He Has Done All Things Well

Let’s start by reading our text.

So the best way to see the significance is to zoom out. Way out. Studying this text without placing it within the overall storyline of the Bible is like walking into a movie, watching for 5 minutes, and walking out. The truth is that this text points us backwards to creation and forwards to new creation. This text has one hand grasping Genesis and another hand gripped to Revelation. So let’s start in Genesis.

God created the world. There is one God, the creator of all things. Everything that exists exists because God made it. And everything God made, he declared to be good. When you read Genesis 1, the repeated refrain is this: “And God saw that is was good.” He creates land and sea, and saw that it was good. He creates plants and vegetation, and he saw that it was good. He created sun, moon, and stars, and saw that it was good. Animals are good. And then, after creating man and woman, Genesis 1:31 says, “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good.”

God’s creation was good. The idea behind the word “good” is, pleasing, delightful, valuable, pleasant. The seas were good. The forests were good. The hills and mountains and valleys were good. The animals were good. And the fact that all of these things were so perfect and good demonstrates the great wickedness of the first sin.

God had given literally everything to Adam and Eve. It was all theirs. Who are the richest people to have ever lived? Adam and Eve. Literally everything was given to them. All the earth was their domain to rule. All the feasts of food were theirs to enjoy. All the animals were their royal pets and they were to reign in their kingdom.

Now all of this was ruined by the invasion of sin into the world. Sin introduced evil into the world. When Adam and Eve defied God, they became evil. The human heart became corrupt, and down through the ages, all humanity has been corrupt. This is what Jesus said in the previous section of Mark, that out of the heart comes evil. The heart is the source of the evil in the world. Often this is called “moral evil.” Moral evil is the evil mankind commits in God’s world.

But sin also introduced another kind of corruption into the world. Creation still retains its goodness, but in Genesis 3:17, God says, “Cursed is the ground because of you, in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life.” In other words, creation itself, though good, does not operate like it did in Eden. It’s cursed, it’s broken; or as Paul says, it groans.

Creation itself is crippled. And this introduced into the world a second kind of evil, that theologians have distinguished from “moral evil,” and that is “natural evil.” Natural evil is the suffering that humanity experiences which is not because of human sinfulness. Congenital diseases, tsunamis that obliterate thousands of homes, earthquakes that cause houses to crumble, famines that leave millions starving. The sea doesn’t submit, the winds don’t submit, the harvest doesn’t submit; the creation is wild and unmanageable. These things happen and are not because of human sin, they’re because the good creation is under a curse. And since human beings are creatures, part of the creation, we are subject to experiencing natural evil. Our bodies are subject to the curse.

People are born blind. Deformities. Disabilities. Diseases. Humans experience pain, arthritis, autoimmune disorders, crippled arms or legs, extreme and prolonged fatigue, fibromyalgia, unpredictable migraines, stomach pain, tooth pain, back pain, insomnia. Many of us face these things, and we will face them until the day we die. This is called natural evil.

In John 9, Jesus and his disciples see a man who was born blind. And the disciples ask Jesus a question: “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Notice the assumption underneath their question: someone is guilty. Perhaps it was the parents - they sinned, and thus this man was born blind. Or maybe it was him - somehow - so that he was punished by being made blind.

Jesus response: “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.” He rejects the premise. It had nothing to do with sin. God has a plan for this man’s blindness. And so we construct a bit of a theology of suffering here: natural evil exists, and no one is guilty for it, and yet God has his purposes in it.

So we come to our text, and here’s a man who is born a victim of natural evil. We are all to some degree; the Bible says we are all wasting away (2 Cor. 4:16). But some of us experience it more acutely than others. Some of you know bodily pain, you know what it’s like to be unable to walk well; you know what it’s like to live each day with pain, or fatigue. And what we all long for is Eden - all our longings are longings for Eden. We long to enjoy fellowship with God, to see him and walk with him; we long to be rid of our sin, shame, and guilt, we long to be restored to creation, to enjoy the green grasses and the abundant feasts our world offers us; and we long to have bodies that are free from pain, from brokenness, from disability, from deformity.

In our text, we meet a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment. And to bring out what I think this text is doing I want to answer 4 questions: 1) Why this account? 2) Why this bizarre procedure? 3) Why does Jesus silence them? 4)What does it all mean?

Why this account?

Why does Mark, unlike Matthew, Luke, and John, include this account? And why, out of all the miracles we’ve seen Jesus do, is this one included? There are several accounts in Mark where Jesus heals multitudes. Not all of them get this kind of attention, this kind of detail. Why this?

Verse 31. We get a strange circuitous trip from Tyre, up to Sidon, and then back down to the Sea of Galilee, to the northern shore, the Decapolis. Scholars can’t quite make out why Jesus traveled this way; if you look at a map, Sidon is north of Tyre, the Decapolis is south. It’s like saying, I went from Rancho Cucamonga through Big Bear to the region of San Diego. It’s not quite “on the way.” It may be that Jesus simply wants time with his disciples. It may be that the way to keep the massive crowd from interrupting their time, they just need to keep moving. But frankly, we don’t know. The text doesn’t say.

Verse 32: “And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment.” We are not told who they “they” are, so it’s likely just some people who were part of the general crowd that knew of Jesus’ power. This man has related issues: he cannot hear - he’s deaf, and he cannot speak, he’s mute. Who sinned that this man was this way? No one. He suffers - like many of us - the ravages of being a cursed creation. He is a victim of natural evil. His ears don’t work right, and his tongue doesn’t work right.

This makes him an outcast of society - you can’t hear what everyone hears, you can’t learn what everyone learns, you can’t communicate with anyone. A deaf mute lives in utter isolation.

But what’s fascinating about this case, and here’s I think why Mark includes this particular healing, is the man’s speech impediment. The Greek word is “mogilalos,” and it’s only used here in the New Testament. It is used once in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament - and the place it’s used is Isaiah 35.

Now turn back in your Bibles to Isaiah. In Isaiah 34, the prophet is announcing judgment upon the nations. Look at verses 8-14, which describes this judgment.

But then, chapter 35 changes it’s tone from the minor key to a major. It describes a coming age, the Messianic age, the age of the Messiah, when this judgment curse is lifted. Verse 5: “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.”

What will be the sign that God has come, that the Messiah has come? He himself will remove the natural evil that plagues his creation. He will make blind eyes see, deaf ears hear, lame people leap, and mute tongues loosed to sing.

Now that word “the mute” in verse 6 is the same word is “speech impediment” in Mark 7:32. These are the only places that word is used.

Why does Mark include this account? He’s showing us that Jesus is the promised Messiah who will lift the curse on creation, Jesus is going to remove natural evil, Jesus is the one who can heal both body and soul.

Jesus is no mere teacher. Jesus is no mere guru, wonder-worker. Jesus is God-incarnate, the promised Messiah, he is the ultimate hero - after whom every true hero is modeled - the prophesied one who rescues his people, lifts the curse, and restores Paradise.

Why this bizarre procedure?

Let’s continue through the text. Verse 33: “And taking him aside from the crowd privately.” This is a bizarre moment. Jesus takes this man away, likely, to avoid more sensationalism. “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.”

This is one of the bizarre accounts of Jesus’ healing. Isn’t this out of character? Up to this point in Mark, Jesus has healed people either in one of three ways: 1) He commands verbally, and he’s healed; 2) He touches them - like Peter’s mother-in-law in chapter 1 and 3) Most of the time, when the sick in faith reach out and touch Jesus.

This doesn’t quite fit. What’s the deal? It seems as if he’s doing very visible, tangible things to communicate to the man who cannot hear or speak. He sticks his fingers into his ears, likely indicating that he’s going to open them up to hear. Then he spits and touches the man’s tongue - something that could get you arrested these days. What’s that about?

Well it was common belief in those days that wonder-workers, miracle workers, that human spittle had some sort of healing properties. It seems gross to us, but it’s not so far fetched - we actually see water as a sign of life - where there is water, there can be life. Now, the watery-liquid that comes from a living creature could be seen as being able to bring life and healing back. Now, Jesus doesn’t think his spittle has healing properties, but he seems to be demonstrating to the man, who could not hear, his intention to heal him - he uses other senses - he touches him, he spits - a visual representation that I’m about to heal you.

Verse 34: “And looking up to heaven, he sighed” - this is an indication of where the source of his power is; this is likely a visible representation to the man. His sigh indicates sympathy, compassion - like a sigh over the brokenness of the world - and he says, “Ephphatha” which means “Be opened.” And verse 35: “His ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.” It’s the words that do the work - Jesus calmed the sea, Jesus cast out the demon, and here Jesus opens his ears and loosens his tongue with his word.

“Ephphatha” - an Aramaic word. Now, since he’s in the Decapolis, he’s likely among Greek speaking people, this word might have escaped them. And the original audience of this gospel would not have spoken Aramiac, so Mark provides a translation: “Be opened.” It’s an imperative; a command. Jesus is speaking to the ears and the tongue and commanding them to open up.

The result: “And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.” There was no time needed to learn to speak; he spoke immediately. In an instant, with a word, the natural evil this man had experienced, his isolation, he was set free.

What an amazing picture. Modern medicine can do a lot. But it cannot do this. Natural evil has a vice-grip on his man, and has caused many years of suffering, and here, with great compassion, and supreme power, Jesus sets the man free from his pain.

He can speak. He can speak “plainly” - regularly! Finally! Look what happens next: “And Jesus charged them to tell no one.” What? He can finally speak, but Jesus silences him! What?

Why does Jesus charge them to tell no one?

If you’ve been with us for a while, you’ve noticed this. You’re opened to the book of Mark, let’s look together. Chapter 1:34 - after casting out the demons, he silenced them. 1:44, after healing the leper, he says, “See that you say nothing to anyone.” 3:12, after casting out many demons, “And he strictly ordered them not to make him known.” 5:43, after raising the girl from the dead, “And he strictly charged them that no one should know this;” - and now our text.

Look ahead to 8:30, Peter has just identified Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, and Jesus says, “And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.” Why? The first reason is this: if everyone hears, it’s going to inhibit his travels - we’ve already seen that. They can’t rest because of these relentless crowds

But here’s the key: Mark 9:9, after the transfiguration: “And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.” Now, there’s a change - don’t tell people what I’m doing, until I die and rise from the dead - then go tell everyone.

The key to understanding all the miracles of healing is the resurrection of Christ. Once the resurrection happened, it all would make sense. The resurrection would show that he wasn’t just an ordinary wonder-worker, he wasn’t just trying to hype crowds and become a three-ring circus. The miracle of the resurrection made sense of all the other miracles. The resurrection meant that all Jesus’ miracles were pointing to the great reality that he is God incarnate; Messiah.

In every miracle, this one here, and in the resurrection particularly, Jesus is saying: “I am the Messiah. I am the prophesied Son of David. I am the Savior of the World. I am going to usher in the kingdom of God. I am going to redeem my people and establish my kingdom. I am going to lift the curse. I am going to restore creation. I am going to reign forever eternal glory.”

This miracle in particular aligned with Isaiah’s prophecy. He’s the one who gives sight to the blind, makes the lame leap, makes the deaf hear, makes the mute speak. And the resurrection is the proof of that reality. So until the resurrection happened, he wanted to keep his miracles somewhat private, because if you try to understand the miracles apart from the resurrection, you miss the point.

But they won’t be silent: “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 makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

What does it all mean?

They can’t stay silent. I can’t hardly blame them; I can speak for the first time in my life and you want me to be silent? What if someone asks me, “How is it that you’re speaking now?” So they go on speaking. And what are they saying? “He has done all things well.”

This poor man got a little taste of the coming glory. Where some of the natural evil he experienced in this cursed world is lifted. And as they go out and tell people a bit of the glorious power and generosity of Christ, they say of him: “He has done all things well.”

Now they may not have much theology, but they are profoundly correct. The word “well” is kalos, and it is the idea of excellence, even beautifully. It is actually a word that intentionally brings our attention back to Genesis 1:31 “And God saw that it was good.” Jesus has done everything good, all things beautifully, all things well.

Sure, the man could have used his freshly released tongue to lash out at Jesus, “Why did you make me suffer so? Why the years of isolation? God, why did you make me this way?”

And so, we can do the same: God, why do I experience such pain? Why do I suffer this deformity, this disability? Why?

But it is the heart of a Christian to say, “He has done all things well.” His timing is perfect. His will is perfect. They saw it; do we see it? While we await the full restoration of creation, and of our broken bodies, can we see it? Can we say that?

The point of this passage is to show that not only is Jesus the one who forgives sins, but he is the Messiah who will restore all creation. And he will do it in his way, in his time, perfectly.

James Montgomery Boice was a pastor and theologian who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. His church members grieved and offered him all kinds of treatments that might help. But Boice responded to their frenzy by saying, “Listen, don’t worry about me. I know my Savior. He does all things well.”

Life is filled with suffering. Life 2020 was hard, 2021 will be hard, and so will 2022. Our hope is not in this world, but in the creator of this world. Creation is broken. We are broken. Jesus lived died and rose to rescue sinners from judgment, and his promise is to make all things new.

This text has one hand on Genesis because it shows us that we are a part of God’s good, but broken creation. And this text holds on to Revelation because it’s a preview of what God will do for all his suffering children. “And pain will be no more” (Rev. 21:4)

Brothers and sisters, there is coming a day when you will be healthy and strong forever. There is coming a day that we will run and not grow weary. And that is because Jesus is the Messiah, he will restore creation - even us.

It is because he does all things well that we can sing It is Well.