Proper 18B, 2024

Text: Mark 7:24-37

Title: All Things Well

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Jesus has done all things well.  Well done, Jesus.  You pass with flying colors.

That’s the verdict of the crowd today.  Jesus has done all things well.

Now, we can’t always believe the crowd, can we?

The crowd isn’t always right.  The crowd often mistakes Jesus for a prophet. Sometimes the crowd shows up just because they want something from Jesus like bread or miracles.  By the end of the story, the crowd will be crying out for Jesus’ death by crucifixion.

But here and now, in this case, the crowd gets Jesus right.  In fact, what they say about Jesus is even more true than they realize.

Jesus has done all things well.

The Syrophoenician’s daughter was not well. She was oppressed by a demon.  And her mother could do nothing to help her daughter.

Have you ever felt that helplessness?  Have you ever had a child who was not well, and you could do nothing to help her?

It’s no wonder that this woman went to the lengths that she did to find help for her daughter. 

She had no right to approach Jesus.  She was a Gentile.  She was a woman.  It was not proper for her to approach a strange Jewish man like this.

But she doesn’t care.  She begs and pleads with Jesus until He gives her what she wants. 

And with a simple word from Jesus, her daughter is made well.  She goes home to find her just fine.

The deaf man was not well, either.

He could not hear, and he could not speak in a way that would make himself understood.  He was trapped in a world of silence and could not set himself free.

Thankfully, he had friends to bring him to Jesus, the only one who could make him well.

With a bit of spit and word from Jesus, “Ephphatha,” “Be opened,” the man is made well.  His ears can hear, his mouth can speak, just as they were created to do.

Jesus has done all things well.  Jesus makes everyone around Him well.

Now, I’m going to apologize in advance for a bit of a grammar lesson this morning.  I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t have to, but it’s really important to understand this statement that Jesus has done all things well.

I’m going to apologize even more, because there are three grammatical points that I’m going to make.  But it will be worth it, I promise.

Point number one is this: “Good” and “well” are two forms of the same word.  English is strange like this.  Good is an adjective.  Good is a way to describe someone or something.  You can have a good person, a good meal, or a good grade.  With me? 

However, when you’re talking about how you are doing something, English changes “good” to “well” to create an adverb.

I know we confuse this all the time when we talk. But you can’t talk “good.”  You can talk well, but you can’t talk good. You can’t sing good, you can only sing well.  If you’re describing how you do something, in English, you’ve got to use “well.”

So, when you look at the Greek here, the word that describes how Jesus has done things is a form of “good.”  Jesus has done all things “good.”  It’s not proper English, but it works fine in Greek.

So, Jesus does good.  Grammar point #1.

Grammar point #2.  The words for “do” and “make” are the same word in Greek.  It can even mean “create.”  In fact, this is the word used in the Greek version of Genesis to describe what God does in making the heavens and the earth and all that is in them.

In the beginning, God makes, He creates everything, and it is good.  It has been done well.  Same words.

Are you starting to get it?  Has the lightbulb gone off yet?

Whether they know it or not, when the crowd says that Jesus has done all things well, they are evoking the language of creation, when God made the world, and it was good.

In casting out the demon from that girl, in giving this deaf man the gift of hearing and speech, in all the various miracles that Jesus has been doing, He’s been restoring and remaking creation, making it good again.

People weren’t meant to be deaf.  People weren’t meant to have speech impediments.  People weren’t meant to be oppressed by demons. People weren’t meant to be hungry or alone or have any of the problems that Jesus fixes with His miracles. 

When God made the world, it was good.  Not just in a moral sense, but in every sense of the word.  Everything worked the way that it was supposed to.

When Jesus came to earth, He did miraculous signs and wonders.  These miracles proved that He wasn’t an ordinary man. 

But they weren’t magic tricks.  They weren’t simple displays of raw power.

The miracles that Jesus performed were done to restore creation, to make it good once more.

Are you ready for grammar point number 3?  If you’ve been here a time or two, you may remember that I’ve mentioned there’s a case in Greek that is used to talk about events that happened in the past, but are still ongoing today.

And that’s the case with this word “has done.” It’s not that Jesus did a bunch of miracles long, long ago and he’s all done.  No.  He’s done them, and He is still doing them.  Jesus does well, Jesus does good still today, for you.

What does this mean for you?

To understand what this means for you, you need to understand why Jesus had to make the good creation good once more.

Everything was good, in fact very good, until Adam and Eve sinned.  With sin came all the problems that you face in this world.  

It’s not just that you are born with original sin. It’s not just that you are not able to be a good person.

That is certainly the case.

But it’s more than that.

What’s not well in your life?  How are things not well with you?

Is your body not well?  Do you deal with illness and infirmity?  Do you have trouble seeing and hearing, walking and talking? 

Is your mind and your spirit not well?  Do you deal with depression or anxiety?  Are you lonely?

Is your family not well?  Do people argue and hold grudges?

Is your world not well?  Is it filled with violence and anger, bloodshed and suffering?

Jesus has come to make all things well.

Not just some things.  Not just a few things.  All.  Things.

And Jesus makes all things well by His death on the cross.  Jesus took all the unwellness of the world, every not good thing from the days of Adam to your very life, and He died on the cross for all of it, to destroy evil, to put death to death, to destroy the power of Satan once and for all.

And Jesus’ resurrection from the dead ushers in this good creation.  In His very body, Jesus gets rid of all of the consequences of sin.  Jesus shows you what life in His new world will be like.

Jesus continues to do all things well, to make all things good once more as He forgives your sins.

What Jesus does for the people in today’s stories, He does for you in your baptism.  In Holy Baptism, Jesus drives away the evil spirits from your life and fills you with His Holy Spirit.  In Holy Baptism, Jesus opens your lips, that your mouth would declare His praise.  He opens your ears to hear His Words that bring life and light to His creation.  He says, “Ephphatha” to you, and you are opened up to receive His love.

And one great and glorious day, Jesus Christ will return.  And with the same voice that spoke creation into existence, with the same voice that said, “Ephphatha to the deaf man,” with that same voice He will say to you, “Arise.” And your ears will be opened.  And your lips will be loosed.  And Satan and all his host will be destroyed.

And you will have eternity to live and to enjoy the good world that Jesus has made for you, because, indeed, He has done all things well.

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