Mark 7:31
What Would You Prefer?
Let's go straight into the message.
I. The Location
Mark 7:31 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.
A. By now it becomes obvious that Jesus was on a crusade circuit.
1. They went out into the desert \\#Mark 6:31\\.
2. Sailed back to Gennesaret on the east side of the Sea of
Galilee \\#Mark 6:53\\.
3. Went up to Tyre and Sidon \\#Mark 7:24\\.
4. From there down to "the coasts of Decapolis"
\\#Mark 7:31\\, located on the south-eastern side of the
Sea of Galilee.
5. \\#Mark 8:10\\ They will go to Dalmanutha, located on the
east side, slightly to the north of center on the Sea of
Galilee.
B. Mark is the only gospel writer to include the detail that
Jesus journeyed down to "the coasts of Decapolis."
1. I mentioned last week that perhaps the reason Jesus went
to north to Tyre and Sidon, cities outside of Israel’s
borders, was because He and His disciples were still
seeking an elusive rest.
2. They had gone into the wilderness seeking it—and failed.
Mark 6:31 And he said unto them, Come ye
yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a
while: for there were many coming and going, and
they had no leisure so much as to eat.
3. They may have gone to Tyre and Sidon seeking it as well.
If they did, they likely failed again for once Jesus
healed the Syrophoenician’s daughter, we could expect
that they were swallowed up with the needs of others.
4. And IF they went to Tyre and Sidon with the thought they
would be able to rest, they would have learned that it
was just not possible.
C. This leads to the question: If Jesus is God, did He not
know He would not be able to find rest?
1. The short answer to that question is, "Perhaps not."
2. When Jesus came to the earth, He left His divine tributes
behind.
3. Everything that Jesus knew beyond the brain could know,
the mind could reason, or the senses could discern would
have had to have been revealed by the Spirit.
John 3:34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the
words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by
measure unto him.
4. There were times when Jesus knew what mortal men could not
know, but there were also times when He did know what the
Father knew.
Matt 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no
man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father
only.
D. Mark seems to say that the next few verses happened beside the
Sea of Galilee in Decapolis.
1. Decapolis’ boundaries came to the south western coasts
of the Sea of Galilee.
2. I think Jesus came to an area that perhaps He had not been
before.
a. Perhaps seeking rest, but more likely seeking people
who had not heard of Him yet.
b. Perhaps seeking to spend time teaching the word
instead of just healing the body.
c. Perhaps a little of all three.
II. The Oddities
Note: There are actually FIVE oddities. The first two seem to stand
alone, but I think the last three go together.
A. Mark tells us that at that location A miracle was performed.
Mark 7:32 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.
1. But Matthew makes it clear that this was just one of MANY
miracles, at least at that time and seemingly at that
location.
Matt 15:29 And Jesus departed from thence, and
came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up
into a mountain, and sat down there.
30 And great multitudes came unto him, having
with them those that were lame, blind, dumb,
maimed, and many others, and cast them down at
Jesus’ feet; and he healed them:
31 Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when
they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be
whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see:
and they glorified the God of Israel.
2. It is not unusual for Mark to give us the summary of an
event or even to skip an event all together, but this
time it appears that Matthew gave us the summary.
3. So I wonder why Mark referred to the one miracle and not
the many while Matthew referred to the many miracles and
not the one.
4. There is no answer to that; but my strange mind wonders if
Mark mentions this one because it was the first miracle.
5. Then I go a step further and wonder after Jesus did a
first miracle, if the people ever let Him stop doing
miracles.
6. Let me ask you two questions:
a. What would you rather do, hear Jesus preach or be
healed? I imagine if you are the sick one, you’d
rather be healed.
b. What do you suppose Jesus would rather do, heal the
body or teach the soul?
(1) I suspect that Jesus wanted to do both.
(2) But I also suspect that Jesus would rather teach
then heal because healing does not save the soul
and preaching truth does.
B. The way Jesus healed the man.
Mark 7:33 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.
1. That is different.
2. Seldom did Jesus do anything to heal a person except to
speak the word.
a. God does His work with words.
b. He did not need a sewing machine to hem the fabric of
space.
c. Neither did He need a tool belt to build the galaxy.
d. God just spoke them into existence.
3. Even in this miracle, the healing did not take place until
Jesus SPOKE, but before He spoke…
a. Jesus put His fingers in the man’s ears. After Jesus
had done that, as far as we know, the deaf man still
could not hear.
b. Jesus put a little of His slobber on His finger and
then touched the man’s impeded tongue; but as far as
we know, the man still could not speak properly.
(1) That’s strange.
(2) If you’re thinking it, I’ll go ahead and say it.
(a) Ewww. Ewww for both of them.
(b) As a rule, I would say that I don’t want
another man’s spit in my mouth, but this
was the spit of God.
c. But then Jesus looked to heaven and spoke the command,
"Ephphatha, that is, be opened;" and the deaf’s ears
could hear and his stuttering tongue could speak.
4. Why did Jesus do it this way? We don’t known. The Bible
does not tell us, but some have guessed.
a. One person wrote it was because the deaf man could not
hear what was being said so Jesus did these actions
to let the deaf man know what He was about to do.
(1) Jesus is the Comforter, and I have no idea how
badly this man may have been treated by others
or how fearful what was happening may have been.
(2) Maybe the actions were just for the man to help
him to understand Jesus was there to help.
b. Another guessed it was God’s way of showing to us that
God was willing to get His hands dirty to help us.
c. Maybe this was Jesus’ way of testing the man’s faith.
(1) He could not hear or speak plainly to acknowledge
his faith, but he could sure run if he thought
Jesus was a fake.
(2) It takes a lot of faith to let another Man stick
His fingers in your ears and even more to let
Him grab you tongue with slobbery fingers.
what was going on,
d. Maybe it all boils down to the fact that Jesus is God;
and God can do whatever He wants whenever wants for
whatever reason He wants; and you and I might never
know the why of it.
C. Then the last three oddities seem to go together.
NOTE: It would appear that either Jesus did not WANT to heal this
man, or He did not want others to know He healed this man.
1. Jesus took the deaf man with the impediment out of the
crowd.
Mark 7:33 And he took him aside from the
multitude….
a. It is like Jesus did not want anyone else to know He
healed this man.
b. That’s a leap on my part, I know; but that is one
explanation.
c. Why? Maybe because once the first miracle was done,
all that could be done would be more miracles.
2. Jesus told the man not to say anything about the miracle.
Mark 7:36 And he charged them that they should
tell no man….
a. I mentioned that last week too, and I suppose there
could be several reasons why Jesus told the man that.
b. But they all seem to boil down to the fact that Jesus
did not want to have to start healing everyone.
(1) Maybe He did not want to start healing bodies
because Jesus and the disciples were tired, but
by now it appears that will be their normal
condition.
(2) Maybe He did not want to start healing bodies
because when He did, He knew He wouldn’t get
to teach them anymore.
3. Jesus signed.
Mark 7:34 And looking up to heaven, he
sighed….
a. Again, I mentioned that Mark recorded Jesus doing that
two times, here and \\#Mark 8:12\\.
b. To sign is to emit a long, deep, audible breath,
typically expressing tiredness, sadness, frustration,
or relief.
(1) Maybe Jesus just sighed, and it means nothing at
all.
(2) Maybe Jesus was getting extremely tired.
(a) He was going virtually non-stop so that they
did not even have time to eat.
(b) The disciples could take turns going away
from the crowd to rest, but Jesus could
not.
(c) The crowd came to HIM wherever He was.
(d) But again, that looks like it was to be
Jesus’ permanent condition.
(3) But maybe Jesus did not want to stop from
teaching and start healing.
(a) Why? Because the first miracle leads to a
second and the second to a third and a
third to the fortieth….
(b) Maybe because once the miracles start the
preaching had to stop.
(c) Maybe because while miracles can heal the
body on the preached Word can heal the
soul.
III. The Question - Which would you rather have? The healing or the
preaching?
A. Let’s not be too spiritual here.
1. If you were the sick one, you’d much rather have the
healing!
a. How would you rather leave a Jesus meeting?
(1) Limping with a sermon or walking with a miracle?
(2) Blind with a sermon or seeing with a miracle?
b. All of us can say it. We would want the miracle.
2. Take it down a notch.
a. Would you rather watch a miracle or listen to a
sermon?
b. If there was a legitimate healer down the road, this
church would be empty tonight—cause I would go watch
him too.
B. Someone asks: What’s the problem with that?
1. The problem is miracles do not save souls.
a. They gather crowds.
b. They meet the needs of people who need them.
c. They authenticate that something supernatural is
happening.
2. But no one gets saved except they hear the gospel and
repent.
3. Why do we always choose the flesh over the spirit, the now
over the eternal, bread for the body over bread for the
soul? Because we are carnal and fleshly and temporal.
Tonight an election hangs in the balance. Whether it is this
election of the next, socialism and Communism will come. Why?
Because the getters are going to outnumber the givers. Who is not
going to go get something free even if it will cost them everything
in the long run?
We can’t blame them. We’d do the same thing if we weren’t the
givers. It is the fallen nature of man.
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