Have you heard the saying, “He has the Midas touch?” The saying refers to the mythical King of Phrygia, an ancient kingdom in Asia Minor, now modern-day Türkiye.
One day, peasants in Midas’s kingdom found a foreigner asleep on the land; they bound him and brought him before their king. Midas recognized this foreigner, Silenus, as a follower of the god Dionysus. So, he treated his guest well and traveled with him when he re-joined Dionysus. In thanks to Midas for returning Silenus to him, Dionysus offered to grant King Midas any wish.
Like most kings, Midas desired wealth beyond measure. He was greedy. He wished that everything he touched would turn to gold. Dionysus, true to his word, granted Midas his wish.
However, the King soon regretted his request. When he reached for his food, it turned to gold, making it inedible. Midas raised his cup to his lips, and even the wine turned to gold, a bitter reminder of his foolishness.
Realizing his mistake, Midas begged Dionysus to undo his wish, but the gods could not readily recall their gifts. Finally, Dionysus told Midas to go and wash in the spring at the source of the river Pactolus. Supposedly, Midas was cured of his plight when he did as he was told.
So, when someone “has the Midas’ touch,” everything the person touches is successful. I had a friend like that in my teen years. He excelled in whatever he attempted to do. It was amazing. Yet, as successful as he was, I couldn’t say, “He does all things well.”
There’s only one person of whom that can be said. It is the Lord Jesus, and those words are part of the text for our study today, Mark, chapter seven, verses 31 to 37. I’ve taken that phrase for the title of my teaching, “He Does All Things Well.” His abilities are unique and unparalleled; witnessing them is a humbling and reverent experience that fills us with awe.
These closing verses of Mark chapter seven show us the WAYS Jesus does all things well.
The First WAY (Jesus does all things well) is,
He Responds to Faith
In our previous episode, we read about Jesus leaving Israel and traveling to Tyre in ancient Phoenicia. Mark describes Jesus’ itinerary this way. He left Tyre, went north to Sidon, made His way east, came back south, and then back up to the Sea of Galilee. This trip moved in the shape of a horseshoe and took 120 miles from Tyre back across, down, and around, up into the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Today, it would be like someone leaving Washington, DC, to go to Richmond, Virginia, but they would go by way of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Why did Jesus do this? One possibility is that he wanted to avoid the territory of Herod Antipas, who, you remember, had executed John the Baptist. You may also recall from our studies that Jesus has been seeking time for rest and uninterrupted teaching with His disciples. At every turn, He has been hampered by the overwhelming needs of the people. So, by “taking the long way around,” He could have that time with them.
One critical detail is that He went from one Gentile area to another. He had honored the faith of the Gentile woman of Syro-Phoenicia by exorcising the demon in her daughter. Now, He has moved to the Decapolis, a group of Greek cities in modern-day Jordan.
The text informs us that this man, who was deaf and had a speech impediment, was brought to Jesus, presumably by friends or family. This reminds me of the paralyzed man in Mark 2:3-5 who was brought to Jesus by his friends. This deaf man had some ability to speak but not in an easily understood way. His friends begged Jesus to lay His hands on the man and heal him.
Mark’s description of the disorder afflicting this man doesn’t come across as powerfully in English as in the original language. Mark says he was deaf and had a speech impediment. He had severe difficulty speaking clearly or in a way that people could discern his words.
Since Mark is the only Gospel writer who records this incident, we may rightly ask, “What is the reason?” There is a clue in the Greek New Testament’s original wording. The word Mark chose, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is mogilalos (mo’-gee-la’-las). It is used only in one other place in the Bible, Isaiah 35:5. It says, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf (mogilalos) shall be unstopped.”
You may ask, “What’s so significant about that?” As you’ve heard me say many times, context is critical. If we took time to read Isaiah chapter 34, we would see a very graphic picture of God’s judgment on Israel because of their sin. Its streams would be turned into pitch (or tar) and its dust into brimstone. God’s judgment would make the land utterly desolate, inhabited only by wild animals.
Then, Isaiah begins chapter 35 with a dramatic message of hope. All of this desolation would not be permanent! Isaiah promises the supernatural restoration of the land and the rejuvenation of the people in the Messianic age. While that time did not come in its fullness during Jesus’ earthly life, there were glimpses of that glory in His ministry. This healing of the deaf man is one of them.
If you were to read the entire chapter of Isaiah 35, you would recognize a familiar concept of Scripture: salvation is of the Jews. Ah, that’s what Jesus told the Syro-Phoenician woman. But Isaiah, among others, makes it clear that while salvation comes through the Jewish Messiah, it is available to all who exercise faith in Him. That is the message Mark is communicating to us. Jesus responds to those who exercise faith in Him! Indeed, He does all things well.
Another WAY (Jesus does all things well) is,
He Respects Feelings
Jesus took the man away from the crowd. As humans, we are sensitive to our weaknesses and disabilities. We try, if we can, to hide them from others. This man’s disability was such that he couldn’t hide it. So, rather than make a public spectacle of him, Jesus drew him aside privately.
Remember, this man is deaf, so Jesus uses a kind of sign language to show him what He’s going to do. He first put His fingers into the man’s ears. By touching this Gentile man, Jesus immediately became unclean according to Jewish law. The discussion of uncleanness at the beginning of this chapter is the context of this miracle. But Jesus doesn’t look down on anyone who exercises faith in Him; He honors that faith regardless of what others may think.
Then, He spit on His hands and transferred that spittle by touching the deaf man’s tongue. While this sounds gross, Jewish biblical scholar Alfred Edersheim tells us that the Rabbis universally recognized the use of saliva in cures! This use of Jesus’ bodily fluid in physical healing may foreshadow a more significant spiritual healing through the shedding of His blood.
Looking up toward heaven, Jesus groans audibly and says, “Ephphatha.” This is an Aramaic term, so Mark translates it for his Gentile audience: “Be unbarred.” Why did Jesus groan? Was it grief over the effects of sin? In Romans, Paul writes, “For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.” Was Jesus thinking ahead to that time when everything would be made perfect?
At any rate, the result was that immediately, this man could hear perfectly. From complete deafness to perfect hearing in an instant! His speech impediment vanished, and he spoke plainly. I like the old English of the KJV. It says, “The string of his tongue was loosed.” He was no longer tongue-tied! Imagine the weight of shame lifted from this man at that moment.
I have experienced enough hearing loss to wear hearing aids for several years. I know how frustrating it is to miss spoken details and struggle to communicate well. It’s embarrassing to interject something into a conversation only to realize you’re on a different subject than the rest of the group. Sometimes, when I tell people I wear hearing aids, they jokingly say, “What?” To me, this feels more like mockery than joking.
I imagine the people who tried to understand this man before his healing often gave up in exasperation. I suppose he, too, was frustrated by his inability to communicate clearly. His previous disability was so obvious there was no possible way to hide it. But now it was gone!
But there’s a more significant healing in this story. This man exercised faith in Jesus and was physically and spiritually healed. How can I say that? Jesus’ ministry was holistic. He came to minister to the whole range of human needs, not just the physical. And I am sure this man was among those who eagerly proclaimed what had happened to anyone who would listen. Not only was the shame of his disability removed, but the shame of his sin was removed, too.
In a real sense, this is what has happened, and does happen, to every Christian. Before the Holy Spirit opens us to the things of God, we are as deaf to the Word of God as this poor man was deaf to all verbal communication. Until the Holy Spirit cleanses our hearts and regenerates our souls, what we have in our mouths is mere filth, the poison of asps is under our lips, and our tongue utters blasphemy and poison until it is made free from the chains of sin.
Yes, Jesus respects your feelings and mine. He cares. Jesus didn’t have any disabilities, but He knows what shame is. He hung naked and exposed on the Cross of Calvary, bearing the guilt and shame of our sin. Like this man, we can be set free from the shame of our spiritual disability!
Indeed, He does all things well!
Another WAY (Jesus does all things well) is,
He Requests Anonymity
Mark closes this account by writing, “Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it.”
He commanded them, “Don’t tell anyone.” But the more He commanded them, the more they told everyone everywhere. Human nature is a peculiar thing. The command not to tell provoked these people to say it all the more, just as the leper did in Mark 1:44.
Why did Jesus issue this command? When you reflect on the ministry of Jesus, you get the impression that He didn’t seek the limelight. This takes me back to what I identified as the key verse in the first teaching episode from Mark’s Gospel. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
A servant is a person who shuns publicity. He performs his duties in a way that makes his master look good, yet rarely receives public recognition for his service. He doesn’t expect a compliment or special favors when he does what is required. John the Baptist modeled this same spirit when he said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
In Luke chapter 17, Jesus told a story to His disciples that illustrated this point. “And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. So likewise, when you have done everything you are commanded, you say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’”
This is generally not how we operate. We want people to notice what we’ve done and hope they’ll compliment us on our excellent work. We sometimes wait to fulfill a task to make sure someone will see it as it happens. This is one reason I believe God rarely bestows the gifts of miracles and healing to people today. The temptation to pride and undeserved credit is enormous and is often too much for people to overcome.
A few years ago, I read Costi Hinn and Anthony Wood’s book, “Defining Deception.” In it, they lovingly yet sternly expose the mystical miracle fraud in the Word-Faith Movement and hope that Christians will unite against those who have turned Jesus into a divine vending machine. Behind a veil of showbiz, many self-proclaimed pastors mask their spiritual abuse with claims of extraordinary power from the Holy Spirit. “Defining Deception pulls back the curtain to reveal the truth behind this money-making industry. It is a sad commentary on the state of the church and people’s gullibility today.
The closing verse of our text says, “And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”
We may misread this as a momentary expression of wonder at what Jesus had done. However, that would be misreading the text. The grammar clarifies that these statements came from people who had arrived at a settled conviction. Gentile people living in what was considered a pagan land became outspoken followers and supporters of Jesus. They were fully convinced He does all things well.
Does your life experience and testimony confirm that Jesus does everything well? I know it doesn’t always feel like it when we’re in a difficult situation. However, in those times, Jesus responds to our faith in Him. He has promised that He will NEVER leave us or forsake us. That is a fantastic promise.
And Jesus respects our feelings, too. Feelings sometimes get a bad rap. But the writer of Hebrews states, “For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Jesus respected the feelings of this deaf man, and he respects your feelings, too.
From our vantage point in history, Jesus no longer requests anonymity as He did in this account. But He calls us as His servants to serve Him in ways that cause people to focus on Him rather than on us. Jesus’ goal throughout His earthly ministry was to glorify His Father. Our goal should be the same. May our lives reflect Him so clearly that even unbelievers will confess of Jesus, “He does all things well.”