The Miracle So Nice He Did It Twice

Let’s Play Two!

“What a great day for baseball. Let’s play two!” That’s a legendary quote from a legendary Mr. Cub. Ernie Banks loved baseball so much, he was ALWAYS ready to play a pair of games in a single day.

But long before Banks ever appeared on his first baseball card, Jesus played His first doubleheader. Okay, it wasn’t really a baseball game. It Mark tells us about the day our Savior serves up a second massive meal on the heels of the first (Mk 8:1-10).

Call it the miracle so nice He did it twice.

The Opening Game

The first thing we need to do is rewind a bit in Mark’s biography of Jesus to that opening game of the doubleheader, the first phenomenal feeding. It all goes down near the shore of a big lake in Galilee. The Twelve has just returned from sharing the love of God without the Lord at their side (Mk 6:30).

Christ wants to get His crew a couple of days off to recharge (Mk 6:31-32). There’s just one problem. A huge crowd spots Him, His heart breaks for them, and He teaches them (Mk 6:33-34).

An Awkward Conversation

At the end of the very long day, the disciples suggest to Jesus that they He send them home so they could grab some grub (Mk 6:35-36). But the Lord tells the boys to pump their brakes and feed the massive audience themselves (Mk 6:37a).

Suddenly there’s an awkward conversation about the cost of catering the huge crowd and how they can only scrape together five loaves of bread and a couple of fish (Mk 6:37b-38).

The Hot New Thing

The next thing you know, our Savior thanks His Dad for what they do have and suddenly transforms the handful of ingredients into an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet for almost 20,000 people (Mk 6:39-44).

Jesus and His team continually try to grab some downtime but it’s just not happening. His combo of awesome teaching and mind-blowing miracles have made Him the hot new thing in Galilee. Crowds gather quickly wherever He goes (Mk 6:54-56). Could He be the Hero from heaven the Jewish people have been waiting for?

More Miracles on Demand

They try heading north across the border into non-Jewish territory but they can’t outrun Jesus’ rep (Mk 7:24-30). They circle back south to another Gentile area call the Ten Towns (Mk 7:31). That just leads to more miracles on demand (Mk 7:32-35; Mt 15:29-31).

That sets the stage for the second game of the doubleheader. While the Lord and the Dirty Dozen are still hanging out near the Ten Towns on the east side of the Sea of Galilee, it starts happening all over again.

Here We Go Again

“About this time another large crowd had gathered, and the people ran out of food again” (Mk 8:1). Feel like you’ve seen this movie before? That’s why some skeptics doubt it happened twice. But Mark makes it clear this may seem the same on the surface, but there are some very key differences.

Right out of the chute, the author and the NLT go out of their way to point out this is indeed the second time it happens. “About this time ANOTHER large crowd had gathered, and the people ran out of food AGAIN” (v1, emphasis added). Here we go again.

Goober from the Son of God

You can bet Jesus’ healing of the hearing impaired man had a lot to do with it (Mk 7:31-37). Folks are certainly buzzing about how the Son of God used supernatural goober to work His latest miracle.

A Punch in the Gut

Jesus and the Twelve huddle up. He lets them know what’s on His heart. “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with Me for three days, and they have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will faint along the way. For some of them have come a long distance” (v1-3).

I’m not so sure that “feel sorry” has the same oomph as the word we see in the original language. Σπλαγχνιζομαι/splagchnizomai describes have deep compassion. It literally means moved in the spleen. It’s like a punch in the gut.

Christ’s Deep Compassion

It’s not the first time this has happened to our Savior. He has deep compassion for folks who are harassed and abused (Mt 9:36). His heart breaks for a desperate leper (Mk 1:41). For a mom who’s burying her son (Mk 9:22). And it’s that same gut feeling which leads to the first feeding of the 5,000 (Mt 14:14; Mk 6:34)

Whether we realize it or not, Christ cares. Whether we feel it or not, He cares deeply about each one of us. About you. About me. About them. Christ cares. About what we’re going through. About what’s happened to you. About what you’re facing. He cares more than anybody on the planet.

Image Bearers of the Creator

As His followers, we should have that same compassion for others. We may not know someone’s eternal destination. But we can be sure one of thing. God made every person we meet in His image (Gen 1:26-27). Every. Single. One.

Yeah, I know. You’ve heard this tune before. But let that sink in. Every person we encounter is an image bearer of our Creator. The lady in front of you in the express line at the grocery store with too many items. The guy who cut you off on the highway. The politician you can’t stand. The annoying neighbor who talks too much. The homeless person at the exit ramp.

Our Holistic Savior

Christ cares for them. As a matter of fact, He cares so deeply for them that He died to save each one of them. Every. Single. One.

And Jesus cares about the whole person. He cares about what we need. Not just spiritually, but emotionally and physically as well. He left heaven on a mission to bring us overflowing life (Jn 10:10). He’s not just a holy Savior but a holistic one as well.

Three Whole Days

It’s actually the emptiness of the people’s stomach that punches Jesus in the gut this time around. “They have been here with Me for three days, and they have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will faint along the way. For some of them have come a long distance” (v2-3).

Did you catch that? They’ve hung out with Jesus for THREE WHOLE DAYS! We only find that little nugget in Mark’s Gospel. The last time the Lord served a miracle meal it was at the end of one very long day. If you’re wondering what’s been going on for three days, Matthew sums it up (Mt 15:30-31).

Long Past Hangry

Three days without anything to eat?!? This is like some crazy music festival where the organizers drop the ball all when it comes to concession stands and food trucks. How hungry would you be? I can tell you, I would have been long past hangry a couple of days ago.

Christ knows that nothing less than an encore to that whole five-loaves-two-fish feast back in Galilee will do the trick. But just like last time, His great compassion for the great big crowd confounds His disciples. “How are we supposed to find enough food to feed them out here in the wilderness?” (v4).

Not the Brightest Bulbs in the Box

The Twelve kinda feel like folks don’t have to go home but they can’t stay here. Despite all they saw before, these knuckleheads still don’t get it. It’s another reminder that Jesus has exactly handpicked the brightest bulbs in the box.

According to the ESV Study Bible, it’s not that the disciples forgot. They simply can’t wrap their heads around what Jesus is capable of. Maybe they don’t think He’s capable of doing what He did before. One thing for sure, they still haven’t figured out who He is yet. That’s one of the mega-themes in Mark’s story of our Savior.

Are You Kidding?!?

Check out their question one more time. “How are we supposed to find enough food to feed them out here in the wilderness?” (v4). Let’s focus on three words. How. We. Wilderness.

They start with a Greek term (Gr. ποθεν/pothen) the NLT translates “how.” Each time this word appears, it raises the question of where, how, what, or why? It always carries the element of surprise. It’s the boys’ way of saying, “Are You kidding, Jesus?!?”

God-Sized Assignments

When they say “we,” they clearly believe the Lord is dumping the responsibility for lunch squarely in their lap. There’s no way they can do that on their own. Jesus is forcing them to place their faith in Him. God continually gives us God-sized assignments in order to rely on Him.

The disciples clearly understand they’re in the middle of the “wilderness” (v4). Despite being called the Ten Towns, this isn’t exactly a major metropolitan area. It’s probably better know as the Ten Tiny Towns out in the Middle of Nowhere. There’s not exactly a Kroger around the corner.

Blanking on the Who

The Twelve are focused on the how and the where of the situation. They’re totally blanking on the Who.  And, no, I don’t mean Daltrey, Townshend, Entwistle, and Moon.

The Who I’m talking about here is One who calls Himself the “Bread of Life” (Jn 6:35). You’re gonna love this. Jesus introduces Himself by that name just after His first feeding of the doubleheader (Jn 6:1-14).

All We Ever Need

By claiming this title, the Son of God isn’t challenging those of us who’ve chosen to go gluten-free. It’s His way of saying He’s totally essential for life. Not physical life. But eternal life. He’s all we’ll ever need.

Most big time Bible experts believe there’s another reason for this supernatural second helping. Since this about to go down in mostly Gentile territory, Jesus will prove that He is the Living Bread for non-Jews too.

What They DO Have

Back in Mark’s story, Jesus gets back to the problem at hand. He asks His disciples if they’ve actually checked on their available resources. “How much bread do you have?” (v5). In other words, boys, go do what you did the last time we were in the same situation (Mk 6:38).

He doesn’t want them looking at what they DON’T have. He wants to understand what they DO have. And no matter what that number is, Jesus makes it more than enough. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

The Perfect Number

We’re not sure how long this inventory takes but they come back to Christ with the answer. “Seven loaves” (v5). Numbers are important in the ancient world. For instance, folks see seven as the perfect or complete number. This may just be God’s way of saying He has perfect and complete love for both Jews and Gentiles.

Then the Lord rings the dinner bell. “So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. Then He took the seven loaves, thanked God for them, broke them into pieces. He gave them to His disciples, who distributed the bread to the crowd” (v6).

Thanking God for the Good Stuff

After getting everyone seated, our Savior thanks His Father for what they do have. It’s something we’ve seen Him do before (Mt 14:19; Mk 6:41). Jesus’ kid brother wants us to remember that all the good stuff comes from our Heavenly Dad (James 1:17).

Thanking God, breaking bread, and handing it out are all regular parts of every Jewish meal back in the day. Don’t you think we should take a few moments before breakfast, lunch, and dinner to express our gratitude for what we’re about to eat?

Blessing TO Us and THROUGH Us

Notice how Christ multiplies the meal but He involves the disciples in the miracle. He breaks the bread while the boys deliver the goods. God wants to use us to be part of His blessing to others. When we ignore that invitation, we’re the ones who miss out.

Here’s the deal. As the Sovereign God of the universe, He doesn’t need us. But He invites us to be part of His work. He wants us to be part of His work. There’s blessing when we serve others (Jn 13:17). That’s because His blessing TO us is a blessing THROUGH us.

It Just Keeps Coming!

“He gave them to His disciples, who distributed the bread to the crowd” (v 6). The grammar in the original Greek here describes the continuous process of the Twelve passing out food. In other words, Jesus keeps breaking the bread and the disciples keep dishing it out. The food just keeps coming!

Serving More than Carbs

Christ is serving more than just carbs to the big crowd. “A few small fish were found, too, so Jesus also blessed these and told the disciples to distribute them” (v7). While we don’t have a specific number, Mark lets us know they don’t have many and they aren’t very big.

The word the NLT translates as “small fish” (Gr. ιχθυδιον/ichthudion) certainly doesn’t describe what you’d call keepers. Think bluegill, bream, or tiny tilapia. Remember, the second Gospel is almost certainly Peter’s version of events. This commercial fisherman is anything but impressed with this meager catch.

Passing on Dessert

The size and quantity of the fish might be lacking but the miracle meal certainly isn’t. “They ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food” (v8).

Folks are stuffed. Can’t you just picture folks in the big crowd leaning back after this amazing all-you-can-eat seafood buffet? No need to see the dessert menu. They couldn’t eat another bite.

Luggage full of Leftovers

Just like after the last supernatural spread, the Twelve clean up the leftovers. But this time, they use “large baskets” (Gr. σπυρις/spuris). These are bigger than the ones they used back after the first banquet (Mk 6:43).

The term here means a big whicker hamper often used for carrying stuff on long journeys. It’s more like a trunk or a very large suitcase. This is no carryon. They have seven pieces of luggage full of leftovers.

Man-Sized Baskets

In fact, these baskets are actually big enough to hold a man! When the Jews put a hit on the newly converted Saul in Damascus, his friends smuggle him out of the city one night using one of them (Acts 9:25). WAY bigger than your mom’s most monstrous Tupperware.

We’re not just talking about a few scraps and crumbs. This is an absolute overabundance of food. And you think you’re grandma can prepare too much for dinner. It’s nothing compared to what Jesus can do. He’s capable of so much more than we could ever dream of (Eph 3:20).

Seafood for 16,000

Did you notice the number seven again? I didn’t think that would get past you. The perfect and complete meal results in perfect and complete leftovers. This is the meal that keeps on giving!

So just how many folks did Jesus feed with seven little loaves and a handful of small fish? “There were about 4,000 men in the crowd that day, and Jesus sent them home after they had eaten” (v9). Just counting 4,000 dudes, that puts the probable crowd at somewhere around 16,000!!

Back in the Boat

Just after Christ’s crew cleans up, they’re on the move again. “Immediately after this, He got into a boat with His disciples and crossed over to the region of Dalmanutha” (v10). Did you know that Mark is the only writer of Scripture to mention this place?

When you compare Matt’s version of this same story, we find out it’s near Magadan (AKA Magdala) on the northwest shore of the freshwater lake known as the Sea of Galilee (Mt 15:39). It happens to be the hometown of one of Jesus’ most famous female followers, Mary of Magdala. You probably know her as Mary Magdalene.

Setting the Table

As the boat pulls away from the beach, this second seafood buffet really sets the table for what’s to come. Jesus will have another run-in with the religious power brokers once they land (Mk 8:11-13).

When that’s over, the Lord warns His posse about the Pharisees’ leaven (Mk 8:14-21). They think He’s busting their chops about failing to pack a lunch. They don’t realize He’s actually giving them a heads up about falling under their sinful influence.

Back-to-Back Buffets

Despite having front row seats for both of these miraculous meals, Jesus’ closest followers still don’t understand who He really is. They’ve never seen anyone like Him. His deep compassion for others. His ability to provide exactly what they need most when they need it most.

In 1954, Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals played what many baseball fans believe is the greatest doubleheader in history when he it five homers. That’s how you earn the nickname of Stan the Man.

But that’s little league compared to what Christ did with His back-to-back bread-and-fish buffets. The Lord totally knock both of them out of the park. It's

the miracle so nice He did it twice.

©2018

Jay Jennings

A Real Slobberknocker

When Spit Flies

Slobberknocker.

It’s a rather juicy and colorful country word I learned growing up. Folks would use it to describe a vicious collision during a football game. We’re talking about a hit so hard that spit would fly everywhere. Slobberknocker…get it?

If you’re a wrestling fan, you’ve probably heard announcer Jim Ross throw this term around more than the Rock throws the People’s Elbow. Yeah, I just mentioned wrestling in the same breath as Jesus.

A Trip to the Ten Towns

But long before Wrestlemania or the Royal Rumble, there was a real slobberknocker in a tiny corner of the world known as the Ten Towns. Folks there will never forget the day that Jesus used a glob of His own supernatural spit to knock a dude’s deafness into next week (Mk 7:31-37).

It all happens during a long road trip for Christ and His crew. Did you catch all that’s been going on? Let’s rewind a ways and review, shall we? It starts when the Lord’s own hometown of Nazareth gives Him a stiff arm (Mk 6:1-6).

Trying to Take Some Time off

After that He sends the Twelve out in teams of two to practice serving and loving people on their own (Mk 6:7-13). Jesus gets the bad news that the local king has killed His cousin (Mk 6:14-29). It’s right about here when the Lord starts looking to take His guys and take some time off (Mk 6:30-31).

Oh, but just the opposite happens. This is right about the time Jesus’ popularity peaks and things really amp up. After a big crowd chases him down the beach while He’s traveling by boat, our Savior serves them up an all-you-can-eat seafood buffer using only a a couple of fish sandwiches (Mk 6:32-44).

Problems on the Inside

When Christ sends His disciples off in a boat across the big lake, He miraculously meets up with them in by walking out the waves during a midnight storm (Mk 6:45-52). He follows that by healing all sorts of folks in several lakeside villages (Mk 6:53-56). Some are cured by just grabbing His clothes.

Follow that up with yet another showdown with religious power brokers from the Hebrew home office in Jerusalem (Mk 7:1-23). These dudes are all freaked out when Jesus’ team won’t follow their own manmade rules for obeying God through external actions. But He makes it clear that our problem isn’t on the outside but the churning urn of burning funk on the inside of hearts.

That’s when Christ gets so serious about getting away that He and His boys head north across the border near a city on the Mediterranean Sea called Tyre. Despite trying to keep a low profile in a foreign land, He ends up helping a desperate mom by driving the demon out of her daughter (Mk 7:24-30).

A Roundabout Route

We pick up the story in Mark’s biography of the radical Rabbi/Carpenter as He packs up and hit the road again. The author traces His rather roundabout route. “Jesus left Tyre and went up to Sidon before going back to the Sea of Galilee and the region of the Ten Towns” (v31).

If you’re following along on the map, you’ll see they head further north about twenty miles to Sidon before swinging back south in a clockwise loop. They make an end run to the eastern side of the lake we call the Sea of Galilee.

Off Herod’s Radar

In doing so, Jesus and His arrive back in the Ten Towns metro area. The Ten Towns, also known in some Bible translations as the Decapolis, is an alliance of cities which share a heavy influence of Greek culture.

This is non-Jewish territory. It allows the Lord to stay off Herod Antipas’ radar as well as avoiding those pesky Pharisees. But it’s not like Jesus can keep it on the down low for very long. His popularity had already spread to the Ten Towns (Mt 4:25)

His Reputation Precedes Him

That’s because Christ got an amazing amount of local media attention after healing a naked, demon-possessed dude living in a local graveyard (Mk 5:20). Let’s just say His reputation preceded Him to the Ten Towns.

So it’s not long before He’s asked to help someone. “A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to Him, and the people begged Jesus to lay His hands on the man and heal Him” (v32). Locals clearly believe He can help their friend.

God Takes Requests

This is a great reminder of a couple of things. First of all, we should do what we can for others what they can’t do for themselves. Specifically when that involves getting them closer to Jesus.

Second, the Son of God takes requests. He’s ready to hear our pleas on behalf of others. The fancy schmancy word for that is intercession. It’s action of intervening for someone else when we see the need for divine intervention.

A Speech Impediment

In this case, the man can’t hear. We don’t know why. Chances are he could at some point. That’s because Mark describes him as having a “speech impediment” (v32). This is the compound Greek word μογιλαλος/mogilalos, which literally means to have difficulty speaking.

This doesn’t mean he couldn’t or wouldn’t talk at all. It simply means he was very hard to understand. When you have severe hearing loss, you have a hard time speaking because you can’t hear yourself. This means the guy could probably hear at one point. The dude has gone deaf over the course of his life.

Getting Alone with the Son of God

Whatever the case, Christ gets to work. But first He creates some distance from the crowd. “Jesus led Him away from the crowd so they could be alone” (v33). These days you would suspect this was to avoid some sort of HIPAA violation. But that’s not the case in the First Century.

I guess there’s the chance that He remembers how the last miracle He performed in the area wasn’t exactly received with open arms. Our Savior healed that demon-possessed man by sending a couple of thousand evil spirits into a herd of hogs. When the pigs died after taking a flying leap off a cliff, locals begged Him to leave (Mk 5:1-20).

Eliminating Distractions

But I suspect the Lord simply doesn’t want to put on a big show. It’s not looking for a photo opp or creating a media event. He’s simply providing a quiet and compassionate cure for a particular person.

Could it be that Christ is taking the man’s disability into consideration? Getting alone with him would also eliminate visual distractions. All he sees would be Jesus.

Hanging out with Jesus

Whatever the case, we can be sure that our Savior loves to get alone with us. He wants to eliminate the distractions that steal our focus from Him. Turn off the phone. Close the laptop. Walk away from the TV. Get alone with the Son of God. He loves to just hang out. Just you and Jesus.

To be sure, following Christ is a team sport. We desperately need other believers in our lives. But it’s also intensely personal. Jesus wants to get alone with each of us. As a matter of fact, He LOVES to get alone with each of us.

Sign Language

When the two of them are off to themselves Jesus begins the exam with a touch. “He put His fingers into the man’s ears” (v33). This is probably His not-so-subtle form of sign language letting His patient know what He’s about to do.

We’ve got to remember that this just about the only way Christ can communicate His care and compassion to the guy. After making the massive leap from heaven to earth, He’s not going to let the man’s deafness get in the way. He meets him smack dab in his disability.

Meeting Us Where We Are

And He does the same for us. He meets us where we are…right in the middle of our brokenness. In the middle of our depression. In the middle of our pain. In the middle of our sin. In the middle of our rebellion.

There’s an old tune by King David that goes a little something like this. “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed” (Ps 34:18). In other words, He never closer than when we’re at our lowest. Let THAT sink in.

Goober from the Son of God

After probing the man’s ears, that’s when things get a little…um…messy. “Then, spitting on His own fingers, He touched the man’s tongue” (v33). Yup, you read that right. Jesus spits. Goober from the Son of God. The Lord hocks a loogie.

After digging deeper into the original language for this verse, I’m pretty sure I’ve found my new favorite Greek word. It’s πτυω/ptuo. Go ahead, say it out loud. It’s sounds EXACTLY like you think it would…puh-TOO-ee! And it means EXACTLY what you think it does…to spit. I told you this was going to be a real slobberknocker!

Drool as a Tool

It’s not the only time Jesus uses His own drool as a tool in the healing process. A little later in Mark, He applies His saliva to restore the sight to a man in Bethsaida (Mk 8:22-26). John tells us about the time Christ combines clay and spit cure another guy’s blindness (Jn 9:6-7).

So if God can use slobber for His glory and our good, He can use just about anything. That includes you and me.

Heavenly Healing

But our Savior has three more little steps before this hearing impaired man receives his miracle. “Looking up to heaven, He sighed and said, ‘Ephphatha,’ which means, ‘Be opened!’” (v34). One, He looks up. Two, He sighs. Three, He commands.

First, Jesus looks up in another form of non-verbal communication. He wants this guy to know this will be a heavenly healing. As Christ’s kid brother writes, “Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father” (James 1:17). If it’s good, it’s from God.

The Savior’s Heavy Sigh

Second, He sighs. Here’s another example of where the English language has a hard time getting across the gist of the biblical Greek. The word the NLT translates as “sighed” (Gr. στεναζω/stenazo) means to moan and groan as the result of deep concern or stress. It’s expressing a complaint excessively or grumbling strongly.

So the Savior heaves a heavy sigh. What’s the Messiah moaning and groaning about? You can just about bet He’s brokenhearted over the damage our sin has caused. Not just to His Dad’s perfect creation but to ourselves as well.

We can trace it all back to our first parents. Adam and Eve fell for the lie from a satanic snake that God was holding out on them (Gen 3:1-7). Things have been spiraling in the wrong direction ever since. Let’s not get cocky and think we wouldn’t have been such suckers for original sin. The universe is broken and we’re the ones who broke it.

The Power of God’s Words

Third, Christ commands. Thankfully, Mark does the heaving lifting of translation for us. “‘Ephphatha,’ which means, ‘Be 

opened!’” (v34). That funny looking word is actually in Aramaic, the local language spoken in first century Israel. It’s closely related to Hebrew and is still spoken in parts of the Middle East today.

Jesus orders the deaf man’s to open up and start working again. Never forget the unbelievable power when God speaks. We’re talking about words that carry total authority. If you’re wondering what I mean, He created absolutely everything out of totally nothing by simply saying a few words (Gen 1).

If God can do that, there’s nothing stopping Him from doing anything else. If He says it, stand back and watch what happens. It’s one reason Jesus is known as the Word (Jn 1:1). What He says goes. Demons hit the road. Disease disappears. Eternities change.

Sudden Sound

It should come as no surprise what happens next outside the Ten Towns. “Instantly the man could hear perfectly, and his tongue was freed so he could speak plainly!” (v35). Once again, Mark uses his favorite word, here the NLT translates “instantly” (Gr. ευθεος/eutheos). The author drops some form of it 40-plus times.

In other words, there’s zero recovery time. The man doesn’t just have a significant improvement in his hearing. His ears are crystal clear. Imagine going from total silence to sudden sound. In an instant, you can hear birds singing, leaves rustling, and water trickling.

Jesus’ instantaneous healing of his hearing leads directly to correcting his speech. They are tied together. Now that he can clearly hear again, his can clearly speak again. By the way, that’s pretty solid confirmation that his deafness wasn’t a birth defect.

Doing Messiah Things

The Lord does what the prophet Isaiah predicted that Messiah is supposed to do. “And when he comes, He will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy!” (Is 35:5-6).

It’s what Jesus tells the followers of John the Baptizer when they wonder if He really is the Hero from heaven everyone’s waiting for. “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen—the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the God News is preached to the poor” (Mt 11:5).

A Sneak Preview

The Son of God is providing a sneak preview of what His kingdom will eventually look like! When He returns for His ultimate encore, everything will change for the better. He’ll totally kick sin, disease, and death to the heavenly curb once and for all. If you think this is a slobberknocker, just you wait!!

Why Keep It Quiet?

Once the guy can hear and speak again, you would expect his assignment from Jesus would be to spread the word. Not so fast, my friend. “Jesus told the crowd not to tell anyone, but the more He told them not to, the more they spread the news” (v36). Wait, what?

What’s the dealio? Just remember where we are in the story of Jesus. First, the Messiah is in Gentile territory. Remember how He made it clear that at the top of His to-do list is taking the Gospel to God’s chosen people, the Jews (Mk 7:27)?

Staying on Schedule

Second, Christ has a VERY specific timetable. He doesn’t want to attract the attention of the Roman Empire too soon. They have a little problem with anyone who challenges their authority by claiming to be the King of Kings and God Incarnate.

Third, Jesus has disciples to, well, disciple. He has a limited window of three-and-a-half years to transform this ragtag team of misfits into an apostolic strike force that will change the world.

Doing What He Says

But as you can see, word of what He’s doing spreads like wildfire. The more Jesus tells us not to do something, the more we do it. Sound familiar? I need to constantly remind myself that following Him means doing what He says. It means trusting Him with the leadership of my life.

Knocking It out of the Park

It’s just hard for these folks to keep the lid on the goodness of God. “They were completely amazed and said again and again, ‘Everything He does is wonderful. He even makes the deaf to hear and gives speech to those who cannot speak’” (v37).

The original language basically says their wonder over what’s gone down is way off the charts. Jesus has knocked it out of the park. This is such a home run healing that it can’t be measured.

In other words, it’s a real slobberknocker!

©2018

Jay Jennings