Deo Gloria
Sermon for September 8, 2024
Pastor Martin Bentz
Text: Mark 7:31-37
Theme: Ephphatha! Be Opened!
This past weekend my wife and I got to spend quite a bit of time with our granddaughter. She stayed with us for a couple of days while her parents attended a funeral in Appleton, WI. It was so much fun playing with her, listening to her laugh and giggle, getting some extra hugs for papa. It reminded me how difficult it must be for those who are deaf, who can’t hear the sounds of every day life, who can’t hear the voices of their loved ones. So is there any hope for them, that they will ever regain their hearing, that they’ll ever be able to hear the laughter of children or the songs of birds singing in the trees?
The last couple of weeks I’ve been visiting some of our shut-ins. Among them was one man who struggles with MS and can hardly walk or stand at all and another man who lost the lower half of his left leg and walks with an artificial leg. Is there any hope for them, that they’ll ever be better, that their ability to walk will ever be restored?
And what about for someone like my dad who struggled with Alzheimer’s, a man who at one time was the administrator for Brown County and was always on top of everything and who, as a result of the disease, was reduced to the point that he couldn’t even write his own name? Is there any hope for people like that, that their minds will ever be better again, that they’ll ever be healthy and whole?
Based on the story we have before us this morning, I’m happy to tell you that the answer is “Yes.” Yes, there is hope for people like that and for all those who suffer with mental or physical afflictions here in this life. Why? Because as we see in this story, we have a Savior who can do what no one else can do. We have a Savior who can speak to a man who was deaf and mute and say what no one else can say: “Ephphatha! Be opened!”
Our story today takes place on the east side of the Jordan River, in an area we know as the country of Jordan, across from the West Bank. Jesus had recently spent time in the region of Tyre, which would be in modern day Lebanon. Then after making his way south to the Sea of Galilee, he crossed over to the east side of the sea and into the region of the Decapolis. The word Decapolis means “ten cities.” It was a region made up of 10 major cities who had joined forces for their own protection and self-governance. It was an area inhabited primarily by Greeks, or at least people with a Greek background. Yet even here the good news about Jesus had spread. You may recall that this was the same area where Jesus cast a legion of demons out a man who lived among the tombs. And the demons entered into a herd of pigs. And the pigs went running down into the sea and drown. So yes, even here the people had heard about this amazing prophet named Jesus.
So when they heard that Jesus had come into their area, they brought him a man who was deaf and hardly able to talk. Those two afflictions often go together, don’t they? I mean, it’s pretty hard to sound out words like cat when you can’t hear any sounds and don’t know what the letters “c,” “a,” or “t” sound like. So they brought this man to Jesus and begged him to place his hand on him. If Jesus could drive a legion of demons out a demon-possessed man, surely he could help a man like this.
So Jesus took the man aside, by himself, away from the crowd. Did you notice that? Jesus didn’t do miracles for a show. He never did miracles for a show or to draw attention to himself. He always did it out of love and compassion, to help other people. What a striking contrast to so-called “faith healers” or “miracle workers” today!
So he took the man aside, by himself. Then he put his finger in the man’s ears. And after spitting, he touched the man’s tongue. He then looked up to heaven, no doubt to direct the man to where our help truly comes from. It comes from God. It comes from heaven. And then he sighed, sighed “a deep sigh” Mark tells us. Do you ever wonder if Jesus can relate, if he knows what you’re going through, if he knows the burden of your illness, the burden of your infirmity, the burden of your disability, how difficult it is for you at times? His sigh tells us all we need to know. It reminds us of what the Bible says, that he was “a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering”(Isaiah 53:3), that “he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows”(Isaiah 53:4).
So after looking up to heaven, he sighed a deep sigh. And then he said to the man, “Ephphatha,” which is an Aramaic word that means, “Be opened.” And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak plainly. What an amazing miracle! I know the doctors can do some pretty amazing things now days to improve people’s hearing with hearing aids and cochlear implants and things like that; but they can’t do what Jesus did. They can’t restore a person’s hearing completely and fully even with the help of hearing aids or cochlear implants. And the man didn’t have to go back to school to learn how to talk either. He just immediately began to speak in a plain and normal manner. What an amazing miracle! What an amazing Savior!
And notice the people’s reaction. When they saw what Jesus had done, when they saw that the man’s hearing had been completely restored and that he was speaking plainly just like anyone else, they were completely overwhelmed and said with amazement, “He has done everything well. He even makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak”(v. 37). What a fitting summary for the life and ministry of Jesus! He has done everything well. From teaching God’s Word to healing those who were sick or deaf or mute to living a godly life and obeying God’s commands to showing love to God and love and compassion to other people—Jesus did everything well, always, his whole, entire life.
Do you know why he did that? Because you and I can’t, and we don’t. You know, I wish I could make it through just one day where at the end of the day people could say, “He did everything well.” I wish I could make it through just one day where I taught God’s Word really, really well and I lived a godly life and obeyed God’s commands the way I know I should and I loved God with all my heart and I showed genuine love and compassion for others in all I said and did. I wish I could make it through even one day like that. But every day I fail and every day I sin. And I know because of my sins, I don’t deserve God’s blessing and favor. What I deserve is to be kicked out of God’s family for the rest of forever. Is the same thing true of you?
Aren’t you glad for Jesus our Savior? Aren’t you glad that he could do what you could not, that he could do all things well in the sight of others and in the sight of God, that he could live a holy and righteous life, that he could be your holiness, your righteousness? And for all the times we failed, he could give his life on the cross as a perfect payment for all our sins so that we might be forgiven. Aren’t you glad for Jesus Christ, our Savior?
Of course, there is something else you and I should be grateful for. You recognize that, right? You see, he not only said “Ephphatha” to the man in this story. He also said it to you and me. He said it at the time of our baptism. He said it as we learned about him and his love in Sunday School. He said it as a friend of ours shared with us the good news about Jesus and all that he has done for us. He said, “Ephphatha. Be opened!” And our ears were opened and our hearts were opened and we believed that wonderful news. We came to faith in Jesus as our Savior and God as our heavenly Father. We came to know his love and peace, his forgiveness and salvation. He filled our hearts with peace and joy, the likes of which we had never known before. He said, “Ephphatha,” and we believed.
And he still says it today. Whenever we come to church and listen to the message of our Savior, whenever we sit down with our Bibles and read about him and his great love for us and all that he has done for us, he continues to open our ears and open our hearts and open our minds so we believe those wonderful words, so we continue to trust in him as our Lord and Savior. He continues to say, “Ephphatha. Be opened!”
And he will say it one final time as well. On the last day he will say it to you and me one last time. After he has commanded our graves to be opened and has raised our lifeless bodies from the grave, he will say, “Ephphatha” and our bodies will be restored, completely restored, perfectly restored. If we were deaf or hard of hearing, our hearing will be restored. If we were mute or had a speech impediment, our ability to speak will be restored. If we were blind or had difficulty seeing, our sight will be restored. If we were crippled or confined to a wheel chair, our ability to talk and run and jump will be restored. If we lost our ability to remember or even to think because of some awful disease, our minds will be restored and we’ll be able to think clearly and never forget anything again. Every ailment and every disability and every disease and every sorrow and every pain will be taken away forever. And we will enjoy perfect health and perfect life and perfect peace with Jesus.
Praise God that he sent someone who could do what we could not! Praise God that he sent his own Son to open the ears of the deaf and open the mouths of the mute! Praise God that he sent his Son to open our ears and open our hearts that we might know and trust in him as our Lord and Savior! Praise God that he sent his Son to reverse all the effects of sin and make us both holy and whole forever! “Ephphatha! Be opened!” Amen.