Mark 7:31-37

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

A Deaf and Dumb Man is Healed

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. Spiritual deafness and dumbness go together.

  2. The Lord is tender in the way He deals with people.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. Can you say, "He has done all things well?"

  2. Your lone testimony can change a whole community.

QUESTIONS

  1. What was the man's affliction in this account? How did the Lord communicate with him?

  2. Wasn't touching the man's tongue with spit a bit gross?

  3. What is the spiritual lesson we learn from this account?

  4. How does this lesson apply to the nation Israel? What is the meaning for us today?

  5. Good news! What did it mean to the man? to Israel? to the world today?

  6. How does the Lord work with people, as shown here? What is the lesson here for us?

  7. Which two prophecies are partially fulfilled here?

ANSWERS

  1. A speech impediment, caused by a physical deformity or his deafness.

  2. No. It was a common practice - when a rabbi did this, it was as a balm.

  3. Defective hearing and speaking go together, since words cannot be properly pronounced when they are not heard. Spiritually, something cannot be given out that is not taken in.

  4. To Israel - they twisted the Scripture because they could not hear it correctly, for they did not acknowledge Jesus as Messiah. To us - unless we know the Lord, we are deaf and dumb spiritually. When Scriptures are read and ears are not open to hear the truth, then they cannot be plainly spoken.

  5. The man was healed. A sizeable portion of the nation Israel will be saved (see Romans 11). Today, any unbeliever can be healed by coming to Christ.

  6. He is tender, merciful, loving and gracious. He took the man aside from the crowd to avoid embarrassment. He gave him signs that showed He would heal him. The Lord deals gently with us. Also, think how you appreciate it when a doctor or dentist explains beforehand what he is about to do to heal you.

  7. Read Isaiah 35:5-6 and Isaiah 42:3.

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. Are you sure that you are hearing properly in order to speak correctly? Is the word of God clear to you? Are you listening? Are you being obedient? Are you sharing the word? There is only one way to hear properly, and that is by being born again by the Spirit of God.

  2. Read Mark 5:17-20; 32, 37. When a healed demon-possessed man came from Decapolis, he returned and told what happened to him. His was the lone testimony in a Gentile area. Could your testimony change a whole community (or neighborhood, or your campus, or your work place)?

CHALLENGE

  1. The Lord showed tenderness to the deaf and dumb man. Recall how He has shown tenderness to you. Have you, in turn, extended tenderness to someone else?

KEY VERSES

  • "He has done all things well." (Mark 7:37)



Mark, Talks, New TestamentDeb HarmsMark 7:31-37