4/15

Mark 7:32-33,37

32There 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. 33After 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.

37People were overwhelmed with amazement. "He has done everything well," they said. "He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."


Jesus returned to the Decapolis region some time after being asked to leave. You may recall the story of the demons going into the pigs. The man who was delivered had witnessed to the region what Jesus had done for him. This time crowds met Him. They brought a man who could not hear or speak well.

Jesus never seems to follow a pattern. I hope that is a lesson for us today. His only pattern is to hear the Father's direction. It sounds like He spit on His fingers and touched the man's tongue. If the problem is the man's hearing, there is not a natural chance that his speech will clear up. That would require years of listening and mimicking just like a child learns. But Jesus is not a natural chance. He can instantly teach what is not known. He can enable where there has been no experience, and He does it through the most unpredictable means.

When the man was healed and his speech miraculously made clear, the crowd was overwhelmed with amazement. When was the last time you were overwhelmed with amazement? If we watch the Lord at work in the world around us, it will happen quite often. We may need our eyes touched so that we are enabled to see. Jesus does everything well, even in our lives.

Prayer: "Lord, touch my eyes to see Your work in the world around me, that my heart might overflow with amazement that You do all things well!