Year 2 Day 329

Year 2 Day 329


Pray (ACts)


Read - Mark 7:31-32


Message - Alan Burke 


In the midst of a large crowd or even sitting in a coffee shop or a restaurant with others sitting at the tables around us, or it could be anywhere with people, it would be fair to see that we know so little of what they are facing, what they have been through, their experiences, their challenges. We might be able to make some assumptions, we might even gather something from an overheard line or two from a conversation but most of the time those around us are but another face in the crowd that we will soon forget. Today we learn of some people who bring a man to Jesus, most likely if you had seen him in the midst of a crowd you wouldn’t have given a second thought about him, but then we learn of his condition. 


This man we are told was deaf and could hardly talk would have impacted his life in so many ways. Think of the ease we have to ask a question, well this man was unable to ask a question or ask for help he needed it. Not only was he unable to ask a question or ask for help, even if he could ask, he couldn’t have heard an explanation, sign language wouldn’t have been like today and he would have only been able to communicate in the most basic way. It’s difficult for us to imagine, understand or even comprehend the ways in which this would have impacted his life. Also the likelihood that this man would have been unable to read. So he couldn’t hear, couldn’t read, couldn’t speak and the truth of the scriptures would have been hidden to him. He would have also faced prejudice that his condition was either the judgement of gods or that he was demon possessed. 


This man was just a face in a crowd. He couldn’t have heard Jesus’ teaching, he wouldn’t have heard the things said of him, he would have been totally oblivious to anything about this Jesus except in the midst of it all, maybe seeing those gathered around him and would have likely kept away from them. Well here we are told that there were some who loved this man enough to bring him to Jesus and they begged Jesus to place his hand on the man. He was unable to make a request of Jesus for himself, nor was he able to understand who this Jesus was that he was brought before. 


The depths of this mans helpless are complete, he couldn’t hear of who Jesus was or the message that he proclaimed, nor could he ask Jesus in his need. By our nature we may not see it but we are just as helpless as this man was. This man gives us a picture of our natural condition, the plight that we face, for we are by our nature deaf to spiritual truths, why do you think Jesus has said on several occasion in this gospel has said… “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.””, then look to chapter 8v18 as he is speaking to the disciples… “Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear”. The depths of this man’s helplessness are in fact the depths of our helplessness, for we are unable to save ourselves, we are unable to make ourselves hear. 


One other thing I want to draw out from this before we move on, it’s not the thrust of the passage but I do think there is an application here. These people who bring this man to Jesus, whether family, friends, neighbours who ever they were brought him to his only source of hope. Our only source of hope in this life or the next is the Lord Jesus, and these people loved this man enough, or at least liked this man enough to take him to Jesus. They were in effect interceding for him before the Lord. 


There are those around us that will never hear of their condition unless we tell them, there are those whom we love that will never hear unless we take the gospel to them or we take them to the gospel. We need to be praying for those whom we know, using what opportunities we have, sharing the gospel and if unable to share it ourselves, bring them to it, just like these people brought this man to Jesus. After all How will they believe in Him whom they have never heard? How can they know salvation unless they have heard of the saviour!


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q84 What doth every sin deserve?
Every sin deserveth God’ s wrath and curse, both in this life, and that which is to come. (Eph. 5:6, Gal. 3:10, Lam. 3:39, Matt. 25:41)
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