Does Anything Astonish You Anymore?

Devotion for the Pipestone Zone LWML Board meeting

Then [Jesus] 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” (Mark 7:31–37).

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

We live in astonishing times. When I was a kid, if someone had a phone in his car, it meant that he was very rich. Some people had color television, hardly any had more than three channels. A single computer filled a large room. Now many kids over the age of twelve have a smart phone that they can use to watch videos, text, talk with friends, video chat with someone practically anywhere in the world, and which has more computing power and speed than the most advanced computers had just a few ago. I could go on and on, listing all the astonishing things that are happening in our world.

Yet what’s most astonishing to me is that none of this seems to astonish us anymore. We’ve become so used to technological advances that they no longer surprise us—unless they don’t work or operate fast enough. That begs the question: “Does anything astonish us anymore?” More important: Have we lost a sense of astonishment when it comes to our God?

The case was pathetic, beyond the ability of any physician to heal or even to improve—a man who was deaf and mute. Friends of the man brought him to Jesus. Since the man who was deaf and mute could neither understand easily nor express himself readily, Jesus took him aside privately. Then using some exceptional sign language, the Lord made the man understand what He was about to do for him. Jesus placed His fingers in the man’s ears; He would give him hearing. Jesus spit and touched his tongue; He would give him the ability to speak clearly.

By looking up to heaven, Jesus showed the man that the cure He was bringing him was more than an ordinary man could perform. It came from God. The sigh was a physical sign of His compassion.

Then Jesus spoke one word, Ephpphatha, which means, “Be opened!” This Aramaic word was later used in the Church’s baptismal liturgies to emphasize the Spirit’s power to open ears to the Gospel. And the man was immediately and completely cured. His ears were opened. His tongue was released. He spoke plainly. The barriers to sound and speech were shattered in one moment and the pent-up words of praise came out with astonishing clarity.

And Jesus charged them to tell no one. How ironic that the newfound gift was to be silenced. Not only was the man to keep the secret, but also his family and those who saw the miracle. This command to silence is one of the many times Jesus prohibits the spread of His work or identity. However, as it happened before, the more He commanded, the more they joyfully disobeyed.

Jesus commanded the people not to tell anyone because the Jewish people of His day had a totally false, political conception of the coming Messiah. Christ made it clear that He had not come into this predominantly Gentile territory to organize a political insurrection. He had come to earth to lay down His life a payment for the sins of the world. He was determined to let nothing compromise the purpose for which He had come.

Jesus knows that the crowd’s praise will eventually force His enemies to kill Him. However, He must have time also to do the miracles and teaching before the end. So He must generally limit the spread of the news until Palm Sunday when the crowds can sing out without restraint.

St. Mark tells us the crowd was astonished beyond measure. While many crowds have been impressed by Jesus, this crowd has reached a new level of astonishment. They are astonished by the healing He brings with His Word.

Do you know what is really astonishing? Our Lord still works in people’s lives through His Word! That’s why you are encouraged to worship, to be in the Word in your daily devotion, to sign up for a Bible class. Through His Word, Jesus speaks His people, life-changing Ephphatha to your heart. With the Law, He exposes your spiritual deafness. With the Gospel, He tells the astonishing story of His love for you in manger and cross and tomb. With that message, He is about to open your heart. He makes your sin-dulled ears to hear clearly again the Good News of His love and forgiveness.

Through His Word, our Lord is able to astonish when no one else can. Hearing what God has does in Scripture opens your eyes and ears to the astonishing things Jesus did in His death and resurrection and is even now doing in your life through His Word and Sacraments. Making you His dear children in Holy Baptism. Creating a clean heart and renewing a right spirit in you. Strengthening and preserving you in body and soul with His body and blood unto life everlasting.

Most astonishing of all still remains the future we can’t yet see and can only hear about: the eternal beauty and joy and love and delight of heaven. Oh, that will astonish us! and in ways, so we hear, that can’t now even be put into words.

Yes, God is doing astonishing things in our lives through Christ Jesus. May we, like the people in the region of the Decapolis zealously proclaim: He has done all things well! Amen.