Secret Missions [part two] ...

Peter recites to John Mark in his gospel chapter seven two stories of where Jesus was attempting to reveal the Father’s love in secret, attempting to avoid publicity in His mission.  In our previous study, we examined the first incident which was designed to test the faith of a mother, and reveal the character of the companions of Christ.  In examining the second story here, Peter is significantly more detailed about the mechanics of the healing, than in the other miracles Christ performed.  Peter goes into the details.  The question is why?  Ultimately the publicity of the mission of the Messiah cannot be controlled or subdued.  Whether by excited recipients who simply cannot keep silent about what Christ has done for them (oh, that we had such people in our day), or by demons who work in concert to drive the people to make Him king whether He wants it or not; the missions of Christ are widely known, and widely publicized.  So Peter does not seem to need to correlate secrecy with how this sick man was healed, yet he spends time talking about both.  Perhaps it is the details themselves that warrant deeper attention.

The story begins in no special way picking up in verse 31 saying … “And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis.”  Jesus is traveling again.  He moves another significant distance.  Was this perhaps to avoid publicity by moving away from a region that seemed inundated with stories of Him, or was this perhaps to find the one who would be brought to Him in so desperate a need.  It is hard to say.  The story continues in verse 32 saying … “And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him.”  Here is where a few details appear.  First, the person afflicted has more than one health problem.  He is deaf, and subsequently has a speech impediment.  Now, most people that cannot hear, also have a strange, or impacted way of speaking.  But the attention Peter pays to this condition, and the subsequent healing Christ does specifically for this man’s ability to talk, tells us this was not just a simple cause and effect from the deafness.  It was something more.

Next, the request of the people to heal this man, included the clause “put His hand upon him”.  The people in this story either have not heard of Christ healing simply by dragging His garments over someone, like the woman who started this trend some time ago across the Sea of Galilee.  Or they are unfamiliar with Christ simply speaking the words of assurance like He did to the last mother, who found her daughter healed even though the daughter never was actually in the presence of Christ.  These people bent on helping this man, wanted a personal touch by Christ.  Perhaps this was the most common way people were aware of Jesus’ healing powers, and they were simply requesting He do it for their friend.  No matter, Jesus did not refuse them.

The story continues in verse 33 saying … “And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; [verse 34] And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. [verse 35] And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.”  More interesting correlations arise in these verses.  You will note first, Jesus takes the impacted man away from the multitude.  Jesus wants a more private, perhaps a more personal interaction with this man.  Jesus is not looking for publicity; He is searching for more privacy.  If He had wanted the crowds to see it, He could have made a spectacle of this man’s healing, but He did not.  Next, the touch requested is granted in probably a more personal way, than Jews who had been told they must obsess about ceremonial cleanings would like.  Jesus did not reach out and shake hands with this sick man, He put His fingers right into the guy’s ears.  Further, He spit on His own fingers, and then He touched the man’s very tongue, where most of the taste buds, and sensitivity is in your mouth I might add.

If we correlate what is happening here with the Gospel of John regarding the lame man, we might reach a conclusion, that Christ is literally creating flesh, and organs, where they are missing either partially or in whole.  This particular healing is not about lowering a fever, or putting strength into existing organs and tissue, I believe it is about creating some, where they did not exist before.  Remembering that we are created from dirt, and are composed of mostly water, Christ our Creator, may be doing what He did back in Eden, albeit on a much more limited scale.  In this instance, our Creator is restoring something that has been messed up or is partially missing.  Not only does Jesus take these very personal touching actions with the impacted sick man, He then follows all of this with a prayer to His Father.  He looks up to heaven before speaking Himself.  This is to acknowledge that His Father is the source of all love, and all restorative power.  Then before speaking Peter says that Jesus sighed.  Perhaps Jesus too is frustrated that sin, and Satan have so corrupted our world, and our bodies, that this man suffers from more from what has been done.  Perhaps Jesus too, would have us ALL restored, both physically and spiritually, but no one in the crowd is asking for spiritual restoration, which arguably is more important. 

He then speaks in front of the man, a sort of command, the word “Ephphatha” which is immediately interpreted as “be opened”.  The command is not directly to the man to speak and hear properly.  It is instead to the impacted organs to be capable of perfect hearing, and perfect speech.  The organs are no longer to be an impediment to the man’s ability to hear and speak.  And the man immediately tested his new abilities and spoke plainly.  Sometimes we miss the subtlety of God providing us gifts, and then watching what we do with them.  The organs were restored, they were re-created by Christ, but the man was not commanded to pray, or give thanks, or say “I love you” to his family.  In point of fact, he could have used foul language, and swore at his enemies, now knowing they would understand him perfectly.  Our senses are a gift to us from our creator.  How we choose to employ them is not commanded by Christ, but is witnessed by Christ.  How we use our senses reveals our hearts, to have our hearts restored and re-created by Christ is the bigger accomplishment, and the one we are each in most need of.

Then Peter resumes the recollection, for the need for secrecy, as the story continues in verse 36 saying … “And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it;” Christ tells the friends of the man, and man himself, not to publicize what He has done for them.  The first directive, the first commandment given to this grateful man, is to keep silent about who healed him, and how He did it.  The recreation of missing tissue, above all other types of healing, reveals Jesus as our Creator.  This revelation was too controversial in Israel.  People who might otherwise listen to the life-giving words of Jesus, would tune Him out, if the Creator title were associated with His name and ministry.  The people needed not to know everything plainly yet, because they were not ready to know it yet.  Even the disciples of Christ were not completely ready yet.  Knowing Jesus was our creator was just too much.  But the one thing Jesus asked of them, was the one thing they completely disobeyed Him about.

Christ had a larger goal of ministry in mind, that these men, in their gratitude, were messing up.  Jesus does not curse them for this.  Jesus does not take back His healing.  He knew beforehand that this man would not keep his mouth shut, yet He heals him anyway.  Would you have done it.?  This is part of the mystery of our salvation.  We are created by God, uniquely, even though He ultimately knows whether we will decide for Him, or against Him.  We are given free will to choose, even when the choice is a bad one.  Jesus did not restrict His love from this man, even though the man would mess up the plans of Jesus.  Jesus does not restrict giving us gifts, from our senses, to the money in our wallets, even though we often choose to mess up what we do with them.  The love of our Lord is consistent, even though ours is not. 

It is a mistake to think that the gifts our Lord gives to us are an indication of us being saved.  He gives to those who are saved, and those who are unsaved.  He loves both camps of people.  He does not love one more than the other, loving both perpetrator and victim equally.  His heart breaks because of the pain the perpetrator causes himself and his victim, and His heart breaks for what pain the sin of the perpetrator has caused to the victim, for what the victim must now go through.  We will never know the depth of pain we cause our God, who has perfect love for us, by what we choose to do, and how we choose not to love others when we could.   But perhaps, we could lift the sigh of our Lord, if we were to seek spiritual restoration, and re-creation, by asking for this kind of healing for ourselves.  Perhaps we could make His heart leap for joy, as we submit to Him, our actions, our desires, and the core of who we are to be remade by Him as He sees fit.  No matter what healing God does for our bodies, it is the healing of our souls that He most wants us to publicize.

People will inevitably seek Jesus for healing, for primarily selfish reasons where it comes to our bodies.  We want full functionality, and long life, where our physical bodies are concerned.  But to crave perfection, to crave a life with a complete lack of sin, these are the cravings that change the world, and reflect salvation rooted in Christ.  Publicizing what Jesus can do for the spiritually sick, is what it is all about.  The selfish do not run to Christ to fix that, they only run to Him for other reasons.  But if we would dare to offer the core of who we are, and what we want, to Jesus, we would find a restoration that is far more important than the state of our bodies, and one that lasts far longer.  The people could not understand this deeper mission of Christ, they saw only its physical manifestations as the story concludes in verse 37 saying … “And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.”

People, then and now, are “beyond measure astonished” to find out that our Lord is also our Creator.  Those who would replace Genesis with a more scientific origin, are in addition, removing the creating power from Jesus.  They strip Jesus of His ability to re-create, as they strip Him of His original creation.  Where science appears to conflict with the Bible, it is science that remains incomplete in our understanding.  Because compared with the miraculous transformation of the human heart, there is no scientific, or evolutionary counterpart that can sufficiently explain the phenomenon.  To be saved by Jesus Christ, is an experience that cannot be denigrated by equations and probabilities.  To have the core of who we are, altered to be in harmony with Him, and with His laws of love, is a singular experience, and the one He was trying to reveal to the people in His age, and in ours.

 

Secret Missions [part one] ...

Imagine having a true political mandate from the people.  In our day, politicians on both sides of the aisle, always like to claim to have had a political mandate that got them elected.  “The people have spoken” is an oft cited phrase, even though our country is split nearly equally down the middle with nearly as many people voting against something, as voting for it.  A true consensus that crosses ideological, religious, ethnic, and cultural boundaries is something as rare as seeing a falling star.  It is possible, but rare indeed.  But can you imagine the absolute boundless joy that would occur in the heart of Donald Trump, or Hilary Clinton, if the next polls showed literally 100% of the people favoring one of them for president?  They (like us) would be almost certain to question the validity of the poll.  It has never happened in American politics.  We have never reached a unanimous consensus on who should be our next president.  It would be unprecedented (and given current polls, impossible in this election once again).  Imagine the heart failure in the losing party headquarters if 100% of the people voted for only one candidate.  Imagine the vanity in the headquarters of the winning party.  They would eat it up.  They would long for their coronation, or rather inauguration.

Do you think the winner, in a landslide like this, might be tempted to propose amendments to our constitution in order to end term-limits?  After all, wouldn’t something like a 100% victory be the political mandate someone needs to go from a limit of 8 years, to a limit of a lifetime?  How tempting would it be, with 100% support of the common people, to become king?  What if they wanted you to be king?  What if they demanded that you become king, even if you did not really want the position?  This … was the “problem” Jesus faced.  Despite how Trump, or Clinton might react, our God, our Lord, our Savior has a different mission.  Jesus could have easily become an earthly king in Israel, in point of fact, the people were constantly trying to force Him into it.  Jesus had the biggest political mandate since creation, by the nation He had come to bear witness to of the Father’s love, to become its next king.  Everyone would have followed Him.  In the minds of the people, this was supposed to be the ultimate goal of the Messiah in the first place.  They were less interested in the Father’s love, and more interested in political dominance, and breaking the yoke of pagan Roman oppression.  It made sense religiously, to replace paganism with Judaism.  It made sense to stop human sacrifice for sport in the arenas, or on crosses along the highways to inspire fear, and only sacrifice sheep instead.

There was nothing Godly about the Roman empire, how it ruled, or how it oppressed the world.  It was a pagan empire, who worshipped sex, greed, and control.  It was the most powerful kingdom to ever rule the world, albeit not the most wealthy.  It ruled with an iron fist.  To have another David, another Joshua, another Solomon, all wrapped into a package with superhuman powers lead Israel to conquer and rule the earth, with a religious system that valued all life, made sense to everyone.  It was the dream of every Israelite.  It was the hope of a nation.  Jesus was supposed to be this hope.  Jesus was supposed to do all of this.  Or Jesus would become “just another wanna-be”.  When the people saw what Jesus could do in healing people, they did not think of the Father’s love that directed His works.  They thought only of dead Romans along the same roads they erected crosses on now.  They thought only of taking Roman gold, and melting Roman idols to make their own homes better instead.  They thought of what the power of Jesus could mean to them.  No more work.  No more sickness.  No more torture.  Only ease, comfort, and happiness forever more.

That my friends is a political mandate like we have never seen before.  Trump or Clinton would never be able to deliver it, and thus the reason why neither would ever garner 100% of anything.  Jesus however was capable of delivering it, but He chose not to.  In fact, He came to a point in His ministry, where trying to reveal the Father’s love, was getting harder because of the fame of what He was doing, and the deep desires of the people to make Him King, whether He wanted it or not.  So in order, to do the will of the Father, Jesus did what no politician has ever done in the history of campaigning in this country … He attempted to stop getting press coverage.  He attempted to continue revealing the Father’s love quietly and without any fanfare.

It is no small irony that Jesus could have been king any time He wanted, He could have done what every Israelite believed the Messiah would do.  But He did not.  He chose not to.  He chose to avoid politics and power entirely.  He did nothing to break the pagan Roman rule, instead He submitted to it, even when it killed Him without cause.  What Trump or Clinton would likely kill for, our Lord discarded with deep disdain.  Jesus had other priorities, other interests, another mission He was here to perform.  If Christians are to follow His example, perhaps they should abandon a quest for political power, and the ability to dominate the actions and conscience of others, and instead pursue the course of their Lord, revealing only the love of the Father to others.  But alas, this is something no Christian seems willing to emulate in either political party.  Instead candidates tout their faith, and demand more power for themselves.  And believers claim it is their duty to elect someone who will “protect” Christianity and legislate its values “for the benefit of others”.  It is the revelation of the Father’s love to someone in need, that would truly benefit others.  That action is devoid of politics, and mirrors the true mission of Christ.  To do this without credit or fame, is even closer to the actions of Christ.

Peter recalled what was fast degenerating into secret missions of the Father’s love to John Mark in his gospel in chapter seven, and beginning in verse 24 saying … “And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid.”  Jesus was traveling far and wide in the land of Palestine.  He had gone to the very borders of the nation near Tyre and Sidon and planned to conduct some revelations of the Father’s love quietly and in secret.  But there would be no opportunity to quietly reach those in need.  The devil would see to that.  Jesus did not seek publicity at this point.  In fact He was always asking those He healed not to reveal what had been done for them now.  The crowds that would gather were no longer as needy as they were determined to make Him King whether He wanted it or not.  John’s gospel includes many references to times when Jesus had to “disappear” in a crowd in order to avoid it making Him king.  In this instance, despite the distance from Galilee and Jerusalem, there was a reason why His fame had reached this region.  It stemmed from an incident where Christ tested the faith of a supplicant.

John Mark continues recording it in verse 25 saying … “For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet: [verse 26] The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.”  This incident has many interesting truths buried subtly within it.  First, the person coming to Jesus was not actually the one possessed.  So the victim appears to be unable or unwilling to seek help directly.  If ANY healing is going to come, it will be because a mother is praying for mercy for her daughter, no matter what the daughter wants.  Anyone fall into this category now?  Second, the woman was NOT a Jew, she was a Greek.  Even after Jesus ascends into heaven it takes years before the disciples of Christ are “willing” to take the gospel to people other than Jews.  Oh sure, they would travel to the far ends of the earth to find Jews to teach His message to, but spend no time attempting to share it with pagans of any kind along the way.  But this woman is a Greek.  In the Jewish mind, she is a pagan, and rightfully has earned the demon that inhabits her for worshipping demons in the first place.  It is no accident her daughter is possessed, it is simple cause and effect.

Jesus is aware of the mindset of those who follow Him, and those who are witnessing this encounter.  So He does something unusual.  He does something along the lines of how God tested Abraham of old (the first hero and father of the Jewish nation).  Mark records the response of Christ in verse 27 saying … “But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.”  This was to be a test of faith for the mother.  But it was also a test of faith for His disciples and for us.  The disciples should have had empathy for this mother.  They should have had their hearts broken for her, and joined with her in wanting her daughter’s pain removed.  But they did not.  Nor do we.  We see those who have sinned, and not only do we blame them for their sins, we judge that the punishments they are receiving are the ones they have earned.  Our hearts are unmoved.  Pagans of old earned their pain as do sinners who refuse Christianity today.  We look upon Islamic refugees of war, rape, and starvation, and judge that they worship our God yet deny His Son, therefore are worthy of the pain they endure.  If they were Christian, perhaps, they deserve aid.  But as Muslims, or atheists, or Hindu, or pagan, they deserve nothing but their pain.  They too are “dogs” in our minds.  They are not human, not worthy of our empathy, not worthy of our love.  This was the mindset of the Jews in His day, it had even infected the minds of His disciples.  It is the mindset of Christianity today, in far too wide a circle.

But the faith of a mother, can withstand the insult of being called a bitch, or a dog.  The faith of a mother who knows the love of God cannot be hardened against her, and will persevere no matter what.  The faith of a mother availeth much.  She responds in verse 28 saying … “And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs.”  This woman lacks no humility, she is composed of it.  She is not looking to be made equal in the “status” of the Jews, she will satisfy herself with being a “dog” if she can but lick crumbs of love from the floor.  Her faith is unparalleled.  She does not retreat after insult.  She does not abandon her cause.  She humbles herself even more, and will beg for the mercy of a love she knows cannot resist this plea.  The heart of Christ is broken for her.  He can no longer maintain the charade of pretending to think like His companions think, or talk and treat her as they would have done.  He must reveal the truth of love to her.  So in tender love He now tells her what she had come to hear saying in verse 29 … “And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter. [verse 30] And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.”

Jesus calls attention to her saying, her response.  He does this for the benefit of His disciples and for us.  Not all Greeks, pagans, and those steeped in sin, really want to remain in that condition.  Some of who we judge as unworthy are actually trying to find Jesus, but it is our judgment that gets in their way.  Despite His harsh words to her, to reveal the thinking of His companions, she does not flinch or desert her cause.  Her faith is so great she is willing to eat crumbs of love from off the floor.  His disciples are yet completely unwilling to humble themselves in this way.  They lack even the empathy for her that should have touched their hearts.  Jesus is making a comparison of the great faith of this woman who is NOT a Jew, with those who “should” have had greater faith from the scriptures they studied.  A seemingly completely uneducated woman (in Jewish scripture at least), only knows one thing, that Jesus Christ is God on earth, and can heal her daughter.  And a mother’s faith is rewarded with what she asked, no matter how her daughter felt about it.  The faith of a mother, interceding for her child, was rewarded.  Are there any mothers today, who doubt their prayers will be heard?  Look to the faith of this woman, and find hope.  What is asked in secret can be rewarded openly.

The disciples should have learned right here that pagans were worthy of the gospel.  They should have learned right here that the love of God is poured out on ALL people.  They should have been humbled by what Christ said, to echo the feelings in their own hearts.  But people see what they want to see, and their blindness was a choice.  The lesson is more than just for them.  Jesus travels with an attempt at secrecy to avoid being forced to take power.  We seek power every chance we find.  Jesus’ mission is instead to reveal the love of His Father to those in need, despite the fact that they do not worship in the right religion, understand the Bible, or continue to make decisions that lead to the conditions they are in today.  In spite of all of that, Jesus reveals the Father’s love to them.  We judge those not like us, and condemn them for the sins they commit.  We should be humbled.  We should be touched in our hearts for the pain they endure, even though they bring it upon themselves.  We should ache to see their sins removed, and pain healed.  We should long to show them how love saved us, and why we are able to love them in spite of who they are, or what they do, or what they believe.  It is love that provides the motivation to change.

We do not need to look for publicity for how we minister or love.  We do not need to seek to change the laws of our nation to reach someone in need today.  We need only to reach out, and find that His love is sufficient for their needs, even if only reflected poorly through us.  The secrecy Christ sought, and the missions of revealing His Father’s love had only just begun …