reached out, it doesn't say. It just says he spat.

20:32 He spat, and then notice, he touched his tongue. Now, as I tried to relive those activities, I said, wait a minute, nobody can touch my tongue unless I open my mouth and stick it out, or open my mouth wide enough for them to stick their fingers in. So, how the Lord Jesus intimated to this man that he wanted him to open his mouth and stick his tongue out like the doctor says, open your mouth, stick your tongue out, say, ah, I don't know. I'm just reading and trying to expound what it says, but Mark is very careful to mark this out.

21:02 The second couplet, a fine description, having taken him to himself away from the multitude, stuck his fingers in his ears, having spat, he now touches his tongue. And then the third couplet is given to us in these words, and having looked up to heaven, he sighed. Having lifted his eyes up to heaven, that is, the Lord Jesus lifted his eyes. Then the Lord Jesus sighed. Now, this word translated sigh here is precisely the word translated groan. In Romans 8, and again in 2 Corinthians 5, the Holy Spirit making intercession with groanings that cannot be uttered. We that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened. So whether it was a sigh that had, as it were, on the table, or whether it was at the very end of it, a kind of a groan, the word is not that precise. But there was

22:14 involved in it this taking in of an unusual amount of air into the lungs, and then the releasing of it. That's the description given to us. You feel the sense of the situation now? The fingers were in his ears. He's in intimate connection with the Lord Jesus. Our Lord spat and then touched his tongue. Then having looked up into the heavens, he sighed. Now, in that setting, Mark then moves from those tenses that give us the luxury of sitting there as readers of history, and he picks us up out of our chairs and puts us in a time capsule and shoots us right back to that very scene, and then he shifts into the present tense, the historical present. He wants us now having the stage set in our minds.

23:09 Actually, to be there, and as it were, to hear the next words that are uttered. And what are they? All of these things being done, Jesus then speaks in the local language. And here again, there is a debate. Was this strictly Hebrew, or was it that prostituted form of Hebrew called Aramaic? Well, it doesn't matter. Mark tells us that Jesus spoke, ephphatha, that is, be opened. Jesus spoke in an imperative mode, a word which means be thoroughly or completely opened. That's all he did. He spoke one word. He spoke it in the imperative, and

24:02 it was a word that commanded that there be a thorough or a complete opening. It's what I like to think of as the word of God. It's the word of God. It's the word of God. It's the word of God. It's the word of God. It's the word of God. It's the word of God. It's as a reconstructive or even creative command that issued from the lips of Jesus. Well, we've looked at the man's need in the specific details of the miracle, Jesus' dealings with the man, verses 33 to 34. Now, what was the result of these dealings in verse 35? As he gives us the details of the miracle, here's the result of these dealings, verse 35, and His ears were opened, and the bond of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly, distively, markedly, simple matter of fact, that immediately upon the word and command of his hearing was restored, and the fact was immediately restored.

The Immediate Result and Sequel to the Miracle

25:18 With no fanciful incantations, no delay, no manipulation, no psychological pressure brought to bear upon him suddenly, and one can only imagine how this man must have babbled. When he could hear sounds again for the first time, and then could hear his own voice articulating words clearly, he was worse than a kid on Christmas morning who gets the bike he's been longing for, and though there's six inches of snow outside, he'll ride it on the porch, ride it in the living room, and I love to think as I relive the scene what this man must have been like when suddenly all of the sounds began to be registered upon his brain again, and he could speak and communicate to others. Well, those are the details of the miracle as given to us in the text. Now, having examined what we are told about the general location of the miracle, secondly, the details of the miracle, now notice in verses 30, 6, and 7, the sequel to the miracle.

26:27 And here again, Mark gives us three units of thought. After this miracle, what happened? Well, first of all, we have the charge of Jesus in verse 36. And he, Jesus, charged them, that is, at least his friends, and most likely many of the multitude who were witnesses to what happened when this miracle happened.

26:48 When this man came out babbling and speaking and using his newly restored faculties of speech, he charged them, and the word is an intense word. It was a solemn charge or command that they should tell no one. He says, don't blaze in this abroad. Enjoy the feeling virtue and power spread abroad.

27:17 Now, there were good and wise reasons for this. They are not given to us in the text. But as we read, in the surrounding area of Mark's gospel and compare this with other parallel passages, most likely it was our Lord's design at this juncture to begin to phase out the miracle working dimension of his own validation of his claims. There were yet some mighty miracles to be done.

27:49 But at this stage, there has been sufficient validation. All throughout that area of Galilee. Now our Lord is more concerned that he concentrate his attention upon the instruction to give to the disciples. And so our Lord who had told the gathering demoniac, who was from Decapolis, that he could not come with him.

28:14 But he was to go back and tell people what great things were done. And in Mark 5.20, it tells us that he went back to Decapolis. And there, the news, of the mighty intervention of Christ spread through that whole area.

28:27 But now at this stage, He solemnly charges them not to make this known. But then we read in the sequel not only the charge of Jesus, but the disobedience or the indiscretion of the multitudes. But the more He charged them, the more a great deal continually publishing it. And the word for publish is the word generally used for preaching.

28:54 And the emphasis seems to be that in direct proportion to the intensity and repetition of Jesus' prohibition was their proclamation. He keeps charging them and they keep proclaiming. Strange, isn't it? But that's what the text tells us.

29:17 And then after this description of the charge of Jesus, the disobedience or the indiscretion of the multitude, then you have the climactic confession of the multitudes. And then you have the climactic confession of the multitudes. And then you have the climactic confession of the multitude in verse 37. And they were beyond measure astonished, saying, He has done all things well.

29:40 He makes even the deaf and the dumb to speak. This climactic confession of the multitude points to two things. The inward state of mind and then the substance of what was articulated with their lips. What was the inward state of mind?

29:58 They were beyond measure astonished. This word astonished is one of Mark's favorite words as he describes Christ, the mighty worker. But here even Mark outmarks himself. And he says they were to the point of having, as we would say in the current vernacular, having their minds, they were astonished beyond measure.

30:33 And then when that astonishment settled back to the place where they could make an intelligent assessment of what they had seen and heard, then they break out in this confession. He has done all things well. And the emphasis in the original falls upon the quality of what he has done. Well, well done all.

31:05 They focus upon one of those things that he has done well. He is making even the deaf to hear and the dumb.

Application 1: Convincing Validation of Jesus' Identity as Messiah

31:20 Well, there's the passage. I've sought and just open up and explore. I've found what Mark has recorded. Now then, having done that, we ask the burning and all-important question.

31:35 What is all of this meant to convey to us? What is the abiding message of this miracle? Surely, if Mark has taken us by that linguistic device of the historical present and planted us right down in the midst of that scene that we might relive it and hear the word of Jesus, eff-ha-ha! And then see the man's responses.

31:59 His ears are open and his tongue is loose. And see the Lord Jesus charging the multitudes and their refusal to obey. What is all of this to us? Well, let me set before you several lines of application.

32:15 First of all, this passage constituted convincing validation of the true identity of Jesus. It constituted convincing validation of the true identity of Jesus. You see, as we go through these passages and we come upon miracle after miracle and we learn from these miracles very practical lessons as we saw last week, the Syrophoenician woman, a model of intercessory prayer that prevails with God, we must never forget that there was an undergirding, unchanging purpose in all of these passages. in all of these miracles.

33:00 And that purpose was not primarily to teach us valid lessons about Christ's dealings with men, nor was it primarily to meet the need of those that were healed. The undergirding purpose was to validate His claims to be Messiah. God prophesied over hundreds of years that the world's salvation would be mediated through one God. through one God.

33:30 Who would be anointed of Jehovah to be God's final prophet, God's and God's mediatorial king. And by these prophecies God had created a messianic expectation in Israel and some of it spilled out even into some parts of the Gentile world as we know from Matthew chapter 2 in the coming of the Magi. Well, you see, in this setting there was something of that messianic expectation. And those who studied the rabbis and have been sensitive to the analysis of that messianic expectation all agree that one dimension of messianic expectation was focused upon Isaiah 35 verses 5 and 6. In the ages would find fulfillment. Then the blind shall be opened and the ears shall be unsullied. Then shall the lame man and the tongue of the dust sing.

34:49 And among the many strands of messianic expectation was this expectation that when Messiah comes the blind, the deaf will speak and performs this miracle. The confession of the multitude is one of admiration and no doubt for not a few one of recognition and the mute, the ones without speech to be able to be speaking ones. And you remember how this theme is picked up in the preaching of the apostles. Peter could say, a man approved among you by mighty signs and wonders. That one whom God anointed with the Holy Ghost. And then he describes his validating deeds of miracle. Well, you say, what's all of that say?

35:53 To me, it says precisely, this dated his claims to be Messiah. Then he is indeed the world's only Savior. And if he is the validated and only Savior, then you have no choice not at leisure to weigh whether or not you will do what God says with respect to his messianic Son. He says of him, kiss on him in the committment and ye perish from the way. God is, he has exalted his Son, his claims in the days of his flesh. He vindicated those claims in his resurrection. And he is exalted to the right hand of God the Father as God's messianic King.

37:03 And you know what his next great activity as messianic King will be, the one that will be visible to all. It will be the day of judgment when he will come as the messianic. Come ye blessed or depart ye. My friends, you've got to have dealings with him as the messianic King.

37:34 You have no choice but to condemn yourself, unconceive yourself. There's nothing you can do to avoid dealings with God's Messiah. That's why the scripture says, God commands all men to repent because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained and hath given assurance unto all in that he raised him from the dead. My friend, the message of this passage is that Jesus Christ is God's validated Messiah. He's no sham Messiah. He's no fake Messiah. And he will fulfill the single messianic function that yet awaits him as surely as he fulfilled every one that it was his duty to fulfill in the days of his flesh.

Application 2: Moving Manifestation of Jesus' Character (Compassion and Sovereignty)

38:38 You will need Jesus who put his fingers whose spats had be opened. He's going to say to you, come. But secondly, it constitutes a moving manifest. A manifestation of the character of Jesus. It constitutes a moving manifestation of the character of Jesus.

39:36 Let me put it this way. If I'm taken aside alone with Jesus, what's he really going to be like? If I should have personal face-to-face dealings with Jesus, what can I expect him to be like? You see, that's among other things why we have the gospel records.

40:00 That communion with Christ may not be some ethereal mystical experience, but it will take on the concreteness of the Jesus of Holy Scripture. For he is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And that's why the livingness of the Christ of these records is a precious tenet of Christian experience. We do not simply read these things and study them to admire what he once was.

40:30 What? As long as we keep dealing with him in the wonder of all that he is to needy sinners. I say this passage sets before us a moving manifestation of the character of Jesus. And there are two aspects of his character that, as I have meditated on the passage, it seems to me are unusually highlighted.

40:58 And I would not say that this exhausts the truth. But at least I believe it's part of the truth. And what are those two aspects of His character, unusually highlighted in this passage, first of all, here we see the sensitive, compassionate heart of our Lord. The sensitive, compassionate heart of our Lord. What is the rationale behind all the strange things that He did before He issued the word of command be opened? What was Jesus doing? Having drawn man away from the multitude to Himself, His fingers in His ears, having spent to record those details. Well, Mark never moves from His purpose articulated in chapter 1 and verse 1. He wants to convey

42:06 good news. Good news about Jesus. Sinners, to have Him to be a sensitive and compelled in the place of this man. Unable to receive verbal friends. You'll notice it doesn't say He came to Jesus, but it says were the ones who brought to Jesus. And they know whether there was some reluctance on His part. We do not know, but that there should be fear and some apprehension. It's obvious. A man is carried along, and suddenly he's taken apart, alone. Jesus cannot communicate

43:10 with words, so what does He do? Putting Himself in the place of His friends. Putting Himself in the place of His friends. As it were, under the skin and behind the eyeballs and within the felt sensitivity of the man, the Lord does a little ad hoc construction of sign language. These things would convey something to this man in his condition. What's his problem? His death. So Jesus is saying by symbols, why have I drawn you away from the multitude? Placed you just an arm's length from my person. Eyeball, why have I done this? Saying by symbols, why have I drawn you away from the multitude? Placed you just an arm's length from my person? Saying by symbols, why have I drawn you away from the multitude?

43:52 Saying by symbols, why have I drawn you away from the multitude? Placed you just an arm's length from my person? Saying by symbols, why have I drawn you away from the multitude? Cool.

43:54 Geek. As soon as it whispered in your ears, something good and good to you on thekit keeping as a symbol that an city I Jones I'm going to do something, some intonation as I ran my fingers into your ear chambers. And surely as my fingers go in to your ear, by human putting myself on physical testimony like I'm to do something to open those year. And whether the Lord took some of his own spittle to convey the concept that there was virtue from his person that was going to touch this man's tongue, or whether simply by symbol I'm going to do something to open those ears. It may look gone, but going to touch this man's tongue, or whether simply by spitting he directed the man's attention to his own mouth and then gave some intimation that he should open his, I do not know. But again, the text is clear that there were two activities that are focused upon the mouth, the spitting and the touching of his tongue. And this conveyed in sign language to the man that he was going to do something at the precise point of his need, his ears and his tongue. And then it says, having looked up to heaven. Now, almost everyone knows what

45:02 that signifies. When a group of pagans are together and in the midst of a distressing situation, someone looks up and goes like this. Everyone knows that at least he's going through a mock sign language of lifting up his heart and praying to some God somewhere. He's saying, this situation is beyond me.

45:21 And when the Holy Son of God, who obviously had often prayed in that posture from what we read in John 17, when the Son of God in all density and the warmth and the livingness of his unbroken communion with him lifted up his eyes to heaven, one can only begin to imagine with the most active imagination how eloquent sign language must have been to that man. He was saying, oh.

45:54 Oh, man, with impediment of speech, the help of heaven is to come down upon you. And then Jesus sighed. And here again, I would not be dogmatic, but I believe there's a parallel in the sigh and the groan by the tomb of Lazarus. Here it was evident that the Lord Jesus was not going through a mechanical process like the so-called modern healers with their formulae and their ritual and their arts.

46:30 Many of them are nothing more than money and fleecing people. No thing. Every time he entered in sympathetically, men in terrible sins. You remember that when that woman came up and just touched him, he said, virtues gone out. It cost him something. And our Lord, as he takes upon himself and as it were, drinks into his soul, the horrible reality that those deaf ears. That stammering tongue were ultimately the fruit of sin, that great enemy of man, and that he had come forth as God's David to slay that Goliath, his level of engagement with sin and its consequences without health within his own breast. And he sighed. You see, our

47:36 Lord shows in this combination of sign language something of his compassion and sense of love. We see not only the sensitivity to men in their need, but then he shows another dimension of his character, and it's what I'm calling his sovereign and awesome. We see not only the sensitive, compassionate heart of Jesus, but something of the sovereign and awesome. Carmen says, lay your hand upon him. Jesus responds by saying, or in symbolic action intimating, no, I have sinned. I have sinned. I have sinned. I have sinned. I have sinned.

48:23 I have sinned. I have sinned. I have sinned. I have sinned. I have sinned. I have sinned.

48:24 My own way to convey my healing virtue and to accomplish my purposes, I am in the right to say how, in what manner, in what circumstances, healing will come. You have brought, but having brought him to me, the prerogatives are all mine now. He manifests his sovereignty in the exercise of his power, but also the awesomeness of his power. What did he do?

48:55 to open those deaf ears and to loose that stammering tongue. He simply spoke one word at all. One word.

49:07 He did not have to enter into a lengthy prayer to his father. He did not have to go through an extensive ritual. He simply...

49:15 I like to believe that before the word was over, the man's ears were open and he heard the Fatha. He lip-read the first part and he heard the last part.

49:31 He opened the Son of God.

49:38 A word of God. There is nothing that can withstand that word.

49:45 The same voice that spoke in Genesis 1 and said, Let there be light! And there was light.

49:51 Let the seas swarm! And they swarmed. Let the heavens be filled!

50:01 Now you join those two things in the Lord Jesus. And you see how this preaches to us today. If I have personal, face-to-face dealings with Jesus, what can I expect Him to be like? Well, He will be precisely now what He was then.

50:20 He will be the Jesus of sensitive, compassionate heart.

50:33 We're simply of sovereign and awesome power. We might admire Him from a distance as one admires the rugged majesty of snow-capped mountains, but would never want to make such mountains the dwelling place. We might admire Him as sinners with all accumulated liability to divine wrath. Punishment would never feel free to draw near unless we knew something of the winsomeness of His sensitive, caring heart.

51:13 But now reverse it. If Jesus were sensitive and compassionate in heart,

51:21 comfortable drawing near,

51:42 we might feel comfortable to draw near.

51:54 He might weep with us.

51:57 He could be broken. I empathize. I feel with you and for you. I can do nothing to break that.

52:06 I don't want a Jesus who's all compassion, or one who's all power. I want a Jesus who is perfectly suited to my need. Full of pity. With what?

52:24 Not what we sing?

52:27 Full of pity.

Application 3: Sobering Illustration of Unprincipled Zeal

52:35 But then I must hasten on. The passage not only is an added validation of the identity of Jesus, a moving manifestation of the character of Jesus. I'll touch on this just very briefly. It constitutes a sobering illustration of unprincipled zeal for the honor of Jesus.

52:56 A sober illustration of the unprincipled zeal for the honor of Jesus. These people honored Jesus. They were astonished and said, well, He's done everything. He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.

53:13 But they went right on disobeying Him. You see, they had their own idea as to how they could best show their appreciation for the mercy of Christ. They said, surely this man, and all we did was bring Him to Him. Why, if others hear, others can be brought.

53:33 Let's show our appreciation and our love by going out in one. And Jesus kept saying, please. Now they admired Him, were ecstatic about Him. But they were expressing their admiration and their enthusiasm in a way dictated by human sentiment and human wisdom.

53:55 What a warning to us. I don't know if the cause of Christ is more harmed by His open enemies or by those who love Him and set about to show their love in a way dictated by His open enemies, by human sentiment and human wisdom.

54:13 My friend, let this passage, and if it doesn't say that, I don't know why it's recorded. And it's amazing how almost all of the commentators I read simply say, I don't know why it's recorded. Well, I think it's recorded to teach us that very lesson. They admired it.

54:29 They went on disobeying Him.

54:32 And you remember what happened in an earlier incident? Jesus had told a man not to spread it abroad, but go to the priest, show himself for a testimony. But when they emblazoned it abroad, Jesus then could not enter the main citadels and teach in the synagogue. He had to teach in the outlying districts because everybody wanted to be healed.

54:49 And in that sense, there was a frustration of the purpose of Jesus. Ultimately, we know He's not frustrated. But I'm just giving you, as it were, a human description of what the text of Scripture records earlier in Mark's Gospel. And oh, dear people, let this be a constant warning to us.

55:06 If you truly love the Lord Jesus, don't you sit around and figure out how you think you can, best honor Him. You best honor Him by having your conscience bound not and human reading, but by the Word of God. You will keep my commandments, said Jesus.

Application 4: The Submissiveness of Faith and Its Reward

55:26 But then I want to conclude with one final application. And it's this. This passage is a wonderful example of the submissiveness of faith and its reward. A wonderful example of the submissiveness of faith and its reward.

55:45 I got thinking about this man. It says, They brought him to Jesus. They brought him to Jesus.

55:56 And then it says that from the multitude pride.

56:05 It's evident from the passage that whatever reluctance was there initially, he did not fight friends who wanted to carry him to Jesus, who wanted to take him along to Jesus. Furthermore, it's evident that when Jesus, however He intimated, whether with a look, gesture, a hand upon the shoulder, a hand upon the elbow, however the Lord intimated, he wanted to take him aside, there's no indication he fought the Lord Jesus.

56:35 You see, there was apparently some stern or hope in the initial suggestions of his friends to the Lord Jesus taking him aside. Can you imagine how different the story would have been if when Jesus began to take him aside, he brushed the Lord's hand off and said, no way, and tried to articulate. And in his mind was saying, I'm not going to let him take me aside. What's he going to do with me?

57:06 What's going to happen? How he's going to do? But you see, he went aside because to some degree was faith in the character of Jesus, the goodwill of Jesus, the beneficial purpose of Jesus,

57:24 the Lord's submissiveness of faith, its reward,

57:37 and obeyed the intimation to come along with submissiveness. He got two hearing ears and a tongue that could articulate words accurately.

Call to Unbelievers: Come to Jesus Personally

57:52 Do you see where I'm going in the application?

57:56 Some of you are here this morning. Why? Because you've got friends and loved ones who've tried to bring you to where Jesus is. And where is Jesus now?

58:09 In his glorified humanity, he's at the right hand of the Father. Yes. But in the congregation of his saints, he dwells in peculiar,

58:20 albeit mystical, presence where two or three are gathered in my name. There am I in the midst and some people who loved you enough to care for you. Young people, friends, husband, wife, relatives, neighbor, work companions, schoolmates, they've brought you along to where Jesus is. Now what happens in preaching?

58:44 In the preaching of the Word, the Lord Jesus says, Come.

58:50 I don't want you to be lost in the crowd. I want to have dealings with you personally.

58:57 Young man, young woman, older man, older woman, mother, father, grandfather, come. I don't want you to be doing what you would have regarded as absolute stupidity in that man. Had you seen him fighting and squirming, and motioning to Jesus to get away, you'd say the man's a fool. All Jesus wants to do is take him aside.

59:39 That's exactly what not a few of you are doing this morning. Jesus comes to you in the preaching of the Word and beckons you by the call to centeredness and living for the world, to come back to the passage, to turn from that existence in which you're ears to the sweetness of the voice of Christ. The wonderful, soundly shepherd spoke into all, the words of the world, takes you by the elbow. He beckons with his finger and says, come apart with me. Why? Oh, hear me unsaved man or woman, boy or girl, he doesn't beckon you to come aside to harm you, but for to steal, kill, and to destroy.

61:01 Of it more abundantly, you've intrigued with you, read with you, warn you, tried you to Christ. Woo!

62:01 He did not know us then, but my friend, there's no fear of God in your heart, for if there were, you'd be a servant in covenant. God sent a she-bear to kill them and drag them straight to hell. We don't look upon it as an innocent phase. It's one thing to be struggling with where am I, who am I, how do the claims of Christ impede.

62:38 It's one thing to be in that state of counting the cost and wrestling and struggling. But when you become a mocker of sacred things, listen to the word of God. Be not deceived. God is not mocked.

62:52 Fool! Take away your folly. Go to Jesus and ask him to open your deaf ears. Go to Jesus and ask him to loosen your stammering tongue.

63:09 That though you mouth the language of religion, there's no ring of reality. There's no eye. Because out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks, is devoid of his grace. Oh, texture of this unnamed man.

63:29 And those who even yesterday morning brought many of you to Jesus, in fervid prayers, interlaced with sobs and groans and tears. And now Christ comes to you in this crowd. And he says, I can't have dealings with you in the crowd. Come.

63:58 We know something he didn't. The hands that now bid you come have the prints of the nails. How could one who died for sinners ever bid you come to do you harm? Do you see the insanity of unbelief and impenitence?

64:14 Do you see the moral sanity of it? Insanity of it. It's moral insa...

64:21 Some of us who have known his grace in our lives for years can say we wouldn't trade one day, one hour with Christ for all the so-called joys in all the years of our impenitence. Oh, may God grant that the lessons to be learned from the healing conferred by Jesus upon this man will be laid to heart. Christ at his beckoning. Go today.

Conclusion and Prayer

64:54 Go where you are in the midst of the crowd. You can go to him. But you must go to him. You must go.

65:01 And he's promised all who come will be received. Let us pray. Our Father, how we thank you for your holy word. We thank you for the record of your dear Son.

65:25 How we worship you and praise you for the fullness of grace that is in Christ Jesus. Thank you that your word tells us that he is, even now, full of grace and full of truth. Oh, may his beauty capture some heart this morning. And we pray for us who have known his grace.

65:48 May we show our gratitude, not by the dictates of human emotion and carnal wisdom, but by renewed obedience to your holy word, that every channel by which we seek to express our love will be one that will lead us to God. We thank you for your well-attested messianic King, through whom we come to you and plead that this word will not be preached in vain. Seal it to all of our hearts and dismiss us with the blessings of your grace resting upon us. Grace either to comfort or console, or to convict and to draw, and to make us restless till we rest in him who bids us come in the gospel. Hear our cry, O God, and answer us. We plead for your glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.