Friday, October 12, 2012

Mark 7:31-37 commentary: opened the ears and loosened the tongue


31 ¶ And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. 32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. 33 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. 35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. 36 And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it; 37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.

This is the area where the maniac that was possessed had lived. Think of the string on an instrument that makes a sound or think of String Theory, where all the physical universe is based on strings of vibrating energy.

Of course, God has the power to remove these infirmities as He told Moses directly;

Exodus 4:11 And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?

One thing many people seem to miss is that God Himself is capable of making you hear and believe His word as He is capable of loosening your tongue so that you will witness and preach. Many of us were deaf, as in without the ability to hear, understand, or obey God’s words before we were saved or even after we became Christians by trusting in Christ. Then, when we heard and understood we often were unable to tell others. Although some people can’t shut up once they are saved others don’t know how to speak about Christ. Christ is capable of opening your ears and loosening your tongue. Read His words in His Book and hear Him. Then let Him loosen your tongue and watch the words fly.

Don’t expect that you can do it yourself and it come from God. He may open your ears and loosen your tongue Himself just to show His power. Read His Bible prayerfully every day and believe it, expecting something to happen. God gave the Bible by inspiration in the originals, in copies, and in translations where He had a hand in the minds of the people doing the work. Of course, you want to pray and figure out in which Bible His hand of inspiration is evident. All Bibles are not equal.

The Authorized Version, also known as the King James Bible, has that hand of inspiration, wisdom, and understanding on it. It will compel you to read it from cover to cover if you are faithful. Don’t concern yourself with Apocrypha placed between the Testaments in the early editions for historical context. God had them removed. Don’t worry about the alternate renderings of words placed in the margins. God had them removed, as well. Don’t concern yourself with Gothic script you can’t read in the early editions. God changed that as time went by to the script we use today. Don’t let someone twist your faith in knots over variations in spelling of words. God had men standardize the spelling in the 1760’s editions we use today. Just read the text, believing that God has something for you. He will give you sight, open your ears, and then loosen your tongue.

Matthew Henry said that Jesus sighed because He would have known of the dangers of having an unloosed tongue;

Psalm 39:1 I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.

This is also proof of Jesus Christ being the Messiah;

Isaiah 35:5 ¶ Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.

Of course, the Pharisee’s weren’t able to heal at all and unless God had a hand in it those events where a Pharisee would seem to heal were pure scam. Here, Jesus does something physical but it is His words that initiate the healing as revealing His will by which healing is always performed.

Jesus Christ did all things well. This would be a great sermon and has been used often.

John 8:29 And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.

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