Monday, February 26, 2018

Jesus Heals: Deaf to Hear



Scripture:
Mark 7:31-37

Quick Summary:
Jesus goes to pagan territory, and heals a deaf man who cannot speak. He is careful to do it a whole different ways than the magicians who just do it for show. 

The Point:
Jesus is no magician! He doesn’t play tricks, but changes lives!

Questions for Family Time:
1.     Who did Jesus heal this week?
a.      The deaf man who could not speak
2.     Who else did healings in the man’s neighborhood?
a.      Magicians would pretend to heal people, but it wasn’t real. It was always a trick.
3.     What did Jesus diferent than the magicians?
a.      He did it in secret, without a crowd. He told the man exactly what was happening as he did it, making sure the man knew it was a healing from God. Then, he told the man not to tell anyone…a magician would NEVER do that!
4.     Did the man keep it a secret like Jesus wanted?
a.      No, he was too excited.

Deeper:
 Zeke and I were watching Arthur the other day. The episode was all about when D.W. heard a secret. It seemed like everyone else in her family had secrets, so she was really excited when she got her first secret. She had gone to the nurse to get a band aid, and one of the little boys in her class had split his pants in the back. She knew that telling his secret would most likely hurt him. But it was so juicy. She had nightmares about telling it she wanted to so bad. She had to let it out. 

Have you ever had a secret like that? Even though you knew you shouldn’t let it out, it just kind of pressed on your insides. Every conversation you have seems to connect with this little bit of information. In fact, when someone says “I have a secret” our natural instinct is not to turn away, but to lean in.

This story is all about hearing. But not just hearing. It’s a story about hearing the secret of Jesus. In this story, Jesus is far from home when some of these people bring a deaf man to Jesus, and they beg for Jesus to heal him. Jesus knows these people. He knows about how these same people crowd around magicians who put on a show for the people as they provide “cures.” How the audience loves a good show!

He looks at the deaf man and he sees not a man waiting for a performance, but a man wanting to hear. So he takes the man away from the crowd and he starts to communicate to the man. Now this was before American Sign Language, but Jesus signs to the man what is happening. He puts his fingers in the man’s ears, he spit and puts the spit on his tongue. Then to make sure the man knows where the healing is coming from, he looks up to heaven. The man hears, for the first time, at Jesus’ words, “Be opened!”

But then Jesus tells them: Keep it a secret. The scripture tells us, they couldn’t do it. The more sternly he told them to be quiet, the more people they had to tell.

Why does Jesus ask them to keep this secret? It seems like a pretty unlikely request right from the start. After all, what does he expect when he heals a mute man but that he would start talking? If he really wanted the man to be quiet, don’t fix his ability to speak!

This request to keep a secret is a pattern all the way through Mark. The word “commanded” in Greek is used more in Mark than anywhere else in the NT combined. All but once it is used as Jesus tells people not to tell. It doesn’t seem to fit. After all, we are always trying to share the Good News of Jesus. So why here does it seem that Jesus is encouraging the opposite?

I have a few guesses. Jesus did the healing in secret- just the man and him. So perhaps he was trying to separate his ministry from the magic of the day. But perhaps, there was more than that…

After all Jesus had to know what his popularity meant…He had to know that as the crowds increased, the established leaders grew more jealous of him. He had to know how indignant they must have been at the idea of him teaching in Gentile territory. He had to know it wasn’t just the Jewish Pharisees, Sadducees, and Synagogue Leaders. He had to know the pagan priests and magicians weren’t too happy about his presence either. He had to know that he was taking a risk. He had to know that with every leader he enraged, he stepped closer to his own death.

So why? Why would he not just avoid the secret all together? Why not just leave the man deaf and mute? Why bother?

Perhaps Jesus’ sacrifice didn’t start on the cross. Perhaps, Jesus sacrificed each time he healed someone. His sacrifice in this story, isn’t just for those gathered in the synagogue or the temple or those filling the established church. His sacrifice in this story is on the other side of the river. It is with those who believe in magic incantations. Who worship false gods. This sacrifice is for the outsiders, too.
       
     Maybe that is you. You believe in God, but you are not what I have heard called a “churchie.” You aren’t one of those people who gather together. You are an outsider who feels more comfortable in the magician’s crowd than in Jewish territory.
    
        Jesus sacrificed for you. His followers are those of us who have been rejected by “The Joneses.” We don’t fit in. But then, Jesus calls us together. And because of his sacrificial love, we find meaning. We find each other. We find life. And we can’t keep it to ourselves. If that is what you are looking for, I want you to find that kind of love and belonging with us. We meet after KICK in the sanctuary from 5:15-5:45 and then share a meal together. Usually we are done around 6:30, so there is still plenty of evening left to get homework and baths done before bedtime. Join Us.


Personal Reflection:
              How is Jesus different than a magician? How has the secret of Jesus sneaked out of you?

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