Mark 7:36-37 “Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. 37 People were overwhelmed with amazement. "He has done everything well," they said. "He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."
Does your life give people something to talk about? The life of Jesus was remarkable for its miracles, its wisdom, its character and its courage. He spoke the truth in love. He had compassion on the broken, the sinful and the hurting. He took time for the children and He silenced the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. These two verses that end Mark chapter seven paint a powerful picture of public perception of this season in the life and ministry of Jesus.
“He has done everything well.” These words leave a deep imprint on our understanding of Jesus and His ministry. The crowds that gathered to witness His miracles and learn from His wisdom developed a perspective about His life that was intensely positive and broadly expressed. Verse 37 encapsulates the overall crowd response to Jesus and His ministry by saying “people were overwhelmed with amazement.” Thousands of people were swayed by what they saw and heard whenever Jesus was around. And yet one of the most fascinating characteristics of Jesus’ ministry was that after some of His greatest miracles the scriptures report that He “commanded them not to tell anyone.” What a ministry philosophy? What a contradiction to today’s typical ministry mindset. In today’s western church culture most ministries that began to experience significant signs and wonders flowing would immediately post U Tube videos, send out mailings and promote, promote, promote. Not Jesus. In fact He did the opposite. He tried to restrain their zeal but this was not to be. The more He sought to limit the hype, the crowd buzz, the more the people talked. With every miracle the noise about Jesus during this season grew louder and louder.
People are compelled to talk about the things that are truly amazing and inspiring in this life. People are looking for something to give them hope. And this passage is a great image of the power of good news! People are hungry for something to believe in, someone to believe in. The great difference between Jesus and the typical ministry of today is that no matter what people said, there was always more substance to Jesus than any testimony could state. There was never a hype that was far beyond the truth of who He was. The substance was always greater than the story. Too many churches and ministries today approach their function from the opposite end of the spectrum.
Is the well deeper than the rope is long!? Is the supply greater than the demand? Jesus always had more substance than He was credited for. Yet too many ministries today focus on building an image that they can never really live up too or are barely qualified to support. Jesus demonstrated an understated glory that always exceeded people’s expectations if they were Godly expectations. Let the church of today be the same. May we put aside hype and marketing and build lives and ministries that are deeper and richer than the public will ever know. When Jesus was transformed in His glory it was for a select few who were then told “don’t tell anyone.” When He healed the mute He asked people to restrain themselves. Jesus demonstrated a shining reflection of Pr. 27:2 that states “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth.” May we learn this lesson and build lives, businesses and ministries that are richer in substance than the gloss of our reputation can reflect.
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