God
is love.
He
was interested in the world from the beginning (Ps 51:16-17).
This is because God’s Son was revealed in Galilee (Mt 3:17).
John the Baptist is the end of the Law of Moses and the Prophets (Mt 11:13-14).
He is the witness to
the end of the first covenant and the start of the new covenant (Jn 1:6-8).
Galilee was the last place of John the Baptist’s ministry
and the first place of Jesus’ ministry.
Therefore, it is where the Law and the Gospel intersect (Jn 1:29-34).
John the Baptist is the end of the Law and the Prophets (Mt 11:14, Mal 4:5)
and he was beheaded in Galilee and died.
From then on, Jesus’ preaching became active.
He took the deaf and mute man away from the crowds,
put His fingers into his ears, and spit and touched his tongue.
He said, “Ephphatha!” (This means, “Be opened!”) (Mk 7:34).
The man’s ears were opened, and he began to talk.
This man reflected the people of the Law and the Prophets.
They have ears but cannot hear and have tongues but cannot speak (Rom 11:8).
This is the limit of not knowing spiritual matters of the Law and the Prophets (Heb 8:13).
○ What is power? This means, ‘a finger’.
Jesus’ power entered his ears,
and Jesus’ spit came from His tongue, so He gave the man his tongue.
○ What are new tongues? They are tongues given by the Lord.
This is how the Gospel is preached to the whole world
since the time of the Lord Jesus, and God’s word is heard (Jn 6:68).
○ What is ‘Ephphatha’? It means, “Be opened!”
So although He told not to say anything, people cannot help speaking.
The Gospel of grace is a power you cannot control.
※ If you are a spiritual person, you must open your mouth.
People who receive grace have a testimony which they cannot control,
and believers should learn to hear the word.