Don't Tell Anyone!

I love Mark because the author is such a great storyteller. Everything happens "immediately", Jesus is very active and always surrounded by crowds, and Mark adds details that add color to the accounts. I want to share some thoughts on Mark 7.31-37 just because it is a bit zany and informative at the same time.

Again, Jesus left the district of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee up to the middle of the district of the Decapolis.

They brought a man who was deaf and mute to him and begged him to lay his hands on him. Jesus took the man away from the crowd by himself. He placed his fingers in the man's ears and having spat, touched his tongue. Then, looking up into the heavens and sighing, he said to the man, "Ephphatha!" that is, "Be opened!" Immediately, the man's ears opened and the bond on his tongue was loosed, and the man spoke clearly.

Jesus gave them explicit orders that they should speak to no one. But as much as he kept giving them orders, they more abundantly kept proclaiming it. They were exceedingly astounded, saying, "He does everything well! He makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak!"

These events after Jesus returned from the districts around the cities of Tyre and Sidon to the district east of the Sea of Galilee in the area called the Decapolis, or Ten Cities.

As usual in Mark, Jesus has drawn a crowd, and some people bring a man who is deaf and mute to Jesus so that he can lay his hands on him. Normally, Jesus would do just that, and the man would be healed. In this case, however, Jesus takes them aside in private. Next, he goes through a small ritual. He puts his fingers in the man's ears; fortunately, he doesn't lick them first. Then Jesus spat, presumably on his hand, and touched the man's tongue! (I'd be thinking about finding a new doctor.) Finally, Jesus theatrically looked up to the sky, let out a deep sigh, and then ordered the deaf man's ears to be opened. Sure enough, the man was healed, and the people who brought him to Jesus were ecstatic.

Jesus, however, did not share their enthusiasm. He ordered them, at length, to tell no one about what happened. That was their cue to tell everyone who would listen. Apparently, Jesus kept running into them and telling them to keep quiet, which prompted them to talk about him all the more.

For me, all this raises several questions.

Why did Jesus spend so much time outside Jewish territory?

In Mark 7.1, Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem. The Pharisees were a grassroots religious movement among the Jews, and they were the self-appointed maintainers of orthodoxy among the people. The scribes were professional experts in the Jewish Law, and many of them were also Pharisees. Almost all the Pharisees and scribes lived in or around Jerusalem. The Pharisees were divided into two groups, essentially poor and rich. The poor group tended to be more open-minded and lenient, while the rich group tended to be more strict and harsh. Of course, only the rich Pharisees could afford to travel to Galilee to investigate a miracle-working teacher who was suddenly drawing crowds.

Mark describes in some detail how the Pharisees and scribes were not impressed with Jesus' disciples and that Jesus publicly rebuked them in response to their criticisms. In verse 24, Mark says that Jesus got up and went away from there to the district of Tyre, a city-state located along the coast north of Galilee, well outside the Jewish borders. Reading between the lines (and the other gospels, see Matthew 12.14, Luke 11.53-54,) Jesus and his disciples were no longer safe. All the Pharisees really needed to do was to create a disturbance and blame Jesus, and King Herod or the Romans would arrest him and disperse his disciples. The Pharisees had tremendous influence among the Jewish people, even those living in Galilee, so Jesus took his disciples and spent a considerable amount of time outside their reach. Jesus knew there would be a confrontation, but he wanted it to be at the time and the place of his choosing.

What's up with all the theatrics?

In the previous passage, while Jesus was still around Tyre, he cast out a demon long distance. Was all the poking, spitting, and sighing necessary? After all, the people who brought the man had asked for Jesus to lay his hands on him. Jesus was still outside Jewish territory, and the deaf and mute man, as well as those who brought him, most likely had no experience with God. Jesus was sensitive to their lack of understanding, so he went through the motions of things that would seem familiar to them. At the time, saliva was thought to have healing properties, so Jesus' spitting made sense from their perspective.

Why did Jesus command them to keep quiet?

Jesus did many public miracles, and he often used this public service as an opportunity for preaching. However, there were times when Jesus took people aside to heal them and then commanded them not to tell anyone. Apparently, Jesus didn't agree with the adage, "Any publicity is good publicity." In this case, the man who was healed and the people who brought him likely had no idea of who Jesus really was; they may well have viewed him as a Jewish sorcerer. Whatever they were saying about him, it was getting back to Jesus, and he didn't like it.

I get three practicals from this.

• Be patient. Personally, when I know something needs to happen, I want to do it right now. Jesus spent months outside Jewish territory until the time was right to return to Jerusalem and bring the simmering conflict with the religious leaders to a head.
• Be relatable to those who weren't brought up in a church. I know what it is like to go to church knowing nothing about the Bible. I can imagine the disciples staring when Jesus looked up in the sky and sighed (they knew better than to laugh.)
• Serve without an agenda. Public service can be a great opportunity for witness, but that's not the main reason to do it. Jesus knew that healing that man would cause problems, but he did it anyway.