Sermon Tone Analysis

TITLE:   Open Your Eyes \\ EXEGESIS:      \\ CHAPTERS 6-8:  EYES TO SEE & EARS TO HEAR \\ \\ Beginning with the Feeding of the Five Thousand (6:30-44), Mark relates a \\ series of miracles, including the restoration of the deaf man's hearing \\ and speech (7:31-37) and a blind man's sight (8:22-26).

The passage \\ culminates in Peter's confession of faith, "You are the Messiah" (8:29).

\\ Along the way, Jesus encounters the antagonism of the scribes and \\ Pharisees (7:1-23; 8:11-13) and the lack of faith of the disciples \\ (8:14-21).

When the latter worry about not having enough bread (keep in \\ mind that Mark has just related both the Feeding of the Five Thousand and \\ the Feeding of the Four Thousand), Jesus says, "Why are you talking about \\ having no bread?

Do you still not perceive or understand?

Are your hearts \\ hardened?

Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to \\ hear?" (8:17-18).

Jesus' has come to impart physical healing, but his \\ greater purpose is opening spiritual eyes and ears.

\\ \\ SCRIPTURE:    Mark 7:24-37 \\ \\

SERMON:

     \\ "He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there" (v.

24b).

Perhaps he is looking for solitude from the crowds that have pursued him in his Galilean ministry.

Perhaps he simply wants time alone with the disciples.

\\ \\ "Yet he could not escape notice" (v.

24).

The "woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet.

Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin" "She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter" (v.

26).

\\ \\ We are shocked at Jesus' response.

"Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs" (v.

27).

This is one of the most troubling verses in the New Testament.

The mother is asking healing, not for herself, but for her daughter.

It must be difficult for a Gentile woman to ask a Jewish man for help, but she \\ does it because her need is great.

She comes in faith as a reverent requester.

What more could Jesus ask?

As it turns out, he could ask that she be Jewish.

"Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs."

Most references to dogs in classical and Biblical literature are negative.

\\ "But she answered him, 'Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs' " (v.

28).

It is a good answer -- a soft answer with a sharp edge.

The woman acknowledges the special place of the Jews, calls attention to her own need, and turns Jesus' words to press her plea.

The image is of children carelessly or even purposely dropping bits of food on the floor -- a benevolent image.

What harm could come from allowing this woman to partake of that which the children have refused?

\\ \\ "Then he said to her, 'For saying that, you may go -- the demon has left your daughter.'

So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone" (vv.

29-30).

Note that: -- Jesus does not go with her to her home.

He does not touch the child.

He does not issue a healing command.

He simply reports a healing that has already taken place.

Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis.

A man's friends brought the man to Jesus in the hope that Jesus could do something for him.

Over the years, lots of friends have brought lots of people to Jesus in the hope that Jesus could do something for them.

They have brought blind people -- people confined to wheel chairs – cancer patients -- drunks -- ne'er-do-wells -- husbands -- wives -- children.

\\ When his friends brought the deaf~/mute man to Jesus, Jesus took him aside -- away from the crowd -- and healed him.

The story of the healing is a bit disgusting.

Jesus put his fingers in the man's ears -- and spat -- and touched the man's tongue.

There is a significant parallel between the deaf man and Jesus' disciples.

The man can neither hear nor speak properly.

The disciples cannot understand what Jesus is telling them, and are thus hampered in their proclamation.

They, too, need Jesus' touch so that they might see, hear, and understand.

\\ \\ We, too, need Jesus' touch so that we might see, hear, & understand.

The popularity of the Prosperity Gospel ("Believe and grow rich") is but one evidence of the spiritual misunderstanding that is widespread in the church today.

And then there is the assumption on the part of many Christians, that we attend church not to give glory to God but "for what we get out of it."

In these and a thousand other ways, we demonstrate our own blindness and deafness.

We, too, need Christ's healing touch.

\\ \\ This healing is very different from that of the woman's daughter.

In that story, Jesus took no action other than to report the healing to the mother (v.

29).

He puts his fingers into the man's ears.

He spits and touches the man's tongue.

Sometimes Jesus heals us with a word, and sometimes he has to spit.

I don't know why some healings are easy and others aren't.

\\ \\ And then Jesus looked up to heaven -- and sighed -- and said, "Ephphatha," which means "Be opened" -- "And immediately (the man's) ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly."

Jesus brought the man freedom -- freedom to move his tongue -- freedom to talk -- freedom to tell people what was on his mind --freedom to share his heart and soul with other people.

And was commanded not to tell anyone.

\\ \\ And the people were "astounded beyond measure."

When was the last time that you were astounded beyond measure?

We are not easily astounded anymore.

We see wondrous things so often that they fail to move us.

Put a man on the moon -- did that!

Bring down the Berlin wall -- did that too!  Have lunch while jetting seven miles above the ocean -- do that every day!

\\ \\ But it is wonderful to be astounded!

It would be wonderful if we could recover our ability to be astounded at the wonderful things that God does for us daily.

\\ \\ An artist, Tim Lefens, recently wrote a book entitled Flying Colors.

It is the story -- the true story -- of his work with severely disabled people --people confined to wheelchairs -- many of whom cannot even talk.

\\ \\ Lefens tells about JR, a young man who could communicate only with his eyes and his left knee.

To say "Yes" he would look up and raise his left knee.

To say "No" he would look sideways.

Just imagine!

To be able to give the right answer, he had to wait for someone to ask the right question, because he could signal only "Yes" or "No."

He could want something desperately, but often nobody would ask the right question for \\ days -- or weeks -- or months -- or ever!

\\ \\ One day, JR showed up for Lefens' class.

Someone had finally thought to ask if he wanted to go to the painting class, and he looked up – and jerked his knee up.

He signaled, "Yes!  Yes!

Yes!" \\ \\ JR came to the class and Lefens taught him to paint.

He strapped a laser pointer to JR's head so that JR could point to the place where he wanted the paint applied.

Then he offered JR various colors of paint until JR signaled, "Yes, that is the color!" \\ \\ Then JR started painting.

He flashed the laser with furious intensity at the canvas as an assistant applied paint where the laser pointed.

An abstract painting emerged -- a black, electric cloud jammed into the corner of the canvas.

Powerful!

Emotional!

\\ \\ One of the other patients said, "I think I know what he's saying."

He's saying, "Get me the heck out of here."

\\ \\ Lefens asked JR, "Is that what you were saying?"

And then he looked at JR's face: \\ \\ "His eyes, once so frantic, was radiating in a rich beam."

\\ \\ Astounded beyond measure!

Astounded to be able to communicate -- astounded to speak through his painting!

Astounded!

Just like the deaf~/mute man was astounded when Jesus healed him!

\\ \\ We would do well to recover our ability to be astounded -- to be astounded at God's wonderful creation -- to be astounded at the wonderful things that Jesus does in our lives every day.

We read about the miracles in the Bible, but they seem so remote -- so unreal.

But Jesus still works miracles.