By Bob Setzer
In Mark 7:31-37, Jesus encounters a deaf man with a speech impediment. He takes the sufferer aside and creates a circle of privacy away from the gawking crowd. Jesus puts his fingers into the man’s ears and touches his tongue with a saliva-tipped finger. These gestures create a deep, intimate bond with the man and excites his expectation.
Jesus looks up to heaven and sighs, deeply troubled by the man’s suffering. Then he says in Aramaic, his native tongue, "Ephphatha!" that is, "Be opened." At Jesus’ touch and command, the man’s ears are opened and his tongue set free.
As with all Jesus’ miracles, the physical miracle is an expression of the deeper, spiritual healing Jesus comes to give. It is our ears Jesus longs to open, and hence he cries again and again, "Let the one with ears to hear, hear!"
What is it Jesus wants us to hear? What is it Jesus wants you to hear? In listening to your New Testament, pay attention to what speaks to you. That may be Jesus breaking through.
Welcome!This Lenten season, the First Baptist Church of Christ will take the time to listen to the entire New Testament (days and passages are listed on the right column). Through our partnership with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, every member of the church will be offered a free MP3 recording of the New Testament. By listening to this recording for less than half an hour each day, one can hear the entire New Testament in forty days.
At this blog, you’ll be able to read some of our members’ thoughts about what they are hearing. Our contributors reflect the great diversity of our congregation. They are male and female, older and younger, some with a seminary background and some without. As you read their questions, reflections, and observations, I invite you to join the conversation by posting a comment.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
February 24: Mark 7–11
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