The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Mark 7:32-37, “They brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they implored Him to lay His hand on him.
33 Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with
the saliva;
34 and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!”
35 And his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue
was removed, and he began speaking plainly.
36 And He gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it.
37 They were utterly astonished, saying, “He has done all things
well; He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

Good doctors never run out of patients. People learned that back
in the first century; that’s why, whenever they were unsuccessful,
they brought the illness or disability to Jesus.

The basic difficulty with the man in the passage above was that he
could not hear; and when you cannot hear clearly, you tend to speak
like you hear. As we know today, one malady often leads to another.
It was so with this man.

Jesus knew He could heal the man (and He did!); yet, He intentially avoided noteriety by taking the man aside. Quite different from many
preachers today, who intentially get in front of the camera in order that they might be seen.

The word ephphatha (be opened!) is an Aramaic word, possibly
signaling that the needy man was not a Gentile (Bible Knowledge Commentary, Walvoord & Zuck).

Jesus then gave orders that none of them should tell what had happened. Seeing a miracle performed would have been difficult
to keep to oneself. It’s much the same today.

Prof. Rosaria Butterfield explains a miracle in her life that everyone
should see and hear: “Five Lies of our Anti-Christian Age.” It is
available free on YouTube.

Salvation from sin is a “Must-Miracle” for everyone. We who have experienced salvation can and ought to share Him with everyone!
Do you need a miracle? Jesus is still performing them!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom