Mark 7:31-37 (January 21, 2010)
During a physical examination, a doctor becomes unnervingly familiar with a patient’s body. Eyes look where we would just as soon eyes don’t, and fingers go where we KNOW we wish they wouldn’t. This miracle plays out like a physical examination. Well, except for the spit. What is Jesus up to now? I have two thoughts. First, Jesus knew His way into this man, and that knowledge cued Him to meet him at the precise point of his need. Going behind a rock where nobody could see, touching and spitting and sighing. Jesus knows His way into us, and knows how we need what we need. Second, Jesus defies mass production. Maybe He healed this man like He did because He knew people were already pressing Him into a mold. When the church begins cookie cutting Jesus according to standardized specifications, Jesus is liable to spit and change things up dramatically. In other words, every time you are certain you have God’s ways figured out….
