Jesus Does All Things Well: Healing, Reign, and Restoration

Mark 7 brings Jesus back from Tyre and Sidon through the Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee, and Mark sets another miracle in the middle of all the amazement that has already been building. Mark has already shown Jesus casting out demons, healing a paralytic, calming the storm, and leaving people asking, “Who is this?” The crowds keep seeing things they have never seen before, and Mark keeps pressing the question of what kind of person Jesus is.

Jesus receives a man who is deaf and has a serious speech impediment, and the people beg him to lay his hand on him. Jesus does not treat the man like just another need in the crowd. Jesus takes him aside, away from the multitude, and gives him one-on-one attention. This man was probably used to being overlooked, used to not being able to hear, used to not being able to communicate clearly, but Jesus cares about this one man. This healing is not for the show. This is Jesus dealing personally and tenderly with a man who needs him.

Jesus touches the man’s ears, spits, touches his tongue, looks up to heaven, sighs, and says, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Be opened.” Mark gives the exact Aramaic word, and the wonder is not just the word itself, but the fact that Jesus speaks to ears that do not work. Genesis shows God speaking into darkness and light appearing. Mark shows Jesus speaking to deaf ears, and those ears hear and obey. Immediately, the man’s ears open, his tongue is loosed, and he speaks plainly. Jesus does not give partial improvement. Jesus heals completely and instantly.

Jesus’ power has no time limits, no quantity limits, no quality limits. When Jesus does not fix a situation instantly, the delay does not mean the problem is too hard for him. Jesus can do anything immediately, so when he works slowly, he is choosing what is best. Jesus never hears from the Father, “Just do your best,” because Jesus does everything perfectly every time.

The people respond, “He has done all things well.” That line becomes the center of everything. Jesus teaches well, heals well, controls nature well, sends demons scrambling well, lives well, dies well, rises well, reigns well, forgives well, creates well, recreates well, loves well, answers prayer well, and leads his church well. Jesus made his people well, and in Christ he makes them new creations well. Jesus will return well, raise the dead in Christ well, and dwell with his people forever well. Following Jesus is all pros and no cons, because even dying to self is the only way to truly live.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Jesus gives one-on-one mercy. Jesus takes the deaf man away from the crowd because the man is not a project, a spectacle, or a ministry statistic. Christ’s compassion is not less real when it is hidden from everyone else. The quiet mercy of Jesus may be just as powerful as the public miracle, because it shows that the needy person is seen, known, and personally handled by him. [41:44]
• 2. Deaf ears hear his word. Jesus speaks to ears that cannot hear, and they hear him anyway. That is not ordinary healing language, it is creation language, because only God can speak to what cannot respond and make it respond. The command “Be opened” shows that the weakness of the human condition is no obstacle to the authority of Christ. [45:02]
• 3. Delay is not divine weakness. Jesus can heal immediately, completely, and without follow-up appointments, so slowness never means helplessness. When Christ takes time, the delay is not because the situation is too complicated for him. The slower work of Jesus is still perfect work, chosen by wisdom that knows better than human urgency. [48:03]
• 4. Jesus never just does his best. Human beings say “just do your best” because human ability has limits. Jesus never hears that word from the Father, because every work of Christ is done perfectly. When his work looks imperfect, the problem is not with his care, but with limited human understanding of what perfect care requires. [48:53]
• 5. Following Jesus is all pros. The only apparent “con” of following Jesus is that he calls a person to die to self. Yet even that loss becomes mercy, because Jesus knows the only way to save a life is to lose it for him. Repentance and faith are not a bad trade, because Jesus saves well. [63:47]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [32:07] - Turning Attention to Jesus
• [32:20] - Mark 7 and the Deaf Man
• [34:43] - Jesus and the Kingdom of God
• [35:33] - Mark’s Pattern of Amazement
• [37:43] - A Man Brought to Jesus
• [40:13] - Private Mercy Away From the Crowd
• [42:03] - Jesus Touches Ears and Tongue
• [43:36] - Ephphatha, Be Opened
• [45:55] - Immediate and Complete Healing
• [48:03] - When Jesus Works Slowly
• [51:43] - He Has Done All Things Well
• [53:21] - Jesus Does Everything Well
• [59:09] - Created and Recreated Well
• [63:03] - All Pros in Following Jesus

Bible Reading

Mark 7:31-37
“Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, ‘Ephphatha,’ that is, ‘Be opened.’ And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.’” [32:13]

Genesis 1:3
“And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”

Philippians 1:6
“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

2 Corinthians 5:17
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Observation questions

1. In Mark 7:31-37, what specific things does Jesus do before the man is healed, and how does Mark describe the result of the healing? [45:55]
2. What details in the passage show that Jesus gives this man personal attention rather than treating him as part of the crowd? [40:13]
3. What exact words do the people say after the miracle, and what kinds of things had they already seen Jesus do earlier in Mark that help explain their amazement? [35:33]
4. In the other passages, what do Genesis 1:3, 2 Corinthians 5:17, and Philippians 1:6 each say that God does by his power?

Interpretation questions

1. Jesus speaks to ears that do not work, and they respond. What does that suggest about who Jesus is, especially when Genesis 1:3 says God speaks and creation obeys? [45:02]
2. Jesus heals this man immediately and completely. How should that shape the way believers think about seasons when Jesus does not seem to change a situation quickly? [48:03]
3. The crowd says, “He has done all things well.” Is that just a reaction to one miracle, or is it a bigger statement about Jesus’ whole life and work? What would support that larger reading? [51:43]
4. If anyone in Christ is a new creation, and if the good work God begins he completes, how do those truths help explain what it means that Jesus not only creates well but also recreates well? [59:09]

Application questions

1. Jesus took one needy man aside and dealt with him personally. When has it been hard to believe that Jesus sees and cares for a single person in the middle of a crowd, and what would it look like to bring that doubt honestly to him? [41:44]
2. Jesus can work immediately, so delay is not weakness. Where is there a situation in life right now where waiting has started to feel like neglect or inability, and how might trust begin to grow there? [48:03]
3. Jesus never merely does “his best”; he always does what is perfect. In what area of life is there a temptation to judge Jesus by present confusion instead of trusting his wisdom? [48:53]
4. Jesus made people well, and in Christ he makes them new creations well. Is there a part of personal history, personality, body, weakness, or shame that is usually resisted rather than received under the care of Christ? What would it look like to entrust that area to him? [57:45]
5. Jesus loves well and answers prayer well. What prayer has become difficult to keep praying, and what helps a person keep bringing that request to Christ without giving up? [01:00:30]
6. If following Jesus is all pros, and even dying to self is the path to life, what part of self is still being protected too carefully? What might repentance and surrender look like in a concrete way this week? [01:03:47]
7. “He has done all things well” reaches from present needs all the way to Christ’s return and the completion of his work. Which part of that hope feels most needed right now: his forgiveness, his present help, his ongoing work, or his future return? Why? [01:02:20]