Breaking the Word

 Again he left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis. And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”) And (immediately) the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly.  He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it. They were exceedingly astonished and they said, “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and (the) mute speak.”  (Mk 7:31-37)

The Evangelist presents the movements of Jesus. We are not sure of the intentions of Mark for the geographical presentation of the movements of Jesus does not seem to be accurate. Jesus is already in the north of Galilee and he moves still further north to come to the east of Galilee. Again he goes into the territory of Non Jewish region.

He meets a man who had speech impediment and deaf. Here faith, of the person healed or the people who brought the man to Jesus, is not demanded. Jesus performs this miracle without the people expressing their faith. So the miracle is worked purely from the side of Jesus except for the request from the people.

Jesus performs miracles on his own. It could be to reveal the glory of God to the people who do not have faith in God. God’s glory is revealed independent of the peoples faith. But people recognized his works and appreciated his activities. People of non Jewish faith see in Jesus a good man who went about doing good. He has done all things well.   

From that place he went off to the district of Tyre.  He entered a house and wanted no one to know about it, but he could not escape notice. Soon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him. She came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter.  He said to her, “Let the children be fed first.  For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.”  She replied and said to him, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.” Then he said to her, “For saying this, you may go. The demon has gone out of your daughter.” When the woman went home, she found the child lying in bed and the demon gone. (Mk 7:24-30)

Jesus also went off from his place of ministry for a bit of rest, as he asked his disciples to come away from their place of ministry to take rest. He did not want to be noticed about his movements. Jesus was conscious that his personal mission was only for the people of Israel. (Yet he was aware that it would slowly develop and grow into a world wide mission later). So the author was sending Jesus into a foreign to show that he was not going for mission.

There was a demanding mission waiting for him in the foreign land. Jesus himself had spoken about breaking the barriers. Here through this story the author reminded the readers that the mission of Jesus was more demanding and it was needed in all the places. The author had presented the situation so much to make the reader to see through the reality.

Jesus proved that the mission would be successful as long as there was faith expressed by the people. Territorial separation, cultural variations, religious differences from the pat of the people and the work load from the part of the missionary would all disappear when there was faith expressed. Faith removed all barriers, separations, distinctions, divisions etc.