A young girl with an unclean spirit. A deaf man who could hardly speak. A Gentile woman begging for her demon-possessed daughter to be healed, believing that even the smallest amount of Jesus’s power could change everything. (She was right.) These were just some of the lives changed forever by the hand of Jesus in Mark 7.
Later, a deaf man came, longing for healing. So Jesus took the man away from the crowd in private. “After putting his fingers in the man’s ears and spitting, he touched his tongue. Looking up to heaven, he sighed deeply and said to him…‘Be opened!’” At these simple words, the man’s hearing and speech were restored (v.33–36). Incredible, right? I think the onlookers at the end of this chapter summarized it best: “They were extremely astonished and said, ‘He has done everything well’” (Mark 7:37).
I sometimes wish I could’ve been there to see all these incredible miracles with my own eyes. Because I would’ve immediately believed that Jesus is the Son of God—right? In Mark, we see that Jesus and His disciples were judged harshly by the religious elite; they didn’t stick to the religious rules and traditions of the day, and the Pharisees were angry about it. But Jesus proved there is a difference between the traditions of man and the heart of God.
If we’re not careful, it can be easy to fall into a legalistic mindset as followers of Jesus. If Jesus does all things well and I want to be more like Him, that means I need to do everything well too. That’s often the logic we cling to. But becoming more like Christ isn’t about following rules—it’s about following Him.
True faith isn’t only about what we say we believe; it’s about our hearts and how we live (v.6). God Himself is greater than our traditions and the way we’ve done things in the past (v.9). And we can’t fool God. Everything that comes out of us is a result of what is in our heart (v.15). What we let grow inside of us is what will come out. From the esteemed religious leaders came judgment, gossip, scheming, and hatred. From Jesus came wisdom, healing, and power. To become more like the God who does all things well, we need to spend a lot less time trying to impress each other and a whole lot more time abiding in Him.
So what is growing inside of you? Is it selfishness? Jealousy of other people? Slander about your boss? Or are you digging deep into the Word of God and continually asking Him for help? Pray today that you would seek to grow closer to the one who does all things well.
Leave a Reply
82 thoughts on "Jesus Does Everything Well"
This was a difficult passage for me. If I’m honest, some stories in the Bible just make me uncomfortable. Jesus conversation with the gentile woman is one of those stories. Sometimes God asks us to do things that don’t make sense or are contrary to what we think we should do. We need obedience to Him and faith to believe in the impossible.
I need Your cleansing Jesus. I feel my soul being lifted daily when I read Your word and grow closer to You. I don’t want to be the selfish and angry person I was and still am. I want to live for You and love my neighbor.
This isn’t unique to SRT. Most modern Bible translations omit this verse because many scholars believe this was not included in the original manuscripts. You can do a Google search about it to see what I mean. Great work being so observant though!!
This is for the editors at She Reads Truth. Are you aware that you forgot Mark 7:16? It goes from Mark 7:15 to 17. Might need to do a REPRINT of the She Reads Truth Bibles
Pray for him. God knows his heart and longs for him more than you can know. Pray that you are a living witness to God’s love and grace.
Lord let me do your will your way lord and be at will for you lord.
Lord i thank you
My boyfriend to be not fall for God, I wonder to be share this thought with him.
Help me to be mindful of what’s growing on the inside and help me to grow closer to the perfect One who does it all so well.
❤️
After reading the responses I was challenged to re-think and look at the end of the chapter (vs. 31-34) I had never thought about why Jesus took the deaf man away from the crowd before and after a previous comment I got to thinking. Did Jesus ask him through his own personal sign language if he wanted to be healed? Did Jesus assure him to not be afraid? Then why did Jesus sigh when healing him? Was Jesus communicating in a non-verbal way to God? Was the sigh the audible representation of the deaf mans voice? God does understand our groans and our hearts. Did the deaf man hear the words of Jesus asking for his ears to be opened? Was the first thing he heard the words of Jesus healing him? What was the first thing he said after being healed? Thank you all for challenging me to look closer and not just check the box each day.
So He came for the Jews first but also the Gentiles and she knew that. I didn’t really follow Lisa likening the reference to a lap dog…. I felt like that was a bit out of context, maybe?
Yes! The commentary I read by N.T. Wright made mention that the Jews did refer to the Gentiles as dogs. So while Jesus was not actually calling her a dog context is everything. That would have been a common reference which she understood.
Powerful devotional today! Loved it ♥️♥️
“ What we let grow inside of us is what will come out.” Made me reflect and see what was happening inside of me, inside of my heart…
Loved the podcast! I admit I’m a Lisa Harper fan! I always try to listen to the podcast at the beginning of the week. It really helps with my studies for the week. I need to also remember it’s not about the rules it’s about the relationship.
Thank you Joy. I read and re-read that passage and didn’t understand. Now I am curious why Jesus sometimes told people NOT to speak of his healing and other times he directed people to go tell others.
I CANNOT emphasize enough!!!!!! This week’s SRT podcast, with Lisa Harper- GO!! LISTEN!! NOW!!! :) The first half was amazing- I skipped the “commercials” in the middle and am only about 10 min past that section, I’ll have to finish tomorrow on the way back from carpool- and let me say I can’t wait. There is explanation given for ALL of these questions. Not to mention, even deeper commentary on the whys and hows of all of this Jesus did. It’s mind blowing. What a savior…
“But becoming more like Christ isn’t about following rules—it’s about following Him. True faith isn’t only about what we say we believe; it’s about our hearts and how we live.”
These 2 lines are so true and not easy to live. But as we follow Jesus and become more like Him, we start to live as He lived and our hearts and actions will reflect more and more of Him in love for
Him and our neighbors.
I need to start making Psalm 51:10 a daily prayer, as a reminder to myself that Jesus will always allow me to try again and that his mercies are new each day.
Shew the conviction of the devotion today! And also what tenderness in my heart I felt in the Bible reading of the miracles He did.
I find it fascinating how the religious elite respond to Jesus’ teaching verses the gentiles in the following two stories of today’s reading. It struck me that the faith of the healed, especially the woman, was of one who knew she didn’t deserve it, but believed in Jesus’ immense power.
Legalism is what I grew up in, but I am challenged by todays reading to follow Christ and have him teach me rather than the traditions of man. Just like it says in the front of our She Reads Truth Bible, “scripture is used for reproof (not injury), correction (not destruction) and training ( not controlling) legalism often ends up in control, shame, and despair. Keep reading ladies!
Jesus is so deep and clever in the the defense He made here, which got me in awe, the law says, Honor your parents, but you teach that if a person has something he could use to help his parents but says “This is Corban” (belongs to God), he is excused from helping his needy parents. And this is the making the Word of God of none effect through the tradition of men. This brought to my mind the Good Samaritan story. The priest and the Levi man walked by, seeing a poor man being robbed and assaulted lying on the sidewalk, they think “my time belongs to God, this is Corban, I could be excused from helping this needy man”, they walked on, feeling justified. They are the example of voiding the Word of God. Men’s traditions are dangerous. They void God’s Word. Lord please help us to discern and discard the traditions of men that we still hold on throughout the years out of habit. Let your Word have full effect in our lives that we might bear fruits, and our fruits should last. Amen.
Such a great devotional today! I pray that I would abide with Jesus. As I grow closer to him, I pray that I would reflect him more and more only caring about what he thinks.
I asked him to guide me on how to seek him and honor him working in the church is somethings hard to feel close when you have a job to do. I have now even able to make time in my day and go to the chapel to pray!
Yikes. So good. Convicted. Gossip. Slander. Judgement. All the things. God help my heart be more like yours.
What a good reminder to look at our heart and remember our actions reflect what is really going on inside us. This is hard for a people pleaser like me where I often think of what and how people perceive me—-it should be pleasing God is first priority!
I will put aside my thoughts to be perfect and lay my life down for God! I will look to spend more time with him and in his words.
Joy- thank you for clarifying Mark 7:27! I was a little confused with that!
I like and can identify with how Abby says being Christ like ” isn’t about following rules—it’s about following Him.” Then when she said, ” To become more like the God who does all things well, we need to spend a lot less time trying to impress each other and a whole lot more time abiding in Him.” I thought that’s me, that’s where I need to be and what I need to do.
Lord, help me to live a life abiding You. Help me to grow closer to You and study Your Word. Help to be in Your Word daily.
Sisters have a great week and say a prayer that I can stay in the Word and in the study the whole week.
❤️
I must exasperate God on the daily.
Thanks for sharing this explanation!
Also Afua, please let me say, I fail all the time in this. But, God is teaching me so much even when I fail.
Joy Stark! Thank you for your input. I was wrestling with this paragraph, too. Thank you for doing some digging and finding commentary on it! I had that verse on my heart, “… To the Jews first, than the Gentiles…” (Rom 1:16)
It is interesting you mention she sought healing now, instead of Jesus’s hint of “later”— so cool! Thanks again! Boy, that makes so much more sense.
<3
Afua prayer for you and your family. May you feel His strength as you focus on Jesus. My advice In relationships with difficult people is set your boundaries not only on time spent but on where you will let your mind go. Capture your thoughts with scripture and let their words fall to the ground. The Holy Spirit helps me with this and when my eyes are on our Lord and what He is doing in me, and what He gives me to speak. I am lifted above whatever turmoil someone else is trying to put upon me. Prayer is strength and He answers as He loves you set your mind on Him. Repeat the scripture in your heart over and over and trust that He is fighting for you. Because He is. So good the scripture this morning. HRT also very good. Jesus heals with dusty hands and spit so contrary to the pharisees thinking dirty hands made a person unclean. Just going to say it Sisters, our God Rocks!!! And, His love never fails. I felt like His heavy sigh in healing the man was possibly because of the unbelief around Him. “ Lord create a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me.” This is what He does and so much more. Grace and joy to you all this day.
“He let out a long sigh of despair.” A sigh can be described as a long, deep, audible exhalation expressing sadness, relief, tiredness, or a similar feeling.
Kelly- this “deep sigh” stood out to me too! I have done some extra research because I sigh a lot!! A sigh can be used as a verb or a noun and I think we should dig deeper because I think Jesus is using His sign as a noun here. “
Amelia, yes I think it may refer to the type of prayer. It reminded me of Rom. 8:26 “groanings”
This is good!! The faith of the woman stuck out to me, too! Really, the faith of all these people. They were all begging Jesus fir healing and believed that he would
To become more like Jesus we need to spend less time trying to impress people and more time abiding in Him -Love this!
Amen!
Kelly, that’s an interesting question. I looked up the Strong’s reference and in Greek that term, “with a deep sigh,” means to groan or pray inaudibly. To groan and to pray inaudibly have different connotations, but I feel like both reflect Jesus’s connection with his Father, particularly when interceding on behalf of those who asked for healing.
What a great teaching today. Thank you SRT team for delivering a strong message out of the word of God. May we all take a look at the heart.
Could it be that the bad things that happen to us are a success to God because it gives us a heart check? Or that it allow us to fail to be whole so we have to seek God to fix our man made brokenness… Jesus has a lot of compassion and love for us during our time of failures but we have to want to be fix so He can
help
I found a commentary on Mark 7:27 at Bibleref.com that was helpful for me this morning! At first, I thought Jesus sounded elitist and it seemed counter to his character to dismiss the woman’s request. However, the commentary highlighted how Jesus came first to to the Jews then to the Gentiles (which we see again from Paul, and in how Jesus’ ministry concentrated in Israel but the Great Commission sent the disciples to the ends of the earth). So when Jesus tells the woman he has to feed the children FIRST, he is giving a subtle promise that the Gentiles will also be “fed” later. This is probably not what the Jewish people were expecting- they thought the Messiah was there to save them ONLY. But Jesus is showing here that he came to save ALL ! And the woman, in her faith, sees what Jesus is saying and has faith to ask for the healing now.
So many great truths to start our week. Both the Psalm and Jeremiah passages really emphasize the condition of our hearts – Lord, I pray you would create in ME a clean heart for You are the One who searches and examines our hearts. Thank you everyone for your prayers on Friday, I feel some peace now <3
I love this
Beautiful read, I’m so grateful for she reads truth…. Prais God
I think it’s interesting that in this passage Jesus declares all food clean and does a miracle for the gentile woman. Later on when God tells Peter to extend the gospel to the gentiles, he uses the food metaphor again, with the sheet of animals descending from heaven in a vision to tell Peter that all foods are clean and all people are God’s. Then Peter goes to share with the Roman centurion.
As I understand it, Jesus came to the Jews, for the Jews at first. Later the disciples also preach first to the Jews and then to the gentiles laterr. God gives His people the first chance to understand and come to Him and only later will He extend that to us as well. But ultimately God is the God of all and anyone who has faith can come to Him, even this non-Jewish woman when it isn’t yet time for the Word to extend beyond the Jews. That’s how I understand it.
❤️
I need to watch and make sure I’m not slipping into doing things just to “do things well” and keep being fuelled by just following Jesus! One way I can gauge where I’m at is to see if I’m tired and overwhelmed (doing things in my own strength and trying to be perfect) or if I’m in a place of rest (just following Jesus). Whether in good times or bad, if I’m following Him, I have rest for my soul.
Good morning everyone! Can someone please explain the meaning of the conversation between Jesus and the gentile woman, about feeding the children before the dogs? I feel like I’m missing the meaning there… thanks so much!!
Hi Jody! They actually talk about this exact part in the SRT podcast this week with Lisa Harper! She does
Hi Jody! They discussed this verse in the SRT podcast this week!
Yes, so good!
I love this so very much!
“Becoming more like Christ isn’t about following rules — it’s about following Him.”
Loved that line.
Afua, I’ll be praying for you as you navigate your relationship with your parents. Proverbs 4:23 says to guard your heart. You can love and care for your parents and still set boundaries. It doesn’t mean you love them any less.
Jesus didn’t fault the scribes and Pharisees for their actions – he faulted them for their attitudes. He didn’t belittle their attempts to follow Mosaic law, he called them out for their heart conditions. No matter how much I think I’m in the right… am I in the right mindset, the right heartset, when seeking His will?
Powerful stuff today. Thank you, Lord, for this today.
Agree, Churchmouse – there’s so much that is appealing about doing it ‘right’ because it gives us the sense that we’re somehow earning God’s grace and mercy.
The first church I attended was heavy on tradition but Bible lite. Knowing the rules and following them was more important than knowing Jesus personally and following Him. All these years later I can still feel that pull towards “doing things right” rather than resting in the righteousness I have in Christ. That old tendency however had one benefit: it fueled my desire to meet with Jesus every morning in worship and prayer. Abiding with Him keeps me from elevating anything else. Jesus is Lord. He and He alone.
I’ve been convicted recently that so many passages in scripture we read and we have ourselves as the wrong character. Like in David and goliath, we aren’t David, David is Jesus to us as the isrealistes! Here, we aren’t jesus to the crowd, we are the disciples and the crowd. I need to stop trying to be jesus and be Jesus-ed myself!
SOOO many amazing points this morning… I mean holy cow that chapter is packed! That woman was from a region known to dislike/put down Jews and their beliefs/systems. What must have it taken her to take that step and go and put hope in this Jewish man. If ANYTHING- it is a testimony to how far we will go for our children… But beyond that. The fact she had the education and wisdom to see that Jesus may have come to the Jews first, but that He was ultimately there for ALL, is amazing. And was a point even His disciples didn’t get in the least.
The other part that really hit me, and has been a huge issue with me for a few years now, was the passage containing “you worship me in vain. You teach as DOCTRINE what are HUMAN commands..” Put simply- when your THEOLOGY is getting in the way of your MINISTRY- your doing it wrong. Theology is important, i really believe that. AND- if my heart isn’t kept tender and gentile enough to see when its potentially “keeping people out”, I need to edit the way I’m communicating. The whole point of this start in His ministry was to show He was opening the doors and including everyone. There soon would be no more Jew or Gentile- only children of God.
God I pray we keep our doors open to everyone and our ministry inclusive and filled with grace for the people You our in our day…
Praying for you this morning Afua.
Blessed day ladies!
Elizabeth and Afua I am praying for you, for me it was my brother who was like this. Hold on to your prayers and love, remember the scripture all things are possible through Christ. May they see Him through you.
What a convicting passage – so often I strive after doing the right things instead of a relationship with Jesus. I want a solid walk with him to take root within me and flower out of me
This chapter speaks to me about traditions. In the first part Jesus tore down their traditions and then was forced to confront His own. Jesus came to minister to the Jews but here was a Gentile woman asking for healing for her daughter. Calling v compassion – which one would win. I am glad compassion won out as it shows us that it’s okay to cross barriers and traditions where compassion is more powerful. Jesus does all things well as examples for me and I am so glad
Tim Keller taught on Mark 7. This teaching touched me. This is called, The Sympathy of Jesus. He teaches about the woman before He healed the woman’s daughter and how He communicated to the mute man before He healed him. He explains that when Jesus heals, the difference between healing story to healing story is how Jesus communicates and adapts to meet the the needs and the hearts of those He is helping. Jesus took the man aside before healing Him. He communicated to the man with sign language in a way that he would understand and not be afraid. He took him aside so his healing wouldn’t be another spectacle. This man was used to being on display. How touching! What can compare to the love of Jesus! If you listen, you may also grow to love Him more. There is so much to learn here, and I’m not doing this teaching justice. Hope you can listen! Here is a link: https://lnns.co/NwJuqHpF04h
My Lord and my Savior. Jesus, physically here on this earth, You healed a Gentile mother’s daughter, from the crumbs. You opened a deaf man’s ears with your fingers and spit upon his tongue to rid him of what held his ears and voice captive. You are all we need. May our mouth be opened to honor you with praise that comes from a pure heart. May our feet step, and hands extend, according to your will alone. Purify our hearts Lord and start in me, I pray. Amen.
Please Lord, help others see you in me.
Afua, having had a similar relationship with my parents, I did two things to help. One, we limited time with them, specifically when our children were being hurt by their words. We also did not leave our children alone with them. The other thing, and most important was, I forgave my mom (her words were the most cutting) before she said or did anything unkind. If I knew we were going to see her, I laid down, like a blanket in prayer, whatever cruel words she would send my way, before, they were said and forgave her. I will always remember the first time we left for home and I thought, hey, I don’t have any wounds traveling with me-not because the words had not been there but, because they didn’t wound me. I will pray for you this morning, sister. May God draw you near.
I wonder why Jesus sighed (vs. 34). Why did Mark record that detail?
Afua* – sorry, autocorrect!
Agua – I appreciate your honesty about what you are going through on the family front. I am praying that God guides you on what the next best course of action is with your parents. Sit in silence and listen to God’s instruction – He always knows what is best for us ❤️
Please pray for me . I have a challenging relationship with both my mother and father . The bible is clear on how I should treat them . However, what seems to bring them closer is opening myself and my children up for further emotional hurt. I need to obey God , I need and want to hear God’s voice. I pray for wisdom to obey God.
Praying for you – this is not easy. May the Lord guide your steps as you seek His guidance and open yourself to Him.
For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
My morning are precious to me. I wake up early to workout and do my devotional before it’s time to wake the kids and start our day. We’ve been potty training our youngest and all has been going well however the last couple morning she’s waken much earlier than usual because she has to use the potty. This morning got me frustrated as I got up even earlier to try to get things done before she woke. Unfortunately she still woke even earlier than she had been and I had to rush to her. I feel a little anger and frustration after helping her but God quickly pierced my heart to show me I was wrong. I prayed as I cuddled my little one that God would help me find grace and peace through this time. As well a solution to help us all. Then I read today’s devotional and was completely encouraged it’s all about the heart! We can go through the motions of life and get stuck in our routine and value it more than Gods grace to get though. Thank you Lord for helping me refocus my heart to you! Amen!
Amen