"He Looked Up to Heaven"

“After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spat and touched the man’s tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened, and he began to speak plainly.”(Mark 7:33-35 ESV)

The compassion of Christ is repeatedly recounted throughout the New Testament. Matthew 9,14,18, Luke 7 are just a few references to Christ’s compassion. He felt compassion for the crowd and for the one. When Christ came, He not only offered salvation but also showed that God is compassionate toward our plight in life.

In Mark 7, we see Christ's compassion in full view. Most of us have never really taken a deep dive into a verse like this because we see only the miracle, when in fact the way the miracle took place has an even deeper meaning. So, let us look at our God at work.

By this time, almost everyone knew of the signs or miracles Jesus had performed. He had left the area of Tyre and Sidon and was in the Decapolis.

It was here that a man who was deaf and could barely speak was brought before Jesus with hopes that He would heal Him. Of course, a crowd had gathered. Pushing, shoving, and all sorts of distractions were taking place. What we should understand is that those who were blind, deaf, mute, or who had serious disabilities were thought to be inferior. They were treated poorly and were often homeless and beggars. With that said, the first act of compassion we see from Christ is that He took the man aside from the crowd.

This man had never been the object of anyone's attention. Christ showed the man that he was important to God. This compassionate act let this man know that he was the focus of Christ alone. The Christ then places His fingers in the deaf man's ears. The man cannot hear, so Christ cannot tell him what He knows and what He will do. By placing His fingers in the ears, Christ tells the man He knows the deaf man cannot hear. He then spat and touched the man’s tongue, letting the man know Jesus understands he cannot speak. This is the compassionate Christ telling this man I know what you need.

The next thing Christ does is look up at heaven. The man can see Him looking above. Even pagan religions look to the skies at God. Perhaps the wrong one, but they are looking above for answers. Christ gazes at the heavens, indicating that what is about to happen comes from God. The power, the surge, the opening of the ears, the loosening of the tongue, whatever this man was about to encounter, he now knew it was coming from God.

Lastly, Jesus sighs, most likely a visible sigh, relaying to the man I have compassion for you, and God will heal you. Jesus commands the ailments to be gone, and they are. The man was healed. Jesus commanded them, the man, and those around him, not to speak of this healing. However, the spreading of the miracle continues.

This encounter is a display of God's deep compassion for His creation. We do not know whether the man knew of Jesus. Nor do we know if the man had faith. However, we know that it did not matter, as evidenced by the crippled man at the pool of Bethesda who had no idea who Jesus was, yet he was healed. God is compassionate. This encounter revealed more than just a miracle.

God seeks us; it is not the other way around. He seeks us because He loves His creation. If you do not know Christ, why are you on this Christian website reading a post about our compassionate God? It is because He is calling you to Him. If you do not know Christ, run to Him because if you are being called, He is already running towards you. Eternal life comes through faith in Christ alone.

Grace and Peace.