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Friday July 4 - “Ephphatha!” “Ephphatha!” – which means “Be opened!” Mark 7:34
The final episode in Mark chapter 7 involves a deaf-mute man who was brought to Jesus for healing. The route from Tyre to the Decapolis was about 60 miles on foot. The Decapolis was so named because it covered an area of ten Gentile cities. We don’t know who brought the man to Jesus (friends? family? neighbours?) but they knew that Jesus could perform remarkable miracles over nature, death, spiritual powers and physical healing – many of which were recounted in the earlier chapters of Mark.
Here, in verses 31-35, it was a physical healing which stood out to the gospel writer. It seems that Jesus used a bizarre method to heal the man, involving touch and spitting. More importantly, Jesus sighed, prayed and then spoke commandingly the instruction: “Ephphatha – Be opened!” The sigh probably indicated Jesus’ concern and compassion for the man’s suffering.
Jesus has the same compassion today over his suffering world. The command is an example of ‘divine fiat’ (as with “Let there be light” in Genesis 1:3), when the word of command activates the deed itself. The man’s impediments had ‘held him bound’ and had ‘closed him in’. “Be opened” healed him, released him, freed him. Many things can bind us and close us in – not just physical impediments. We too can bring these to Jesus for his powerful words of release. Ephphatha!
Compassionate Lord, let us find release and freedom in you. Open our lips, and our mouths shall declare your praise. Amen.
Saturday July 5 - “Shush!”
Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. Mark 7:36
After Jesus healed the deaf-mute we read that the man’s ‘tongue was loosed and he began to speak plainly’ (v 35). How odd then that Jesus should instruct people ‘not to tell anyone’ (v 36). This is similar to Mark 8:29-30, when the disciples identified Jesus as the Messiah and then were promptly instructed not to tell anyone. These are examples of what is called the ‘Messianic Secret’.
This puzzles people when they read it, but the reasons are two-fold. If people merely saw Jesus as a miracle-working physician who healed all ailments, then he would have been swamped by people coming to him in droves for that reason alone – which did happen. He needed to teach and preach and find times for quiet prayer also, and the opportunity to do these crucial things was in danger of being crowded out.
The second reason for ‘keeping the lid on things’ was that if his divine Messiahship was broadcast too early, the religious authorities would have ‘hauled him in’ before he was ready. Jesus kept control of the timing of his road to Calvary, which was to be after three years of public ministry and not sooner. Now, post-resurrection, let’s not hold back! Let’s now freely declare that Jesus is Lord, as he commissioned us to do.
Lord, you have chosen us to declare your wonderful deeds and the way you have brought us from darkness to light. Make us bold in our witness, we pray. Amen.
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PRAYER FOR TODAY
PRAYER FOR TODAY