Key Thought

Despite Jesus' intentions and efforts to keep things quiet about his miraculous power to heal, the healing miracle in the previous verses becomes known and his reputation only spreads faster and farther. The people were amazed and wanted others to know. And yes, his deeds were wonderful, but Jesus is so much more than a miracle worker and that will be harder to teach. We need to remember that with popularity comes misunderstanding. Some of that misunderstanding can actually inhibit us from fulfilling our mission from God. So as we look at our churches and ministries, let's pray for true success -- an impact on the broken world for Jesus and faithfulness to the mission God has given us.

Today's Prayer

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O Father, I know that the good things that I am able to do to bless others is because of your grace and power. I do want my influence for you to expand and impact others. As that happens, dear LORD, please keep my heart pure, my mission in focus, and your glory uppermost on my heart. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Today's Verses in Context

Jesus left that place and went to the area around Tyre. Jesus went into a house there. Jesus did not want the people in that area to know he was there. But Jesus could not stay hidden. A woman heard that Jesus was there. Her little daughter had an evil spirit {from the devil} inside her. So the woman came to Jesus and bowed down near his feet. The woman was not a Jew. She was Greek, born in Phoenicia, an area in Syria. The woman begged Jesus to force the demon out of her daughter. Jesus told the woman: "It is not right to take the children's bread and give it to the dogs. First let the children eat all they want." The woman answered, "That is true, Lord. But the dogs under the table can eat the pieces of food that the children don't eat." Then Jesus told the woman, "That is a very good answer. You may go. The demon has left your daughter." The woman went home and found her daughter lying on the bed. The demon was gone. Then Jesus left the area around Tyre and went through Sidon. Jesus went to Lake Galilee. Jesus went through the area of the Ten Towns. While he was there, some people brought a man to him. This man was deaf and could not talk. The people begged Jesus to put his hand on the man {to heal him}. Jesus led the man away from the people to be alone with him. Jesus put his fingers in the man's ears. Then Jesus spit and touched the man's tongue. Jesus looked up to the sky and made a breathing sound. Jesus said to the man, "Ephphatha!" (This means, "Open!") When Jesus did this, the man was able to hear. The man was able to use his tongue and spoke clearly. Jesus commanded the people not to tell any person about what happened. Jesus always commanded people not to tell other people about him. But this only caused the people to tell about him more and more. The people were really amazed. The people said, "Jesus does everything in a good way. Jesus makes deaf people able to hear. And people that can't talk--Jesus makes them able to talk."

— Mark 7:24-37 (ERV)

Easy-to-Read Version copyright © 2001 by World Bible Translation Center. All rights reserved.