#32 Ministering In Sigh Language Series

#32 Ministering in Sigh Language

Series: Mark

Chuck Sligh

October 25, 2020

NOTE: PowerPoint presentation is available for this sermon by request at chucksligh@hotmail.com. Please mention the title of the sermon and the Bible text to help me find the sermon in my archives

TEXT: Mark 7:31-37 – "And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. 32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. 33 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. 35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. 36 And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it; 37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. "

INTRODUCTION

Sighing is part of the human condition.

We sigh for many reasons:

We often sigh when we’re happy or content – I remember many times holding my boys as babies in my arms in a rocking chair while they were cooing and gurgling and exploring my face and feeling such joy that I couldn’t help but breathe a deep sigh of absolute contentment.

We often sigh from relief if we’re saved from some catastrophe or mishap.

Illus. – Once, when we were on a missionary furlough, headquartering in St. Petersburg, Florida, our youngest son Allen stopped breathing. We called 911 and the paramedics, being just around the corner, literally arrived at our house within 2 minutes! (I couldn’t believe it!) Finding Allen already turning blue, they did CPR on him and he quickly began to breathe again. At that very moment, we let out a profound sigh of utter relief!

But there’s a flip side to sighing: We breathe a different kind of sigh when we’re in the depths of despair or when we feel deep empathy for someone else’s pain.

I have experienced awful depression—so dreadful and unrelenting that I simply could not stop repeatedly uttering deep sighs of melancholy and sadness.

And I’ve also found myself at the bedside of a loved one at the point of death feeling such grief and sympathy for her suffering that I could not hold myself from a deep sigh of unfathomable sorrow.

In today’s text, we’ll see how Jesus sighed such a sigh of deepfelt compassion towards the suffering of a sad man with a debilitating and humiliating condition. You might say He spoke in “sigh language” to the man. And the compassion that caused His melancholy sigh led to his healing.

I. FIRST, PRIOR TO THE HEALING, IN VERSE 31 MARK TELLS US OF AN OUTREACH EXPANSION OF JESUS’ MINISTRY. – “And again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, he came to the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the region of Decapolis.”

We normally just speed-read through the geographical details in the Gospels to get to the main stories. But these little tidbits of information often give us important insights into the Gospels. You’ll recall last week that we noted that when Jesus went into the region of Tyre and Sidon, it was the first time Jesus had stepped outside of Palestine proper. Though there were many Jews in the Greek cities of Tyre and Sidon, they were predominantly populated by Gentiles.

When Mark tells us in verse 31 that He came to the Sea of Galilee through Decapolis, it means that when He got to the western side of the lake, he went north to the top of the it, rounded the top, and then went south again on the eastern side of the lake, forming a horseshoe itinerary. This meant he was still in Gentile territory. Some Bible scholars believe that Jesus may have spent as long as eight months in Gentile territory, which would be almost one-third of His three years of ministry. It was a forceful reminder of God’s plan all along for Israel to be a light to the Gentile nations and a glorious foretaste of God’s plan for the Gospel to go to all the world’s Gentile nations after His death and resurrection.

II. IN VERSES 32-35, JESUS PERFORMS AN EXTRAORDINARY MIRICLE.

In verse 32, a wretched, sad man was brought to Jesus by some people who cared for him. – “And they brought to him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to put his hand on him.”