Sermon – Mark 7:24-37 – Deaf and Mute Hear and Speak

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sermon – Mark 7:24-37 – Deaf and Mute Hear and Speak

23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time

September 9, 2012

Whenever I am preparing for a worship service or a Bible study I always look for something unusual in the text I am studying. Usually something surprising or unexpected can be found in everything you read in the Bible. I think the reason for this is that the Bible is a book about God, and if we spoke about God in ordinary ways God would seem quite ordinary. But if we use words in unusual ways then the effect is to surprise us and help us to know the God whom no words can fully describe. We see this clearly in the first scripture that you heard this morning. There are many unusual aspects of this story which cause us to scratch our heads and wonder, “What's going on here?” We will unpack all of this, but first let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

The first unusual thing we see in verse 24 of Mark 7 is that Jesus is traveling outside of Galilee and has gone into Gentile territory. He is probably near the port of Tyre on the Mediterranean sea. This would be somewhere in modern day Lebanon. The first question we have is: Why did Jesus go there? And we don't have any real good answers for this. Mark simple states that Jesus has gone there and gives us no reason. This is unusual so we have to pay attention. Another thing that is surprising is that we don't know if the disciples are there or not. Most of the book of Mark is the story of how the disciples came to know who Jesus was. But here there is no mention of them. Where are they? We don't know. This is another good reason to pay attention. Something is going on here. We are told Jesus wants to keep his presence secret so he is hiding in a house. So why has Jesus traveled so far and why does his not want anyone to know where he is? This gives us a lot to think about.

Then a very unusual thing happens. A Greek woman, a non-Jew, a gentile, finds Jesus and asks him to remove an evil spirit from her daughter. How did this woman find out about Jesus, and why is he talking with a gentile? Remember from last week how the Pharisees and Scribes from Jerusalem were concerned about ritual holiness. They would have said to Jesus that meeting a gentile woman like this would make him unclean. Of course Jesus is not concerned with any of that. He is occupied with carrying out his Father's will. So he is meeting with a gentile woman and says the most unusual, unexpected, and surprising he thing he ever said. Jesus insulted the woman. He called her a dog. How does this fit in with what we think we know about Jesus?

To understand what is going on here we have to picture the setting in our minds. Jesus is sitting in someone's house. A woman comes in and sits at his feet. We don't know if any of Jesus' disciples are there or not. But we do know that this woman is at that moment a disciple sitting at the rabbi's feet. The woman is a disciple and Jesus is the teacher.

Today we are beginning our Christian education programs for all ages and we have dedicated our teachers. These are all very dedicated volunteers who struggle with scripture each week and then allow others to join in the struggle. This is how we gain greater understanding of our faith. Faith, our belief in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is a gift from God. Understanding that faith is the result of a process which includes regular worship, prayer and study of scripture. You have received this gift of faith from God. And it is important for you to be involved in one of our Bible studies so that your understanding of faith will be nurtured and grow. You have two opportunities for Bible study each week. Every Sunday morning there are Bible studies for people of all ages before (after) worship. And on Wednesday evenings at 7 I lead a Bible study at the town church. To grow in your understanding of your faith you should be involved in a least one of these opportunities.

So let's sit in on the Bible study Jesus is leading in a house in Tyre with a disciple, a gentile woman sitting at his feet. She has asked Jesus to exorcise an evil spirit from her daughter. Jesus realizes that with this request she has received the gift of faith from God, but this faith must be nurtured so that she will grow in understanding. Jesus, the teacher needs to get his student thinking. So he says something that will provoke her. What Jesus uses a racist statement which the woman have probably heard from other religious leaders, "First let the children eat all they want," he told her, "for it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs." Jesus' purpose is saying this was to get her engaged, get her blood boiling so that she could go beyond her own limited understanding of faith. As she struggled with this she said, "Yes, Lord," ... "but even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." Jesus has helped her to understand that God is compassionate. God loves both the Jew and the gentile. Jesus has already demonstrated God compassion by feeding 5000 Jews with just five loves of bread. In a few days Jesus will again demonstrate God love by feeding 4000 gentiles with just seven loaves. And immediately Jesus demonstrated God compassion by driving out the evil spirit from the woman's daughter. And so as we increase in our understanding of faith we too will experience God's great love and compassion for us. This is what Rabbi Jesus was teaching this woman in a house in Tyre.

So far we have looked at the role of a teacher with Jesus as our model. Jesus challenges us to think deeply about our faith so that we will experience and know more about God. Our teachers do the same thing week after week in our Bible studies and Sunday School classes. But now, let's turn the page and see what happens to students who attend Bible studies.

Mark 7:31-37 Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. 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. 33 After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears. Then he spit and touched the man's tongue. 34 He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, "Ephphatha!" (which means, "Be opened!"). 35 At this, the man's ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly. 36 Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. 37 People were overwhelmed with amazement. "He has done everything well," they said. "He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."

So whenever we attend Bible studies amazing things happen to the students. Some students come to Bible studies and don't pay attention to anything. It is as if they don't hear anything that is said. But according to Mark we don't have to worry about this because Jesus himself with open their ears. Other students come to Bible studies and are afraid to participate. They sit there quietly, and don't say anything. But there is nothing to worry about because Jesus will loosen there tongues. So if you are afraid to come to Bible studies because your not sure if you will understand what is being said or because you are afraid to participate, don't worry because Jesus is there to help with the your hearing and speaking.

So there is no excuse. Everyone here needs to attend a Bible study and sit at the foot of Jesus. Expect you assumptions to be challenged and your passions to be aroused. Expect that you will struggle with the text. But be assured that Jesus wants you to understand scripture and will unstop your ears and loosen your tongues so that your understanding of your faith will grow and you will experience the great love and compassion of our God.

Thus far we have seen the role of teachers and students in Bible studies. Now we will take a look at what happens when the Bible study is over. After Jesus unstopped his ears and loosen his tongue, the formerly mute and deaf man began telling everyone he met what Jesus had done for him. This is how churches grow. People in churches attend Bible studies and grow in their understanding of faith. This gives them a greater awareness of what Christ is doing in their lives. They find that God's love and compassion far surpass their expectations. And they tell many people what has happened to them. A large number of people want to experience this for themselves so they too want to attend Bible Studies. And the next thing you know is that the room where the Bible study is meeting is too small because of the large crowd that assembles. Let's pray for this.

Father in Heaven I ask that you put a burden on the hearts of each person in this congregation to be a part of a Bible study. Help us as church to be ready to offer Bible studies to all who need and want it. Help our teachers to present your Word in provocative ways so that understanding with grow. Help our students the hear what is being taught and express their thoughts with their tongues. As we study the scripture help us to experience God's overwhelming compassion and love. And fill us with your Spirit so that we can tell the world what you are doing here in this church. We pray this in your Son's name. Amen.