Jesus Does Everything Well

BY Abby Flynn

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.