Untitled Sermon (2)

Mark 7:31-37

Be Opened

Restoration of hearing

Introduction The passage opens with Jesus leaving the Gentile cities of Tyre and Sidon headed back to Galilee. But, Jesus and His men do not go straight back to Jewish country. Verse 31 tells us that they went to “Decapolis”.

If you look at where they were and where they were headed to, you would see that Jesus and His men took the long way around. In fact, going through Decapolis to get to Galilee is like going through Atlanta to get to Charlotte! Scholars tell us that a journey of this nature might have taken as long as eight months on foot.

If this trip took that long, it would have represented about 20% of the Lord’s total earthly ministry! That is eight months of the Lord’s ministry of which we have no record. What was He doing? We can only speculate, but I would imagine that He was teaching them and training them for the difficult days ahead. When He and His men return, Jesus finds Himself under increasing attack by the Jews. This will be one of the last opportunities that He will have to be alone with His men before He goes to Calvary to die.

It is also interesting that Jesus goes to Decapolis. If you will remember, the people of that region had asked Jesus to leave their country, Mark 5:17. Jesus had cast a legion of demons out of the Gaderene Demoniac. Those demons had entered into a herd of swine and the pigs had all drowned. The people of Decapolis had rejected Jesus and forced Him to leave.

Now He returns and they receive Him with open arms. Why the change? What made the difference? The answer can be found in Mark 5:19–20. That redeemed demoniac went home and told everyone he met what Jesus had done for him. He was such an effective witness that the people were eager for Jesus to come back to town, and when He did, they embraced Him. What a lesson for those who know the Lord. We should be in the business of magnifying Him!

By the way, it thrills my heart that Jesus went back! They rejected Him and He would have been justified had He never returned. But, Jesus came back and gave them a second chance! Aren’t you grateful that He didn’t write you off the first time you rejected Him? I praise His name that He keeps on loving; He keeps wooing; He keeps drawing; He keeps calling; until He gets what He’s after! Praise His name!

In this passage, Jesus comes to Decapolis and the people bring a deaf man to Jesus for healing. Jesus heals this poor man and the crowds marveled. They saw His power and they were amazed. They said, “He hath done all things well.” I want to take this passage and preach on the thought “Well Done Jesus!” I want you to see that He still has the power to amaze those who come to Him. Let’s watch Him work in this miracle and learn the lessons contained here.

I.) We must be Open to caring for the feelings of hurting people. ( Vs 32-33 )

“Deaf” means the inability to hear. Term is used to describe both a literal, physical, figurative, and spiritual defect. The spiritually deaf were those who lacked the ability to hear and see God move. 7:32       There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man.

7:33       He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue.

I am always amazed at the grace and good manners of Jesus. He had all the power in the world. He had the gift of performing miracles. But when he came near ordinary people, and especially when he came near hurting people, he was always kind. Consider how he treated the man in this story: “He took him aside in private, away from the crowd” (7:33a). Put yourself in the deaf man’s place. He had been the butt of jokes all his life. Because he could not hear, he spoke in a way that made people not understand him. I suspect they often laughed at him. He had grown accustomed to their laughter. He could do nothing about it. He had to try to communicate, but when he tried, he came off the fool. Being around people brought embarrassment and pain.

Then into his life came a stranger. Instead of hanging him out for all to see, Jesus took the deaf man away from the gawking crowd. He found a private place. Whatever was going to happen would happen in a way and in a place that would not hurt the man who already had hurt enough.

Most of the time we are considerate. But sometimes we get so caught up in tasks that we forget people. We forget their feelings. We especially have trouble putting ourselves in the place of someone like this deaf fellow. We don’t mean to be unthinking, but we are. This verse speaks a word to all who would follow Jesus: Care for the feelings of hurting people

Proverbs 21:13 “He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor; Will also cry himself and not be answered.

Philippians 2:4 “ Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

Phillipi was a cosmopolitan city. The composition of the church reflected great diversity, with people from a variety of backgrounds and walks of life. Acts 16 gives us some indication of the diverse make-up of this church. The church included Lydia, a Jewish convert from Asia and a wealthy businesswoman, the slave girl, probably a native Greek, and the jailer serving this colony of the empire, probably a roman. With so many different backgrounds among the members, unity must have been difficult to maintain. Although there’s no evidence of division in the church, its unity had to be safe guarded. Paul encourages us to guard against any selfishness, prejudice, or jealousy that might lead to dissension. Showing genuine interest in others is a positive step forward in maintaining unity among believers and caring for the feelings of hurting people.