Proper 18: Gospel, Mark 7:31-37                                       

Mark 7:31-37

Today’s gospel reading is one of those that has a suggested reading and an expanded section. Both sections highlight the healing (and saving) ministry of the Savior in Gentile territories. Can you possibly read about Jesus ministering to the Gentile peoples without seeing the heart of God for all people? It strikes me that we should even sense that deeply when God works in the midst of His people, Israel. national Israel, that is.

We are all separated from God by sin (Isaiah 59:2). Sitting with some elderly folks in a recent Bible class I teach, the phrase popped into our discussion, “The ground is level at the foot of the cross.” After it was spoken. one of my little Bible-loving ladies whispered, “Amen.” That means Jesus is needed. By everyone. So this reading makes it clear.

The title of today’s meditation has correlation to the need we all have for the work of the Savior. Specifically, our readings have to do with Jesus bringing healing to those in need. But it’s the recognition folks have for Jesus that always grabs me when I read and share Mark 7. On the heels of the healing of a deaf man in the region of the “Ten Towns,” Mark writes, “And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done all things well’” (7:37a).

I love that. It is one of my favorite comments about the Savior in all of the Bible. The common, everyday people that Jesus loved to hang with were, in today’s vernacular, “blown away.” You can imagine hearing in the crowd, “Is there anything this guy can’t do,” or “Kinda scary in a way, huh?” But personally, I like what Mark caught and passed on to us: “He has done all things well.”

He always does.