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Sacred Text: 1 Timothy 4:10 “For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.”

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Introduction: The Oxford Dictionary defines hope as “A feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.” Now, there is not much hope in that definition, but this is exactly how the world views the concept of hope. According to this definition, hope is nothing more than a feeling, that all my expectations and desires will be fulfilled. I can hope that the Dallas Cowboys go to the super bowl. I can hope that the Texas Rangers go to the world series. I can hope that I win the lottery and never have to work again. I can hope that my child or spouse becomes a perfect angel and I never have to correct them. I can hope for a lot of different things, but all of these are based purely on my own selfish, changing, and sometimes sinful desires and expectations. None of them are rooted in a fixed and perfect source. When hope is not rooted in a fixed and perfect source, than those hopes will end up failing us. Because worldly hope is all about feelings of expectations and desires, and so we have the tendency to place our hope in a lot of things that eventually let us down. When me Krista got married, she most likely had a lot of expectations and desires that she was expecting me to fulfill. I don’t have to tell you how often I let her down and probably still do, because I’m a selfish and sinful person with my own hopes of fulfilled expectations and desires. None the less, her hope was not in a fixed source, it was in a fallible, ever changing, source. And we do this all the time, not just in our relationships, but with our jobs, school, friends, kids, doctors, and even sports teams. What we are going to see today is that we have a fixed, trustworthy, source of hope that will never change or fail us in anyway. You can go ahead and open your Bibles to Mark chapter 7, and we will be in verses 31-37. But first I want to get a little context in place.

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Context: A few weeks ago, we had seen in the beginning of Mark chapter 7 that Jesus was caught up in yet another controversy. This time the Pharisees were accusing Jesus and his disciples of eating with unclean hands. What we saw in that text, was that the Pharisees were elevating manmade traditions and rituals above the law of God, and in doing so were showing themselves to not only be hypocritical (as they failed at keeping the law perfectly themselves) but also disregarding the very heart of God (because the law reveals God’s heart to us). What we also learned in this lengthy section is that it is not so much what goes into a person that defiles the person, but what comes out is what defiles a person. In other words, we have a serious heart problem. It’s not so much what you’re taking in that makes your heart rotten, rather your heart is rotten, and it is shown by the very things you do, say, and think. All we have to do is stop and search on our own hearts, and by that, I mean observe the things you think about during the day, the things you say and the language you use, the things you do and the ways you respond to situations. It is not hard to see just how rotten our hearts really are and our only hope in being made clean before God lies in Jesus himself. We see the way that Jesus declared all foods to be clean and worthy to be eaten; praise God because three of my favorite foods are crab, shrimp, and bacon. And then last week, we seen Jesus and his interaction with a gentile Syrophoenician woman. This woman had a daughter that was possessed by a demon and begged Jesus to heal her of it. Jesus reminded her of the Jews place in redemptive history, and her response is remarkably humble; “even the dogs eat the crumbs of the children.” This week we are going to see another miraculous healing with a gentile, but we are also going to see an eschatological hope realized.

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Mark 7:31-37

“Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

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The Setting

a. V. 31 - Jesus continues to travel.

i. In the first verse here, we can see that Jesus is continuing his journey through many different cities. Now circling back to the Sea of Galilee, Jesus is in the Decapolis, which is the same area where Jesus healed the legion filled demoniac. This is a prominent trade area, also known as the ten cities, known for its defense and ability to support major trading. This is also a predominately gentile region, and so we can assume that the interaction we will see has to do with Jesus and gentiles, much like we saw last week with the Syrophoenician woman. And if we remember correctly, when Jesus healed the demoniac, Jesus charged the man to go and preach Christ to all the people in the Decapolis. Now, Jesus himself, is traveling through this same area.

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A Hope Realized

‌a. V. 32 - An eschatological hope beginning to unfold.

‌i. This miracle has some resemblance to a couple other miracles that have taken place or will take place. Remember back in Mark chapter 2 we seen a group of friends bring their paralyzed buddy to Jesus for healing? They carried their friend to the top of this roof and did whatever they needed to do in order to get their friend in front of Jesus in hopes that he might be healed. Then in chapter 5 verses 23 and chapter 6 verse 5, we see people seeking Jesus to simply lay his hands on them for healing. In Chapter 8 verses 22 and 25 we will see the same thing. What we are beginning to see is that the people are starting to realize that if they can just get their loved ones in front of this Jesus and get him to lay hands on them, they might be healed. The people are beginning to place their hope in this Jesus, whether it’s because they believe Jesus to be the Messiah or because they simply want to receive healing from Him, the people have a hope welling up inside of them. As we continue to witness the story of Christ through the gospel narratives, we will see that this hope that the people have is more in Jesus as a healer than the Messiah, as they so quickly turn on him later on because he obviously isn't fulfilling their desires and expectations as a political ruler. Mark begins to make this connection in the way he uses his words in describing this miracle. You can turn to Isaiah 35:4-10 or it will be on the screen for you, “Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” In chapter 35 of Isaiah there is this hope of a future glory in a time of great devastation.

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“The immediate context of this OT passage is the promise of Israel’s return from exile. But like so many similar promises, it points forward to the ultimate restoration of all things, marked by the judgment of the wicked, salvation for the righteous, and eternal joy and peace for God’s people (Isa 35:4-10).” - Mark Strauss

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The prophet Isaiah is foretelling of this Messianic period in which the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the mute will speak, and the lame will walk! A time in which the lands will be healed, and the people of God will be brought into this time of healing. A path will be made for the righteous. What a hope that has been promised by God through the prophet Isaiah! What Isaiah was prophesying is this future hope of a Messiah who would come and heal the people, heal the lands, and bring peace beyond all understanding. In Christ, we have this prophecy, this hope being fulfilled in us, and this is what the people were beginning to understand. But, these people, just like us today, are not living lives full of joyful, Biblical hope; at least not as much as we should be and often times like to think that we are.

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It is not so much that believers are now living “full of hope,” but that they have a fixed “hope,” a clear vision of what God will do for them in the future.7 - Scot McKnight

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We live in a world full of craziness, evil, and corruption; sometimes it is flat out hard to have any hope at all. So, it is not that, as Christians, we are these walking billboards of joyful hope in the sense that the world views hope, but we have a fixed hope, a clear vision of what God is doing in the future as hard as it might be to see at times. This is a hope we can bank on, because we have His Word, and it is full of promises and a vision for the future that is sweeter than anything this world can offer us. It is this fixed hope that should drive the way we respond to things. In the wake of mass shootings, political turmoil, threats of war, how are you responding to these things? Is your hope for the future being driven by the Word of God or by the media and what you see on Facebook or Twitter? Is your hope in Christ or is it in the things of this world and the leaders we vote in? Are you focused on Christ and your future glory in heaven or are you more focused on the politics of our day? Where is your hope?

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But living in hope relates to living with a focus on “one thing”—not living in hope that we will be able to achieve and get everything but living in hope of gaining the “one thing.” - John Goldingay

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You see, we live in this world with a very twisted view on hope, or what hope is. Remember the Oxford Dictionaries definition of hope? “A feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.” The Lexham Bible Dictionary defines hope in this way, “The confidence that, by integrating God’s redemptive acts in the past with trusting human responses in the present, the faithful will experience the fullness of God’s goodness both in the present and in the future.” In other words, Biblical hope is rooted in the promises of God that have already been fulfilled, being fulfilled, and will be fulfilled in the future. (REPEAT) Now Mark may have been telling this story in this way, playing off the wording found in Isaiah 35:5-6, in order to remind us of this eschatological hope we have in Christ. This world wants you to hope in things that are perishing, but Mark is saying “Look, the Messiah, the hope, that was promised by the prophets is here and fulfilling those promises. This is who the prophets were talking about!” The world tries to pull our hope into things like money, jobs, friends, family, sports teams, and even being healed, but when those things fail us, we fell the pain of what a worldly hope eventually leads us to; more pain. You see, worldly hope is rooted in the feelings and desires of our hearts and as we learned a couple of weeks ago our hearts are rotten. Biblical hope is rooted in the very promises of God; a real, tangible, source of truth and power which is ultimately found in Christ. Christ cannot fail us. It's not that Christ won't fail us, but he cannot fail us. It is impossible for Christ to fail us and underperform in his promises to us. Therefore Christ and Christ alone is our hope. (REPEAT) A fixed hope that will not fail us. Now let’s move on to the miracle that is taking place.

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The Miracle

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V. 33-35 - The miracle takes place

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In verses 33-35 we have this miracle that takes place, and at first it seems to be an odd way of performing this miracle and some questions may be raised. We need to remember that these healings are a snapshot of what is to come, like the prophecy from Isaiah, a promise not yet fully realized outside of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. The first question that may be raised is why does Jesus take this person off by himself? In Mark chapter 5 there is an episode with Jairus’s daughter and Jesus heals her in private. In chapter 8 we will see a blind man healed, again in private. Repeatedly we see Jesus charge the people not to tell anyone about the healings that take place. But what is the purpose? Is Jesus just trying to be secretive or is he really doing something that he doesn't want the people to see and know about?

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“Jesus is going to heal the man, but doesn’t want the crowds to misinterpret the miracle. The miracle will be a sign authenticating Him as being the Messiah, not an indication that the earthly kingdom of God had arrived in its fullness where everyone could expect to walk around in perfect bodies.” - Mark Strauss

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Most of the people in these crowds were not faithful followers of Jesus, they just wanted to receive healing. Some probably wanted Jesus to just go away because he was a disruption to their normal lives. Some were people who just wanted to catch Jesus slipping so they could report him to the Pharisees to have him arrested and possibly even receive a reward for reporting him. Either way you look at it, it was not the proper time for Jesus to be arrested and tried, that time was coming, but it wasn't this day and so Jesus, in a way, protected himself by doing these things in private.

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A second question might be, “Why does Jesus put his fingers in this man’s ears and spit? Couldn’t Jesus just as easily said ‘be healed’?” Now, there has been a very wide range of thoughts on this matter and the context does not really provide us with a lot of information as to why Jesus touched this man’s ears and tongue. The general consensus is that touching the affected area is a sign of compassion and it may have also been the means of transferring the healing power to the affected area. Sort of like when you were a little kid and ended up with a scratch on your arm, in your eyes the arm was going to fall off if you couldn't get to mom fast enough for her to kiss it and make it all better. Mom would gently rub the injured arm, keeping it from falling off, and then kiss it and make it all better. Moms do this because they care and because they are compassionate, even when it’s just a minor injury like a scratch, they show they care by touching it and making it all better. I am not saying Jesus is like our moms, or vice versa, but I want us to see that Jesus had this sort of compassion for people.

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“Ancient healing practices included touching a person, using saliva, uttering deep groans—all of which Jesus did in this account. However, this in no way suggests that Mark invented the details to conform to the usual practice. Because Jesus could not communicate with the man through ordinary methods (speech and hearing), it would be natural for Him to express His concern through touch.” - Mark Strauss

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So, why the spit? This is also seen in chapter 8 when Jesus heals a blind man and in John chapter 9. Spit was commonly viewed as medicinal in ancient times, it was believed to have had some healing power and if the spit was from an important person, it had more power.

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People in the ancient world regarded saliva as possessing curative powers. In the Hellenistic world it was frequently used in magical rites and for that very reason came to be forbidden in the Jewish community. - Robert H. Mounce

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So, this could also be the reason that Jesus took the man off in private, as this would have been seen as forbidden by the Pharisees and he surely would have been arrested for it. But it was not time for that just yet.

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And now, Jesus touches this man’s ears, his tongue, Jesus spits and then he looks to heaven and with a sigh he says “Ephphatha.” Which means, “be opened.” The man is healed, he hears plainly, he speaks plainly. So, once again, Jesus completely heals a man. And, once again, Jesus charges the people to not spread this news.

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The Charge

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V. 36-37 - Jesus charges the people and they proclaim the Christ.

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Conclusion/invitation: (INVITE THE BAND UP) What should our response be? How should having this hope change our lives? It points us to a God we can trust in for everything. It reveals a God that is sovereign and in control, despite all the craziness in the world, God has not stepped down from his throne. This hope should drive every single response we have in this life to the things going on around us. Having this fixed hope does not mean that we can’t be sad about things, mad, anxious, but it is this fixed hope that we ought remind ourselves and those we talk to, in order to bring ourselves into the comfort of God’s good plan. If you’re here I am assuming you’re a Christian; this hope belongs to you. If you haven’t trusted in Christ for your salvation, then I would love to have a talk after the service and give you this hope. I’ll be in the back if anyone needs to talk or needs some prayer. Let’s pray.

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