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Ephphatha!

February 27, 2005

Reverend Rich Knight

Category - New Testament Overview

Mark 7:31-37 (page 37)

This passage is typical of Mark’s Gospel. It’s brief - the incident is told in 7 vss. Mark is like that - little snippets of Jesus’ ministry, 105 of them to be exact. Mark presents Jesus as a man of action, a Savior on a mission from God.

Matthew presents Christ the Messiah, the King of the Jews - OT ref., prophesies, long sections/teachings. But Mark is Jesus the Servant - he says, “I came not to be served but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many.” - chap. 10:43-45

Please read Mark 7:31-37

This message is entitled, “Ephphatha.”

That is the Aramaic word Jesus spoke in Mark 7:34. Mark translates the word for us, “And Jesus said to the man, ‘Ephphatha,” which means ‘Be opened.”

This is one of the reasons we know that Mark was writing to a Gentile congregation, a non-Jewish audience. Because Jews would have known what that word meant. He wouldn’t have translated it for them.

The incident occurs when Jesus has returned from the region of Tyre - 30 miles NE of the Sea of Galilee. Tyre was a coastal city & port, mentioned in the Bible as far back as the book of Joshua, mentioned outside of the Bible due to a famous battle there involving Alexander the Great. The reference book I looked at showed a recent picture of the ruins of Tyre, uncovered & preserved. Jesus traveled back from Tyre first by heading north to Sidon in the region of Decapolis. (Sidon is in modern day Lebanon. It’s actually closer to Beirut than Jerusalem. Sidon is the furthest Jesus traveled in his ministry, and there is a statue in the town today that commemorates this fact. Don & Judy Schriefer have seen the statue.)

Decapolis is also mentioned in & outside of the Bible. It was the home to 10 cities, made up of Greeks who came there after Alexander’s conquest. I also came across pictures of the ruins Gerasa, an ancient city in the region of Decapolis. Jesus walked the streets of these ancient cities.

I mention these details, not to cure your insomnia, but rather to point out that archaeology & other history research has confirmed the reliability of the Gospels. We know these places existed during the time of Christ. And we know where they existed - right where Mark said they were. Just how he described them.

Details like this also suggest an eyewitness source - in this case Peter.

The Early Church believed that Mark compiled his Gospel from the teachings of Peter. These details certainly come from someone who was there.

You can hear Peter saying, “We had been in Tyre by the Sea, then we traveled north to Sidon through the Decapolis, and then south to the Sea of Galilee. These were precious times with Jesus. The opposition was less intense because we were far from Jerusalem. We just walked with Jesus - walking, resting, eating, listening, spending all our time with him.

“People brought a deaf man to Jesus. The man also had a speech impediment - he couldn’t hear, so his speech was quite poor. His friends begged Jesus to heal him. They said, “Just lay your hands on him. Just touch him.”

It was amazing to see the trust people had in Jesus. They just wanted to be close to him, to touch him, to feel his touch, knowing that would be all they needed. Jesus took the man aside in private, because he was being overwhelmed by the crowds. Imagine a faith-healer, miracle worker, traveling from town to town. Word spread quickly.

Jesus tried to avoid the spotlight, the commotion. I think because it got in the way of his teaching. He also knew it would stir up the opposition against him in Jerusalem. The more popular Jesus became the more danger he was in. So he took the man aside, in private.

And I watched as Jesus did his thing. It was weird. I had never seen him do it this way before. Jesus put his fingers in the man’s ears. Then he spit on this fingers and touched his finger to the man’s tongue. Then looking up to heaven and sighed.

There was so much in that sigh. Sadness of this man’s struggles, complete empathy with the sufferings of the human condition, and yet there was faith in his Heavenly Father, and anticipation for what the Spirit was going to do through Him.

Jesus sighed and then he said, “Ephphatha!” “Be opened.” And that’s what happened. The man’s ears popped & they suddenly worked. And his speech was perfect. That was kind of stunning for us all. The man was speaking perfect Aramaic, and we could understand every word.

I want you to understand the significance of this healing. Two things:

1. Jesus never healed people the same way twice.

Once he spat on the ground and made little mud cakes that he placed over the man’s eyes & healed him of his blindness.

Another time he simply spoke and the man was healed.

Another time he touched someone & gave sight.

To another he said, “Take up your mat & be made well.”

One woman simply touched the hem of his garment.

He healed one child from afar, never even going to the house.

Here he put his fingers in the ears, spat on his own finger and touched the man’s tongue.

Never the same way twice.

There’s no formulas with Jesus. No 4 point plans for everyone. He is deeply personal with each one of us. He insists on doing it that way.

So stop comparing yourself to others. Stop worrying about if you’re doing it right just because your faith, your discipleship doesn’t look like someone else’s.

Jesus will work with you in his own special way designed perfectly for you.

II Cor. 5: “If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation.”

The word there translated “Creation” can also mean “Species.” If anyone is in Christ, an entirely new species is created.” God and you are a unique combination - the one & only you and the One and Only God.

Your spiritual growth will be unique - stop comparing. Your prayer life with be unique - so stop worrying & just keep praying. Your discipleship, the way you live for Jesus and the way Jesus lives in you - will be completely unique to who you are and how God made you.

Jesus never healed the same way twice.

2. The other thing I think you should remember is that every miracle is a sign pointing us to a greater truth.

The miracles are not end in themselves. The point of the miracles is not just the give the man back his hearing and help his friends understand him. That was all well and good, but that’s not the point. The miracles are called “signs” in the early church because they believed that they pointed to even greater truths.

When you’re at a sign, you’re not there yet. “York 10 miles.” “Welcome to Historic York.” Even when you’re at the sign, you’re not quite there yet.

Ex. The best example of this is the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus had been dead for 4 days, 4 days in the tomb. And Jesus cried, “Lazarus come out!” And he did. But you know what, Lazarus, had to die again. He died twice! (I’m not sure Jesus did him a favor.) But it was a sign - something that points us toward something. The miracle taught us that Jesus has power over death. That not even death is beyond his reach and his touch. Christ has power over the grave. He of course proved this in the greatest miracle of all - the Resurrection.

Well, when it comes to this miracle, the healing of the man’s hearing & speech, what’s the sign pointing to?

The answer is in that Aramaic word - “Ephphatha!” Be Opened.

Be opened to hear, to see, to speak the things of God.

You know, there are many images for spiritual growth. Such as,

-- Conversion - changing teams - from the World’s team to God’s team, from My team to God’s.

-- conversion is changing allegiances.

-- Repentance is changing direction - turning away from sin and turning to God.

-- Vine & Branches - staying connected to Christ the Vine

Being Opened is a pretty good image for spiritual growth too. Because it takes an open mind, an open spirit, an open heart to hear from God. And it takes an open mouth to share what God means to us.

We certainly share that with our actions, but doesn’t this sign point to the fact that Jesus wants us to speak? - clearly, plainly.

Ephphatha - Be Opened!

The history of our faith is filled with stories of people who were closed to God and then became opened and had to tell others about it.

A. The Apostle Paul was a fierce persecutor of the church. He thought of Christians has a harmful group who needed to be eliminated. Then he heard from Christ - “Why are you persecuting me? Jesus of Nazareth?” Paul became opened. And this opening to God was so exciting for him that he set out to tell the whole Western world.

B. Martin Luther was a hard-working priest, trying to work his way to heaven in a very closed system that drove him to despair, so much so that one night he threw a bottle of ink at the wall in an attempt to harm Satan, his tormentor & accuser. But then he read about grace from the book of Romans.

And God spoke to him, that this grace was for him. And he was opened to God and made spiritually alive, so much so that he had to tell others about it. He wrote: “I felt that I was altogether born anew and had entered paradise itself through open gates.”

C. D.L. Moody was the Billy Graham of the 1800s. But clarity in his faith did not come until he was opened. He had applied for church membership in Boston, but was denied because of the vagueness of his beliefs.

Then one day it happened: “I thought the old sun shone a good deal brighter than it ever had before - I thought that it was just smiling upon me; and as I walked out upon Boston Common and heard the birds singing in the trees, I thought they were all singing a song to me. It seemed to me that I was in love with all creation.”

D. John Wesley said his heart was strangely warmed when he became opened to God. And he devoted his life to telling others about the wonders of God.

E. C.S. Lewis said he was “surprised by joy” when it hit him. And he became one of our faith’s most prolific authors.

Openness. Aliveness. Joy that has to be shared. Ephphatha!

Think about it. Let’s pray about it.

Holy Spirit,

Open us up - to you, to each other. to life, to love, to joy, to new ideas, new perspectives, to new life. Soften the hardness of our hearts, that keeps us closed off sometimes to you and to others. Melt the clouds of sin & sadness. Drive the dark of doubt away. Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day.

Eternal and wonderful God, open us up to the joy of living in the moment, of living each day with you. And help us when the timing is right to put into words what you mean to us. So that others might consider you, that we might somehow be part of others opening up to you. Help us to live open, expansive lives, guided always by your Word and by Holy Spirit. In Christ’s name. Amen.