September 4, 2022 Trinity 12 The Sunday of Jesus Healing the Deaf & Mute Man

Trinity 12
Mark 7:31-37
September 4, 2022

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Verse 37, “And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, ‘He does everything.’” Astonished beyond measure. This is how I might translate that for you – [jaw-dropping]. Like how you look when you walk into the grocery store and see the price of a quart of ice cream. But no, that’s astonished in a bad way.

When’s the last time you were astonished beyond measure in a good way? Well, you will be. Let me tell you. You’ll be astonished beyond measure, jaw-dropping astonishment, when you come face to face with Jesus. He’s that good. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak. And He will fix every single other thing that is wrong with us because He’s the Greatest Doctor that’s ever lived. He’s astonishing beyond measure. He’s jaw-dropping good.

One of the side benefits of being a pastor is you get to hear which are the best doctors around. You know, you talk to people about their illnesses and which doctor they’re going to. So forth. I often hear something like, “I’m going to this doctor and he’s just really, really good. We just love him.” I had heard one particular cancer doctor in Bloomington praised a number of times. And then my wife, Valerie, had a bit of skin cancer a number of years ago and here we were going to this very cancer doctor I’d heard so much about. And sure enough, he was just as good as everybody had said. Compassionate. Kind. A good listener. Explained everything clearly and perfectly in words we could understand. And best of all, at least in our case, he fixed everything.

Now I’m telling you today about a Doctor, the Greatest Doctor, who is all of that and much more. He has the greatest bedside manners. He’s kind and listens to all your troubles. All your needs. He’s compassionate and enters into your suffering with you. He explains everything clearly to you that’s going to happen. And best of all, He can and will heal every single thing that is wrong with you and your body and mind. Some things He will fix right here and now. Quickly. But everything He will fix when He takes your body to be with Him in heaven on the Last Day. You’ll be astonished beyond measure. He does everything.

Deafness, you know, is incurable. Sure, there have been some breakthroughs in treating deafness but it’s still largely incurable. In Jacksonville, IL, there’s a school for the deaf. And right near it is one of the mission congregations of our Central IL District—Christ Lutheran Church for the Deaf. Pastor Tom Phillips is a great pastor and conducts all the services there with sign language. We need mission work like that because deafness is incurable.  Except with Jesus, of course, you see. Every deaf person who believes in Jesus will receive their hearing. When they see Jesus face to face they too will understand what it is to be astonished beyond measure. Because He heals the deaf.

There are many other incurable illnesses that the Greatest Doctor can cure. The paralyzed? Yes, Jesus cures them and they will walk again. The blind? Yes, Jesus heals them and they will see Him. Let me name you a few more incurable diseases that Jesus will 100% cure when we see Him face to face: Cancer. Depression. Diabetes. Arthritis. Alzheimer’s. Down Syndrome. Huntington’s Disease. ALS. What other’s are you excited to see cured? He will heal them all.

He did it while He was physically walking on the earth so of course He will do it when He physically comes again. Look at a verse like Matthew 4:24, “They brough Jesus all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, paralytics—and He healed them all!” He’s the Greatest Doctor that’s ever lived.

Now you don’t have to wait for the Last Day and heaven to see this Greatest Doctor. He is already now working in us on the root of all of our illnesses. He even now is healing us of all our sin. I want to take you to the moment of his healing. Verse 34, “And looking up to heaven, Jesus sighed deeply.” Now why does He sigh?

The Greatest Doctor doesn’t just listen to your problems and your illnesses. He’s compassionate. That word compassionate literally means to suffer with someone. Jesus suffers with us. He sighs because He knows intimately how we suffer. Hebrews 4 says that He sympathizes with all our weaknesses. In every way He’s been tempted as we are, yet He remained without sin.

The Greatest Doctor doesn’t only heal everything that’s wrong with you but He actually takes on the suffering with you. This is also what makes Him the Greatest Doctor. You’re never alone in your suffering. He sighs the sighs with you.

How often do you heave a big sigh? A deep groan? I bet if we added it up it would be quite a number of times a day. And once in a while someone will overhear you and ask, “What’s the matter?” “Huh, oh, I don’t know. Nothing. I’m just sighing.” It’s just what sinners do in this world. We sigh. We sigh over things we’ve said and done. We sigh over the weight of the work needing to be done. We sigh over pain or illness. Ours or loved ones. We sigh.

And the Greatest Doctor joins us in sighing. In fact, He took the greatest sigh of the whole world to the cross and cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” He committed His Spirit to the Father and sighed the last breath saying, “It is finished.”

The Greatest Doctor sighs with us.

Another very interesting thing about this particular miracle of Jesus, besides the sighing, is all the touching. Often times we’ll see Jesus heal with just a simple word. But not here.

(I ran out of time for a full manuscript. The rest is only in outline form.)

• Pulls him aside
• Fingers in the ears
• Touches the tongue
  • Good doctors do an examination. Check you out. (Can you imagine a doctor never touching you?)
• Now the Greatest Doctor doesn’t leave us without any touch to our senses…He’s very sensory in our healing as well
  • That’s why He gives us His Word, Holy Baptism, Holy Communion, and the Holy Absolution
    • The sense of hearing, sense of sight, sense of taste, sense of touch
  • Want to stress this very much…Jesus entering into us and living in us
    • The Greatest Doctor has ways of working far beyond any regular medical doctor today
      • Doesn’t just look inside, but lives inside
    • The Spirit of Jesus lives inside you
      • You’re baptized
      • You’re eaten His body and drank the very blood of Christ
  • The Greatest Doctor touches and heals us in the Sacraments
• Then we come to the end of the healing and Jesus charges them to tell no one.
  • Sounds odd to us. But had reasons. Not until His death and resurrection.
    • But after, now He charges us to tell everyone
      • Go and make disciples of all nations
      • Repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in My name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem
  • Today you might be nervous to tell everyone how good your doctor is because it’s already so hard to get an appt
    • We might be selfish
• Not Jesus. The Greatest Doctor has time for everyone. You can get right in.
  • And how can we not tell others about him. (I go back to how people tell me when a doctor’s really good.) Why not tell about Jesus?
  • He’s the Greatest Doctor that’s ever lived and we want everyone to know it
• I, like probably all of you, have had family die of incurable diseases
  • Cancer, ALS, Huntington’s…among others
    • They will be completely healed
      • I can’t wait to be astonished beyond measure
        • When I see them all again perfectly healed in the kingdom of heaven
  • And you and I will say, “This is the Greatest Doctor ever. He heals everything. Including me.”

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  Amen.