Mark 7:24-37, Common English Bible
Jesus left that place and went into the region of Tyre. He didn’t want anyone to know that he had entered a house, but he couldn’t hide. In fact, a woman whose young daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit heard about him right away. She came and fell at his feet. The woman was Greek, Syrophoenician by birth. She begged Jesus to throw the demon out of her daughter. He responded, “The children have to be fed first. It isn’t right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” But she answered, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
“Good answer!” he said. “Go on home. The demon has already left your daughter.” When she returned to her house, she found the child lying on the bed and the demon gone.
After leaving the region of Tyre, Jesus went through Sidon toward the Galilee Sea through the region of the Ten Cities. Some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly speak, and they begged him to place his hand on the man for healing. Jesus took him away from the crowd by himself and put his fingers in the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. Looking into heaven, Jesus sighed deeply and said, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Open up.” At once, his ears opened, his twisted tongue was released, and he began to speak clearly.
Jesus gave the people strict orders not to tell anyone. But the more he tried to silence them, the more eagerly they shared the news. People were overcome with wonder, saying, “He does everything well! He even makes the deaf to hear and gives speech to those who can’t speak.”
The truth that he got tired, that he sometimes felt overwhelmed by the demands placed upon him, that he could speak sharply when he was displeased or depleted.
Jesus, the Son of Man as well as the Son of God, knows our frame – he truly remembers that we are dust – and there is not one thing I feel that Jesus has not also felt.
He is not a grand-stander, not out for the acclaim, the performance.
And he is visibly shaken and grief-stricken by the pain and suffering of the human beings he meets. The healing flows from who he is; it does not define him.
Sometimes they come as word play…
and sometimes, they come with deep sighs.
He is genuinely grieved by the things that grieve me. And, he knows what it is to be bone-tired. Mothers everywhere need to be reminded of this.
Hey Nancy! Nice to see you here. And yes, I do think every mama should know and understand that Jesus does truly ‘get it.’ And thanks for the explanation about ‘peepers.’ Hadn’t a clue. And SO relieved you were not raving about that hideous candy.
These aren’t easy stories. I like that they are almost side dishes to the ongoing narrative–along the way this happened, and this, and it says a lot, but it’s not the Point.
Oooh, I like that ‘side dishes’ – YES! You are always such an encouragement to me, Megan, as I work my way through these passages. Thank you.