Mark 7:31-37
 

31 Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis.[a] 32 There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.

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.”
 

          Personal evaluations are often used to determine someone’s ability to perform a certain job or task.  Companies may use a probationary period to evaluate whether a person deserves a full-time job.  They want to see if that person is able to do what is required and if he will be an asset to the company.  After a few weeks or months, that person may be called into the manager’s office to be told whether he will get the job or not.
          In our text for today, Jesus is in the eye of the public who, at this time, are watching him very carefully.  Many have heard him preach and teach and some have seen him perform miracles.  He seemed to pass the “eye test.”  But the religious leaders of the day were not speaking very highly of him.  In fact, they despised him.  This caused many people to be confused, not knowing if they should trust what they had seen and heard or what they were being told by their religious leaders.
          In the verses of our text for today, Jesus performed a miracle that brought about quite a reaction from those who saw what happened.  Mark described the people as being “overwhelmed with amazement.”  Our faith in Jesus will lead us to join them in their praise…
 

“He Has Done Everything Well”
 
I.  Trust Him completely
II.  Praise Him thankfully

 
          Jesus had crossed over to the northeast side of the Jordan River to an area of 10 cities known as the Decapolis.  “There,” Mark wrote, “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.”  No doubt these people had tried to find help for their friend before.  They had likely consulted a number of different people to see if there was anything that they could do for him.  Unfortunately, none of them had been able to help.
          When the people heard that Jesus was nearby, they brought their friend to him and “begged him to place his hand on the man,” hoping that Jesus could do what the others had not been able to do.  When Jesus saw the man, he had compassion on him and “took him aside, away from the crowd.”  He “put his fingers into the man’s ears.  Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue.  He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, ‘Ephphatha!’ (which means, ‘Be opened!’)”
          This might have seemed like a perfect opportunity for Jesus to stand in front of the crowd and heal this man using a dramatic display of power and authority.  He knew that he was being “evaluated” by the crowds, watched carefully to see whether they should trust him or not.  But instead, Jesus took the man away from the crowd.  He was not concerned about trying to justify what he was saying about himself.  His concern was for the man who had been brought to him.  His “deep sigh” showed the sympathy that he had for this man’s physical condition, brought on as a result of sin’s destructive nature.  In a very private and personal way, Jesus healed the man of his physical limitations.
          This demonstration of Jesus showed the personal concern that he had for this man.  We aren’t told anything about this man other than the fact that he could not hear or speak.  We aren’t even told his name.  What we are told is that Jesus cared about him, personally attended to his needs, and healed him.  It didn’t matter to Jesus if he was a prince or a pauper, a man of influence or just another face in the crowd. Jesus showed the same type of concern for him that he would have shown to anyone who had come to him for help regardless of who they were.
          Isaiah had said that the Messiah would be a “man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.” (Is. 53:3).  In the book of Hebrews, we are told that “he too shared in their humanity….” (Heb. 2:14) Although he was, and remained, true God, Jesus had become “fully human,” experiencing the world in which we live just as we do.  He experienced joys and sorrows, pains and pleasures, good times and bad.
          When we are tempted to feel that no one cares or no one can help, Jesus wants us to remember that “He has done everything well.”  He wants us to see ourselves in the deaf and mute man standing before him and see the love that he has for each of us.  The familiar words of the Hymn “I Am Jesus’ Little Lamb” remind us, “For my Shepherd gently guides me, knows my needs and well provides me, Loves me every day the same, Even calls me by my name.”
          Each of us can trust him completely to know exactly what we need and to provide perfectly for those needs.  Knowing that we can trust him completely, we are reminded to….
 

II.  Praise Him thankfully

 
          When the man realized he could hear and speak, there may have been a handshake or hug between the two.  But the man was probably eager to get back to his friends to show them what Jesus had done for him.  When Jesus followed, he “commanded them not to tell anyone.”  Initially, this might have sounded like an odd request.  Such a powerful demonstration would have looked pretty good on Jesus’ “evaluation.”
          But Jesus saw the danger that dramatic displays of his power present.  People were impressed by his miracles and his display of power. They were impressed by what Jesus could do and imagined all that he could do for them personally.  Jesus could attract some pretty big crowds with his miracles.  But that wasn’t why he did them.  Jesus didn’t want people to think of him as a miracle worker, a healer, someone who could give them the “easy life” to enjoy.  Jesus had not come to give people “the easy life.”  He had come to give them “eternal life.”
          Jesus didn’t want the people to talk about what he had done.  In spite of his plea, we are told that “the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it.  People everywhere were overwhelmed with amazement.  ‘He has done everything well’ they said. ‘He even makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.’”  The reaction of the people is understandable.  It would be pretty difficult to keep quiet if we had seen something like this happen.  But Jesus wanted the point of his miracles to be his love and concern for people.  He wanted them to know that he could do this, and was willing to do this, because he was the true Son of God.  He wanted people to know that, as the true Messiah, he had so much more to offer them than just temporary relief from earthly difficulties.
          In today’s Old Testament lesson, Isaiah had prophesied that the coming Messiah would “save you.”  He also wrote about the signs of his power that would verify his divine nature.  He would open the eyes of the blind, unstop the ears of the deaf, make the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue would shout for joy.  Jesus used these miracles to help people in need, but also as signs to verify that he was who he said that he was.  As people made that connection, they were “overwhelmed with amazement” and praised him because he “has done everything well.” 
          Through the faith that we have been given by the Holy Spirit, we can see how Jesus “has done everything well.”  Our evaluation of Jesus is heard in the hymns of praise that we sing and the confessions that we make.  We sing in hymn 620, “Oh, worship the King, all-glorious above; Oh, gratefully sing his pow’r and his love, Our shield and defender, the Ancient of Days, Pavilioned in splendor and girded with praise.” (CW #620:1) Our closing hymn today will repeat the refrain, “Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!  Let the earth hear his voice!  Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord! Let the people rejoice!  Oh, come to the Father through Jesus the Son  And give him the glory—great things he has done!” (CW #627) Our praise of our Savior is seen in the bold confession of the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.” We praise and honor our Lord because he has taken away our sins and given us access to the eternal blessings of heaven.
          Our praises carry into our lives as we thank him for the blessings that he gives us by using them wisely and to his glory.  How sad it would have been if the deaf mute had used his new ability to hear and speak to listen to gossip and to curse and swear!  Consider the blessings that God has given to us in Jesus, and think about how many different ways we can use them to thank our Lord for all that he has done for us.  Our goal in life can be to hear Jesus say about us what we say about him, “They have done everything well.”  We can bring those words to his lips by the power of faith that we have and the Holy Spirit who is at work in our hearts.
          Jesus “has done everything well.”  He lived a perfect life, died an innocent death, and rose victoriously over sin, death, and the devil.  When we look at Jesus through the eyes of faith, we will also be “overwhelmed with amazement.”  We will trust him completely, and praise him thankfully.  Amen.