12th Sunday after Trinity (1) Framework
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Readings
The readings center on God's gracious work of opening what sin has closed. Isaiah promises that God will cause the deaf to hear, the blind to see, and the humble to rejoice. Psalm 146 calls God's people to trust the Lord, who opens the eyes of the blind and raises those who are bowed down. Paul contrasts the ministry of the letter with the life-giving ministry of the Spirit. In the Gospel, Jesus physically heals a deaf man with a speech impediment and, by doing so, gives a visible sign of His messianic authority to open what sin has closed.
The LCMS notes that the Lutheran Service Book lectionaries intentionally select Old Testament readings that relate closely to the Holy Gospel.
Theme
Christ Opens Ears, Looses Tongues, and Gives Life
The readings proclaim the Lord as the God who gives what fallen humanity cannot give itself.
The deaf cannot make themselves hear.
The blind cannot make themselves see.
The spiritually dead cannot make themselves alive.
The sinner cannot create saving faith.
But Christ comes with divine authority to open, restore, forgive, and give life.
The Gospel gives the clearest picture of this truth. Jesus takes the deaf man aside, touches him, looks toward heaven, sighs, and says:
"Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." 1
Immediately, the man's ears are opened and his tongue is released. 2
The physical miracle is also a sign pointing toward Christ's greater work: He opens sinners to hear His Word and confess His name.
The four readings move together around the theme of God's gracious restoration.
Isaiah 29:17-24
God promises a reversal of human misery:
Psalm 146
The Lord is praised because He:
Paul explains that Christian sufficiency comes from God.
The written letter by itself cannot give life.
"The Spirit gives life." [5]
The ministry of the New Covenant is therefore a ministry of the Spirit and righteousness.
Mark 7:31-37
Jesus fulfills Isaiah's promise in a concrete act of healing.
He opens the ears of the deaf man and releases his tongue.
The people respond:
"He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak." 6
|
Reading |
Central Emphasis |
|
Isaiah 29:17-24 |
God's promised restoration |
|
Psalm 146 |
The Lord opens the eyes of the blind and lifts the needy |
|
2 Corinthians 3:4-11 |
The Spirit gives life |
|
Mark 7:31-37 |
Christ opens the deaf man's ears and loosens his tongue |
The progression is:
Promise -> Praise -> Fulfillment -> Confession
Isaiah 29 anticipates the kind of salvation Jesus demonstrates in Mark 7.
Isaiah says:
"In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book." 7
Mark records Jesus actually opening the ears of a deaf man.
Isaiah says:
"the eyes of the blind shall see." 8
Jesus repeatedly performs such miracles during His earthly ministry.
Isaiah says that the humble will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. 9
Mark ends with the crowd confessing the greatness of Jesus:
"He has done all things well." 10
The miracle is therefore not merely an act of compassion.
It is a messianic sign.
Jesus is demonstrating that the promised salvation of God has arrived in His person.
Law
The readings expose the consequences of sin.
Humanity is spiritually deaf and blind.
We do not naturally hear God's Word rightly.
We do not naturally see Christ clearly.
We do not naturally understand God's saving purposes.
Paul's statement that the letter kills is especially significant. 11
The Law reveals God's righteous demands and exposes our sin, but it cannot give the sinner the new life necessary to fulfill those demands.
The problem is therefore not merely that sinners need more information.
They need life from the Holy Spirit.
Gospel
Christ comes to sinners who cannot heal themselves.
He opens ears.
He loosens tongues.
He gives sight.
He raises the bowed down.
He gives the Holy Spirit.
He gives righteousness.
He gives life.
The Gospel is therefore God's gracious action toward those who cannot save themselves.
The movement is:
We cannot hear -> Christ opens our ears.
We cannot see -> Christ gives sight.
We cannot speak rightly -> Christ loosens our tongues.
We cannot give ourselves life -> the Spirit gives life.
The man brought to Jesus is deaf and has a speech impediment. 12
His condition prevents him from hearing normally and consequently affects his ability to communicate.
He is dependent upon others to bring him to Jesus.
This provides a vivid picture of human helplessness.
Jesus takes the man away from the crowd privately. 13
The Lord's attention is personal.
Christ is not merely performing miracles for public spectacle.
He cares for the particular person before Him.
Jesus puts His fingers into the man's ears and touches his tongue with saliva. 14
The incarnate Son of God uses physical means to accomplish His healing.
This is significant in a Lutheran theological framework.
God frequently works through external, tangible means.
Christ does not merely tell the man to have a better attitude.
He acts upon him.
Jesus looks toward heaven and sighs. 15
The sigh communicates compassion in the face of the brokenness introduced by sin.
Christ enters into the suffering of fallen creation.
He does not remain distant from human misery.
Jesus says:
"Be opened." [16]
This is the decisive word.
The man cannot open his own ears.
Jesus opens them.
The man cannot release his own tongue.
Jesus releases it.
The miracle is therefore fundamentally about Christ's authority.
His Word accomplishes what it commands.
Immediately his ears are opened and his tongue is released, and he speaks plainly. 17
The result is restoration.
The man can now hear.
The man can now speak.
Christ's Word accomplishes what it declares.
The Aramaic word is preserved in the Gospel and then translated:
"Be opened." [18]
The preservation of the original word emphasizes the concrete historical character of the miracle.
Jesus actually spoke these words.
The man actually heard.
The man's tongue was actually released.
This is not merely a metaphor for psychological improvement.
It is a bodily miracle performed by the incarnate Son of God.
At the same time, the miracle points beyond itself.
Jesus did not come merely to restore physical hearing.
He came to restore fallen humanity to God.
The connection between hearing and faith is especially important.
Paul teaches:
"Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." 19
The Christian faith is therefore not generated by looking inward.
Faith comes through hearing the Gospel.
The Gospel reading presents a physical picture of what God does spiritually:
Christ opens ears so that sinners may hear His Word.
The Lutheran Church therefore places extraordinary importance on the preached Word.
The Augsburg Confession teaches that through the ministry of teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments, the Holy Spirit is given and works faith. 300
This is why the Divine Service matters.
God is not merely giving religious instruction.
He is delivering His saving Word.
The miracle also concerns the man's ability to speak.
Once Christ opens his ears, his tongue is released.
This naturally points toward Christian confession.
Those who hear the Gospel are called to confess Christ.
Paul teaches:
"With the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." 20
The proper sequence is therefore:
Christ opens the ears -> faith receives Christ -> the tongue confesses Christ.
Christian confession is not merely an intellectual statement.
It is the response of faith to the Gospel.
Paul provides the theological explanation for the miracle's deeper significance.
He says:
"Our sufficiency is from God." [21]
This destroys human boasting.
Paul does not claim that he or the apostles possess the power to create spiritual life.
God does.
Paul continues:
"who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." 22
The contrast is not between Scripture and the Holy Spirit.
Rather, Paul contrasts the Law as a written covenant that exposes sin with the Spirit's life-giving work through the New Covenant Gospel.
The Law reveals our condemnation.
The Gospel gives Christ's righteousness.
The Spirit creates faith and life through the Gospel.
The Augsburg Confession V is especially relevant here.
It teaches that God instituted the ministry of teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments so that the Holy Spirit may be given and work faith. 301
This corresponds beautifully with 2 Corinthians 3.
The minister is not the source of spiritual life.
The pastor cannot create faith.
The congregation cannot create faith.
The sinner cannot create faith.
The Holy Spirit gives life through the Gospel.
The pastor's task is therefore to faithfully deliver Christ's Word.
Paul contrasts two ministries:
Ministry of the Letter
It is associated with condemnation because the Law reveals sin.
Ministry of the Spirit
It is associated with righteousness and life because the Gospel delivers Christ's saving righteousness. 23
The ministry of the New Covenant therefore has greater glory because it delivers the permanent salvation accomplished by Christ.
The glory of Moses' ministry was real but temporary.
The glory of Christ's New Covenant ministry is permanent. 24
Isaiah describes a remarkable reversal.
The deaf hear.
God restores those who cannot hear.
The blind see.
God gives sight to those who cannot see.
The afflicted rejoice.
God gives joy to those crushed by sin and suffering.
The ruthless disappear.
God judges those who oppress others.
Those who err gain understanding.
God corrects spiritual confusion.
Those who complain receive instruction.
God brings His people to understand His truth. 25
The passage therefore anticipates the comprehensive restoration of God's kingdom.
Mark 7 gives a concrete demonstration that this promised restoration has begun in Jesus.
Psalm 146 begins with a warning:
"Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation." 26
Human beings cannot provide ultimate salvation.
The Psalm directs confidence toward the Lord.
He:
This is exactly what the Gospel reveals in Jesus.
The Lord who opens blind eyes and raises the bowed down is acting through His incarnate Son.
Jesus Is the Lord
The Gospel presents Jesus doing what Isaiah and Psalm 146 attribute to the Lord.
God opens deaf ears.
God gives sight.
God restores the afflicted.
Jesus does these things.
Therefore the miracle is another testimony to Jesus' divine identity.
Jesus Is the Messiah
The miracle fulfills Old Testament expectations concerning the coming salvation of God.
Jesus Is Compassionate
His sigh demonstrates His compassion toward suffering humanity.
Jesus Has Authority
His Word accomplishes immediate healing.
Jesus Restores Creation
His miracles are signs of the restoration that will reach its fullness in the resurrection and new creation.
The command "Be opened" recalls the creative authority of God.
In Genesis, God speaks and creation responds.
God says:
"Let there be light," and there is light. 28
In Mark, Jesus speaks and the man's ears are opened.
The miracle therefore reveals Christ acting with divine authority.
This also anticipates the resurrection.
The same Lord who restores ears, tongues, and eyes will ultimately restore the entire human person.
Christian hope is not escape from bodily existence.
It is bodily resurrection and the restoration of creation.
This Sunday's readings strongly support a Lutheran emphasis on God's external Means of Grace.
God works through His Word.
God works through preaching.
God works through Baptism.
God works through the Lord's Supper.
God works through Absolution.
The Augsburg Confession V teaches that the Holy Spirit is given through the ministry of the Gospel and Sacraments and works faith through them. 302
The Augsburg Confession XIII similarly teaches that the Sacraments are signs and testimonies of God's will toward us, intended to awaken and confirm faith. 303
The point is not that God is incapable of working apart from these means.
The point is that Christ has promised to work through them.
Therefore Christians seek Christ where He has promised to be found.
The opening of the man's ears provides a useful picture of Baptism.
In Baptism, God acts upon the sinner.
The sinner does not accomplish the work.
God gives His promise.
God gives forgiveness.
God gives the Holy Spirit.
God joins the baptized to Christ.
The Lutheran confession therefore refuses to reduce Baptism to a human testimony of a decision already made.
God is the active giver.
The physical nature of Christ's healing ministry also helps guard against a purely spiritual understanding of God's saving work.
God became flesh.
Christ's body was given on the cross.
Christ's blood was shed for sinners.
In the Lord's Supper, Christ gives His true body and blood for the forgiveness of sins. 304
The Gospel's emphasis on Christ's bodily ministry is therefore consistent with the Lutheran confession that God's saving gifts are delivered through concrete, external means.
The readings also teach why the Church needs a faithful ministry.
Paul says that God makes ministers sufficient for the New Covenant. 29
The Augsburg Confession V teaches that the ministry exists so that people may obtain faith through the Gospel and Sacraments. 305
The pastor therefore does not stand before the congregation as a motivational speaker.
He stands as a servant of Christ's Word.
His task is to proclaim:
Christ has died for sinners.
Christ is risen.
Your sins are forgiven.
Christ gives life.
Mark's Gospel emphasizes that the healed man cannot remain silent.
The more Jesus commands the people to remain quiet, the more zealously they proclaim what He has done. 30
The Christian Church has received the opposite situation after Christ's resurrection and ascension.
The Church is commanded to proclaim the Gospel.
The Christian who has heard Christ's Word is therefore called to speak.
The Gospel opens ears so that mouths may confess.
Isaiah -> Promise
God promises that the deaf will hear and the blind will see. 31
Psalm -> Praise
God is praised because He opens blind eyes and lifts the bowed down. 32
Epistle -> Explanation
The Spirit gives life through the New Covenant ministry. 33
Gospel -> Fulfillment
Jesus opens the deaf man's ears and loosens his tongue. 34
The unified message is:
The God who promised restoration has come in Christ, and through His Spirit and Word He gives life and restores sinners.
The Law Says
You are spiritually deaf.
You do not naturally hear God's Word.
You are spiritually blind.
You do not naturally see God's truth.
You are spiritually helpless.
You cannot make yourself righteous.
The Law condemns and exposes your need.
The Gospel Says
Christ has come.
He opens ears.
He gives sight.
He forgives sins.
He gives His Spirit.
He creates faith.
He gives righteousness.
He gives eternal life.
The Gospel therefore does not merely tell us to hear better.
It gives us ears to hear.
It does not merely tell us to believe.
The Holy Spirit creates faith through the Gospel.
The most basic Christian discipline is to hear God's Word.
Attend the Divine Service.
Hear the Scriptures.
Hear the sermon.
Receive Absolution.
Receive the Sacrament.
Christ continues to speak His life-giving Word to His Church.
Christians should pray:
"Lord, open my ears to Your Word."
The greatest spiritual problem is not lack of information.
It is the sinful tendency not to hear God's Word faithfully.
The tongue that Christ has released should confess Him.
Christians speak of Christ:
Psalm 146 warns against placing ultimate confidence in human rulers or human strength.
Christians may rightly respect authorities and appreciate human help.
But salvation belongs to the Lord.
Jesus' sigh reminds Christians that suffering should produce compassion rather than indifference.
Christians serve those who are:
Christ's healing miracles point toward the day when bodily brokenness will finally be abolished.
The Christian's hope is not merely that life becomes easier.
It is that Christ will raise the dead and make all things new.
Primary Theme
"Ephphatha - Be Opened"
Alternative Themes
LSB 589 - Speak, O Lord, Your Servant Listens is particularly appropriate because the day's Gospel centers upon Christ opening ears to hear.
LSB 578 - Thy Strong Word is especially appropriate for the theme of Christ's powerful Word that accomplishes what it says.
LSB 545 - Word of God, Come Down on Earth emphasizes the incarnation of Christ and the life-giving Word.
This Sunday proclaims a Gospel of divine action.
The deaf man does not open his own ears.
Jesus opens them.
The man does not release his own tongue.
Jesus releases it.
Paul does not claim that the apostles possess spiritual power in themselves.
"Our sufficiency is from God." [35]
The Spirit, not human ability, gives life.
This is profoundly Lutheran.
The sinner does not create salvation.
God creates salvation.
The sinner does not manufacture faith.
The Holy Spirit creates faith through the Gospel.
The sinner does not establish righteousness before God.
Christ gives righteousness.
The Augsburg Confession V therefore teaches that through the Gospel and Sacraments the Holy Spirit is given and works faith. 306 The Augsburg Confession VII likewise identifies the Church as the congregation in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered. 307
The Gospel's final word is therefore not:
"Try harder to hear God."
It is:
"Ephphatha - Be opened."
Christ speaks.
Christ acts.
Christ gives.
And the one whose ears Christ has opened can finally hear the Gospel:
Christ has died for sinners.
Christ is risen.
Your sins are forgiven.
And the tongue that Christ has loosed responds:
"He has done all things well." 36
- Jesus says, "Ephphatha," meaning "Be opened." - The man's ears are opened and his tongue is released. - God's promised restoration of the deaf, blind, afflicted, and spiritually confused. - The Lord provides for the needy, opens the eyes of the blind, and raises those who are bowed down. - "The Spirit gives life." - The crowd confesses that Jesus has done all things well. - The deaf hear the words of the book. - The eyes of the blind see. - The afflicted rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. - Jesus is praised for making the deaf hear and the mute speak. - The letter kills, while the Spirit gives life. - A deaf man with a speech impediment is brought to Jesus. - Jesus takes the man aside from the crowd. - Jesus touches the man's ears and tongue. - Jesus looks toward heaven and sighs. - Jesus commands, "Be opened." - The man's ears are opened and his speech is restored. - Mark preserves and translates Jesus' Aramaic command. - Faith comes from hearing through the Word of Christ. - Faith in the heart and confession with the mouth. - Christian sufficiency comes from God. - God makes His ministers servants of the New Covenant and the Spirit gives life. - The ministry of the New Covenant has glory because it is a ministry of righteousness. - The permanent glory of the New Covenant surpasses the former glory. - God's restoration includes hearing, seeing, rejoicing, understanding, and instruction. - Human rulers cannot provide ultimate salvation. - The Lord alone is the faithful Savior who helps the needy and afflicted. - God creates through His spoken Word. - God makes ministers sufficient for the New Covenant. - The people proclaim Jesus' works despite His command to keep silent. - The promised opening of deaf ears. - The Lord opens the eyes of the blind and raises those who are bowed down. - The Spirit gives life. - Jesus fulfills the promise by opening the deaf man's ears and releasing his tongue. - "Our sufficiency is from God." - The crowd confesses, "He has done all things well."
- Explains the purpose and theological arrangement of the Lutheran Service Book lectionaries, including the relationship between Old Testament readings and the Holy Gospel. - Provides the LCMS summaries of the Three-Year and One-Year lectionary readings and their use in weekly Divine Service. 
- The ministry of teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted so that the Holy Spirit may be given and work faith. - God gives the Holy Spirit through the Gospel and Sacraments, who works faith where and when it pleases God. - The Means of Grace are God's appointed instruments through which faith is created. - The Sacraments are signs and testimonies of God's gracious will toward sinners and are given to awaken and confirm faith. - The Lord's Supper truly gives Christ's body and blood to believers for consolation and life. - The Office of the Ministry exists for the delivery of the Gospel and administration of the Sacraments. - Through the Word and Sacraments the Holy Spirit is given and works faith. - The Church is the congregation in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered. Generated using ChatGPT chatbot
The Lord Opens Ears and Gives Understanding
Isaiah 29:17-24 announces a coming work of God's salvation in which the present order will be radically transformed. The deaf will hear, the blind will see, the humble will rejoice, the ruthless will disappear, and those who have been spiritually confused will gain understanding. 1
The passage looks beyond merely political or social restoration. God's promised work reaches into the human heart. Those who are spiritually deaf and blind will be given understanding, and God's people will sanctify His name. 2
This makes the passage especially significant in light of the Gospel reading, Mark 7:31-37, where Jesus heals a deaf man and says, "Ephphatha" - "Be opened." 3 The miracle is a visible sign that the salvation promised through Isaiah is being fulfilled in Christ.
The central message is therefore:
God alone can open what sin has closed, and in Christ He opens ears to hear His Word, gives understanding, and restores His people.
Isaiah 29:17 - The Coming Transformation
Isaiah begins with a question:
"Is it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field?" 4
The Lord promises a dramatic reversal of the present condition.
What appears barren will become fruitful.
What appears ordinary will become extraordinary.
God is about to act.
Isaiah 29:18-19 - The Deaf Hear and the Blind See
The central promise follows:
"In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see." 5
The afflicted and poor will rejoice in the Lord. 6
The salvation God brings will therefore affect both physical and spiritual conditions.
Isaiah 29:20-21 - The Wicked Are Removed
The ruthless, scoffer, and those who watch for opportunities to condemn others will disappear. 7
God's salvation includes judgment.
The Lord does not merely comfort the oppressed; He also confronts those who exploit and oppress.
Isaiah 29:22-24 - Jacob Will No Longer Be Ashamed
The Lord, who redeemed Abraham, promises that Jacob will no longer be ashamed. 8
God's people will sanctify His name.
Those who previously wandered in spirit will gain understanding, and those who complained against God's instruction will accept it. 9
Isaiah 29 begins with judgment upon Jerusalem, described as Ariel. The people have maintained outward religious activity while their hearts have become distant from God. 10
The Lord therefore exposes their hypocrisy and spiritual blindness.
The immediate context makes verses 17-24 especially powerful.
Earlier in the chapter
The people are spiritually blind and deaf.
In verses 17-24
God promises to reverse their condition.
In the Gospel
Jesus demonstrates that reversal by opening the ears of a deaf man.
Thus Isaiah 29:17-24 is not an isolated promise. It follows God's judgment upon a people who have failed to hear Him and announces His gracious restoration.
|
Verses |
Theme |
|
29:17 |
Creation and circumstances transformed |
|
29:18 |
Deaf hear and blind see |
|
29:19 |
Afflicted and poor rejoice |
|
29:20-21 |
Ruthless and scoffers removed |
|
29:22 |
Jacob no longer ashamed |
|
29:23 |
God's people sanctify His name |
|
29:24 |
Those who err gain understanding |
The movement is:
Judgment -> Restoration -> Hearing -> Seeing -> Rejoicing -> Understanding -> Worship
Law
The surrounding context exposes Israel's spiritual condition.
The people have become spiritually deaf and blind.
They possess God's revelation but fail to receive it rightly.
They honor God outwardly while their hearts are far from Him. 11
This is not merely Israel's problem.
It is the condition of fallen humanity.
Sin produces:
Verse 24 speaks of those who "go astray in spirit" and those who complain against instruction. 12
The sinner's problem is therefore not merely lack of information.
The sinner needs God to open his ears and give understanding.
Gospel
God promises:
The deaf will hear.
The blind will see.
The afflicted will rejoice.
The humble will rejoice in the Holy One.
Those who err will gain understanding.
This is God's gracious work.
The Gospel does not merely command spiritually deaf people to listen harder.
God opens their ears.
This becomes especially clear in Mark 7, where Jesus says, "Be opened," and the man's ears are immediately opened. 13
The phrase "in that day" introduces a future act of God. 14
Isaiah repeatedly uses this expression to point toward God's decisive intervention in history.
The passage has both immediate and eschatological dimensions.
God would act in history to deliver His people.
Yet the fullness of the promised restoration extends beyond any single historical event.
The New Testament identifies Jesus as the One through whom God's promised salvation arrives.
Therefore Isaiah 29 looks toward:
This is the theological center of verses 18-19.
The deaf person cannot naturally hear.
God promises to change that condition.
The promise has an obvious physical dimension, but Scripture also frequently uses deafness as a picture of spiritual inability.
The surrounding context makes the spiritual dimension particularly important.
The people have ears but refuse to hear God.
God therefore promises a gracious reversal.
The physical healing recorded in Mark 7 becomes a sign of this greater work.
Jesus literally opens the ears of a deaf man.
The miracle demonstrates that the Messiah has arrived.
Isaiah's promise reaches its clearest fulfillment in Jesus.
When John the Baptist's disciples ask whether Jesus is the coming One, Jesus points them toward His works:
the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, and the poor have good news preached to them. 15
Jesus deliberately identifies His ministry with the prophetic promises of salvation.
Mark 7 records one of those signs.
Jesus opens the ears of the deaf.
Therefore the Gospel is not presenting Jesus merely as a compassionate miracle worker.
It is presenting Him as the promised Messiah.
The relationship between this Old Testament reading and the Gospel is exceptionally strong.
Isaiah
"The deaf shall hear." [16]
Mark
Jesus opens the ears of a deaf man. 17
Isaiah
Those who are spiritually confused will gain understanding. 18
Mark
The man's tongue is released and he speaks plainly. 19
Isaiah
God's people will sanctify the Holy One. 20
Mark
The people respond by proclaiming the greatness of Jesus. 21
The Gospel therefore functions as a living demonstration of Isaiah's prophecy.
Isaiah's language should not be reduced to physical disability.
The deeper problem is humanity's inability and unwillingness to receive God's truth.
The sinful heart says:
"I will decide what is true."
God says:
"Hear My Word."
The sinner says:
"I know what is best."
God says:
"Trust Me."
The sinner says:
"I do not need repentance."
God calls:
"Turn to Me."
Thus spiritual deafness is fundamentally a problem of sin.
The remedy must therefore come from God.
Verse 24 promises:
"And those who go astray in spirit will come to understanding, and those who grumble will accept instruction." 22
This is more than acquiring information.
Biblical understanding means receiving God's truth rightly.
The Spirit creates this understanding through the Word.
Paul teaches that the natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God because they are spiritually discerned. 23
The Gospel therefore requires the gracious work of the Holy Spirit.
This passage provides an excellent foundation for the Lutheran emphasis on God's Means of Grace.
God opens ears through His Word.
Romans teaches:
"Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." 24
The Gospel is therefore not merely information about Jesus.
It is God's instrument for creating faith.
The Augsburg Confession V teaches that God instituted the ministry of the Gospel and Sacraments so that the Holy Spirit may be given and work faith. 300
Thus the Christian's prayer is not merely:
"Lord, help me understand more."
It is:
"Lord, open my ears to Your Word and give me faith to receive it."
The historic baptismal rite associated the word "Ephphatha" from Mark 7 with Baptism.
This reinforces an important theological truth.
Baptism is God's action toward the sinner.
God gives His promise.
God gives forgiveness.
God gives the Holy Spirit.
God brings the baptized into Christ.
The baptized Christian therefore continually returns to the promises of Baptism rather than trusting in personal spiritual achievement.
The connection is particularly appropriate because the spiritual opening of the ears is ultimately God's work.
Isaiah speaks of people gaining understanding and accepting instruction.
The New Testament identifies preaching as the means through which God delivers the Gospel.
Paul asks:
"How are they to hear without someone preaching?" 25
The Office of the Holy Ministry therefore exists for the proclamation of Christ's Word.
The pastor cannot create faith through personality, entertainment, or persuasion.
God creates faith through the Gospel.
The Augsburg Confession V teaches precisely this purpose for the ministry. 301
Verse 19 says:
"The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel." 26
God's salvation is directed toward those who recognize their need.
This does not mean that poverty itself earns God's favor.
Rather, the passage consistently contrasts the humble and afflicted with the proud and oppressive.
The Gospel is received by those who know they need mercy.
This corresponds with Jesus' Beatitudes and His repeated welcome of those who recognize their spiritual poverty.
Verses 20-21 remind us that salvation cannot be separated from judgment.
The ruthless will disappear.
The scoffer will cease.
Those who seek opportunities to condemn others will be cut off.
God's kingdom is good news for the oppressed precisely because God judges evil.
Christian hope therefore includes confidence that God will ultimately make right what sin has made wrong.
At the same time, Christians should not place themselves in God's judgment seat.
The call is to repentance and faith.
Verse 22 begins a particularly comforting section:
"Therefore thus says the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: Jacob shall no more be ashamed." 27
The people have every reason to be ashamed because of their sin and rebellion.
Yet God speaks of redemption.
Their ultimate identity is not determined by their failure.
It is determined by the God who redeems.
This is the Gospel pattern:
Sin produces shame.
Christ brings redemption.
God restores His people.
The Christian's confidence therefore rests not upon a spotless personal record but upon God's redeeming action.
Verse 23 says that Jacob's descendants will see God's work and "sanctify the Holy One of Jacob." 28
This is the proper response to grace.
God acts.
His people respond in worship.
The order matters.
Grace -> faith -> worship
not:
Worship -> merit -> grace
The Christian does not praise God in order to purchase salvation.
The Christian praises God because salvation has been given.
Verse 17 describes the transformation of Lebanon and the fruitful field. 29
The image suggests a comprehensive renewal of creation.
This anticipates the biblical doctrine of the new creation.
God's final salvation is not simply the rescue of souls from physical existence.
God will ultimately restore creation.
The resurrection of Jesus guarantees this hope.
The physical healing of the deaf man in Mark 7 is therefore significant.
Christ does not despise the body.
He restores it.
And He will ultimately raise His people bodily.
Psalm 146 provides an almost direct theological parallel.
Psalm 146 says that the Lord:
Isaiah likewise speaks of the afflicted, poor, blind, deaf, and oppressed.
Both passages teach:
The Lord is the God who restores the helpless.
Psalm 146 therefore calls the congregation to trust the same God whose salvation Isaiah announces.
Paul's statement:
"The Spirit gives life" [31]
explains the deeper fulfillment of Isaiah's promise.
Isaiah promises that those who have been spiritually confused will gain understanding.
Paul explains that the Holy Spirit gives life through the New Covenant.
The progression is:
Isaiah: God will restore spiritual understanding.
Paul: The Spirit gives life.
Mark: Jesus opens ears.
The three readings therefore converge on one saving action of the Triune God.
Mark 7 gives the congregation a concrete picture of Isaiah's promise.
Isaiah announces:
The deaf will hear.
Mark shows:
Jesus opens a deaf man's ears.
Isaiah announces:
Those who err will gain understanding.
Mark shows:
Jesus restores the man's ability to hear and speak.
Isaiah announces:
God's people will sanctify His name.
Mark records:
"He has done all things well."
The Old Testament promise becomes visible in Christ.
The Augsburg Confession IV teaches that sinners are justified freely for Christ's sake through faith rather than through their own merits or works. 302
The Augsburg Confession V teaches that the Holy Spirit is given through the ministry of the Gospel and Sacraments and works faith through them. 303
The Augsburg Confession VII teaches that the Church is the congregation in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered. 304
The Apology of the Augsburg Confession IV teaches that faith receives Christ and His righteousness and is the means by which sinners receive God's promised forgiveness. 305
The Large Catechism, Third Commandment, teaches that Christians are to hold God's Word sacred and gladly hear and learn it. 306
The Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration II, teaches that the Law exposes sin and shows the sinner his need for Christ, while the Gospel proclaims God's gracious forgiveness in Christ. 307
The Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration III, teaches that Christ's righteousness is received through faith and is the basis of justification before God. 308
The Christian should pray for ears that hear God's Word faithfully.
Not merely ears that physically receive sound.
Ears that receive Christ.
The ordinary place where God gives this gift is the Divine Service.
Hear:
Christ comes to His people through His appointed Means of Grace.
Verse 24 describes people who have gone astray in spirit.
Human reason is valuable within its proper sphere, but it cannot discover the Gospel by itself.
The Christian submits human wisdom to God's revealed Word.
God promises restoration to His ashamed and suffering people.
The Christian's circumstances do not determine God's faithfulness.
The Lord is still the God who redeems.
The afflicted are promised joy.
The proper response to God's salvation is not despair but thanksgiving.
Those whose ears Christ opens should use their tongues to confess Him.
The Gospel creates worship.
The Word received becomes the Word confessed.
Primary Theme
"The Lord Opens Deaf Ears"
Alternative Themes
LSB 589 - Speak, O Lord, Your Servant Listens is especially appropriate because Isaiah's promise centers upon God opening ears to hear His Word.
LSB 578 - Thy Strong Word emphasizes the divine Word that accomplishes God's purposes and gives life.
LSB 545 - Word of God, Come Down on Earth connects the Word of God with the incarnation of Christ.
Isaiah 29:17-24 teaches a profound truth about salvation:
God must act.
The deaf cannot make themselves hear.
The blind cannot make themselves see.
The confused cannot give themselves spiritual understanding.
The ashamed cannot redeem themselves.
The oppressed cannot ultimately rescue themselves.
But God promises to act.
He will open ears.
He will give sight.
He will give understanding.
He will redeem.
He will restore.
And in the Gospel, Jesus demonstrates that this promise is being fulfilled.
The deaf man in Mark 7 does not heal himself. Jesus says:
"Ephphatha."
And the man's ears are opened. 32
This is an excellent picture of the Lutheran understanding of conversion and faith.
The sinner does not generate spiritual life from within.
The Holy Spirit works through the Gospel.
As Paul says, "The Spirit gives life." 33
The Christian therefore does not boast:
"I was wise enough to find God."
Instead:
"God opened my ears."
The Christian does not say:
"I made myself believe."
Instead:
"God gave me faith through His Word."
The Christian does not say:
"I made myself righteous."
Instead:
"Christ redeemed me."
And the proper response is exactly what Isaiah predicts:
"They will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob." 34
The ultimate message of Isaiah 29:17-24 is therefore:
The God who promised to open deaf ears has come in Christ. He opens ears through His Word, gives understanding through His Spirit, redeems sinners through Christ, and creates a people who hear, believe, rejoice, and confess His holy name.
- God's promised transformation, restoration, judgment, and giving of understanding. - God's people sanctify His name and those who err gain understanding. - Jesus says, "Ephphatha," meaning "Be opened." - Lebanon will be transformed into a fruitful field. - The deaf will hear and the blind will see. - The afflicted and poor will rejoice in the Lord. - God removes the ruthless, scoffer, and unjust. - God redeemed Abraham and promises that Jacob will no longer be ashamed. - God's people sanctify His name and those who err gain understanding. - Israel's outward religion and spiritual blindness provide the immediate context. - The people honor God with their lips while their hearts are far from Him. - Those who go astray in spirit and grumble against instruction will gain understanding. - Jesus opens the deaf man's ears and releases his tongue. - "In that day" introduces God's promised act of salvation. - Jesus identifies His works, including the deaf hearing, as signs of His messianic ministry. - The prophetic promise that the deaf will hear. - Jesus heals the deaf man. - Those who err in spirit will gain understanding. - The man's tongue is released and he speaks plainly. - God's people sanctify the Holy One of Jacob. - The people praise Jesus for His work. - Those who previously lacked understanding will receive it. - The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God. - Faith comes from hearing through the Word of Christ. - Paul connects hearing faith to the preaching of the Word. - The meek and poor rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. - The Lord is the God who redeemed Abraham. - God's redeemed people sanctify His name. - The transformation of Lebanon and the fruitful field. - The Lord helps the hungry, oppressed, blind, bowed down, and vulnerable. - "The Spirit gives life." - Jesus' Word opens the deaf man's ears. - The Spirit gives life through the New Covenant ministry. - God's people sanctify the Holy One of Jacob. - Provides the LCMS summaries and lectionary resources for the Three-Year and One-Year Series. (lcms.org) - Provides an LCMS Lutheran treatment of Isaiah's prophetic movement toward Christ and the fulfillment of God's salvation. (witness.lcms.org) - Sinners are justified freely for Christ's sake through faith rather than through their own merits or works. - The Holy Spirit is given through the ministry of the Gospel and Sacraments and works faith through them. - Justification is received by faith for Christ's sake rather than by human merit. - God gives the Holy Spirit through the Gospel and Sacraments, through which faith is created. - The Church is the congregation in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered. - Faith receives Christ and His righteousness and is the means by which sinners receive God's promised forgiveness. - Christians are to fear, love, and trust God and gladly hear and learn His Word. - The Law exposes sin and shows the sinner his need for Christ, while the Gospel proclaims God's gracious forgiveness in Christ. - Christ's righteousness is received through faith and is the basis of justification before God.Generated using ChatGPT chatbot
Praise the Lord Who Saves the Helpless
Psalm 146 is a hymn of praise that calls God's people to place their confidence in the Lord rather than in human rulers, human strength, or earthly circumstances. The Psalm repeatedly directs attention away from man and toward the Lord, who made heaven and earth, keeps His promises, executes justice, feeds the hungry, frees prisoners, opens the eyes of the blind, raises those who are bowed down, and watches over the vulnerable. 1
The Psalm is particularly appropriate alongside Isaiah 29:17-24 and Mark 7:31-37. Isaiah promises that the deaf will hear and the blind will see, while Jesus demonstrates the fulfillment of God's saving promises by opening the ears of a deaf man. 2
The central message is:
Trust in the Lord, who alone can save, restore, and sustain His people.
Psalm 146 belongs to the final collection of Hallelujah Psalms, Psalms 146-150, which bring the Psalter to its conclusion with repeated calls to praise the Lord. The LCMS describes the Psalms as the Holy Spirit's hymnbook and encourages their use in prayer, study, and singing.
The Psalm begins and ends with the same command:
"Praise the LORD!" [3]
Between these two Hallelujahs, the Psalm gives reasons why the Lord should be trusted and praised.
The movement of the Psalm
Praise the Lord -> Do not trust princes -> Trust the Creator -> Trust the faithful God -> Praise the Lord forever
|
Verses |
Theme |
|
146:1-2 |
Personal commitment to praise the Lord |
|
146:3-4 |
Do not put ultimate trust in princes |
|
146:5-6 |
Blessed are those whose hope is in the Lord |
|
146:7-9 |
The Lord helps the helpless |
|
146:10 |
The Lord reigns forever |
The Psalm can therefore be summarized:
Human rulers die - the Lord reigns forever.
Human power fails - the Lord saves.
Human promises fail - the Lord keeps faith forever.
Human strength is temporary - the Lord's kingdom is eternal.
Law
Psalm 146 exposes the false objects of human trust.
"Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation." 4
Human beings are finite.
They die.
Their plans perish.
Their power is limited.
Their promises cannot provide eternal salvation.
The Law therefore exposes our tendency to trust:
None of these can save.
Psalm 146 does not say that government or human authorities have no legitimate purpose.
It says they cannot be our ultimate hope.
Gospel
The Psalm turns us toward the Lord.
He:
The Gospel is therefore not:
"Become strong enough to save yourself."
It is:
"Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God." 6
The Psalm begins:
"Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul!" 7
The Psalmist speaks to himself.
He deliberately directs his own soul toward God.
This is significant for Christian worship.
Praise is not merely an emotional response.
The Psalmist intentionally reminds himself of who God is and what God has done.
Christian worship likewise continually places God's promises before the congregation.
The Word of God teaches God's people what to praise and why to praise Him.
The Psalmist says:
"I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being." 8
Praise is presented as a lifelong vocation.
The Christian does not praise God only when circumstances are favorable.
The Lord remains worthy of praise during:
The reason is that God's faithfulness does not depend upon changing circumstances.
Verses 3-4 contain one of the Psalm's most important warnings:
"Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation." 9
Earthly rulers can accomplish genuine good.
But they cannot save.
Even the greatest ruler eventually dies.
"When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish." 10
The contrast is deliberate.
Man
God
The Christian therefore may respect earthly authority while refusing to make earthly authority an object of ultimate trust.
The Psalm contrasts human rulers with the God of Jacob.
"Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God." 11
The reference to Jacob is significant.
God's faithfulness is demonstrated through His covenant history.
Jacob was not saved because he was morally impressive.
God remained faithful to His promises.
The believer's hope therefore rests upon God's character and promise, not human worthiness.
This is consistent with the Lutheran confession of justification.
The Augsburg Confession teaches that sinners cannot be justified by their own strength, merits, or works but are justified for Christ's sake through faith. 300
Verse 6 identifies the Lord as:
"who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them." 12
This is important.
The God who saves is not a local deity or merely a tribal protector.
He is the Creator.
Because He created everything, He possesses authority over everything.
Creation and redemption belong together.
The God who created humanity is also the God who redeems humanity.
The Christian Gospel therefore does not teach escape from God's creation.
It teaches the restoration of creation through Christ.
One of the strongest statements in the Psalm is:
"who keeps faith forever." 13
Human promises fail.
God's promises do not.
Human rulers die.
God remains.
Human plans perish.
God's Word endures.
This provides the foundation for Christian confidence.
The Christian's certainty does not rest upon the strength of his faith.
It rests upon the faithfulness of God.
The Psalm says that the Lord:
"executes justice for the oppressed." 14
God is not indifferent to injustice.
The oppressed are not forgotten.
The wicked will not have the final word.
This provides comfort to Christians who experience injustice and also gives Christians a reason to practice justice and mercy toward their neighbors.
God's people are called to reflect the character of the God whom they worship.
The Lord:
"gives food to the hungry." 15
This reveals God's providential care.
God provides daily bread.
This connects naturally with the Fourth Petition of the Lord's Prayer:
"Give us this day our daily bread."
The Small Catechism explains that daily bread includes everything necessary for bodily life and that God gives it even to those who do not acknowledge Him.
The Christian therefore receives ordinary blessings as gifts from God's providential hand.
The Lord:
"sets the prisoners free." 16
This describes God's concern for those who are helpless and constrained.
The statement can be understood in its historical and physical sense, but it also points toward the greater freedom Christ gives from sin, death, and the devil.
Jesus declares:
"If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." 17
Christ's salvation is therefore the ultimate fulfillment of the Lord's liberating work.
Psalm 146 says:
"the LORD opens the eyes of the blind." 18
This is one of the most important connections with the day's other readings.
Isaiah 29 promises that the blind will see. 19
Jesus repeatedly opens the eyes of the blind during His earthly ministry.
These miracles are therefore signs of the arrival of God's kingdom.
Jesus is doing what Psalm 146 attributes to the Lord.
This contributes to the biblical testimony concerning Christ's divine identity.
The Lord:
"raises those who are bowed down." 20
This is a picture of God's compassion toward those crushed by circumstances.
It includes those who are:
The Christian should therefore never regard suffering people as inconveniences.
The Lord Himself cares for them.
Verse 8 says:
"the LORD loves the righteous." 21
In Lutheran theology, this statement must be understood in connection with justification.
The sinner does not become righteous by personal merit.
The Augsburg Confession teaches that sinners are justified freely for Christ's sake through faith. 301
The righteousness of the Christian is therefore fundamentally Christ's righteousness, received through faith.
The Lord loves those whom He has justified in Christ.
The Psalm identifies three vulnerable groups:
God's concern for these people appears repeatedly throughout the Old Testament.
The Church therefore has a clear biblical mandate to care for vulnerable neighbors.
Christian mercy does not earn salvation.
Rather, mercy is the fruit of faith.
The Augsburg Confession VI teaches that faith necessarily produces good works because of God's will, while those works do not merit justification.
The Psalm concludes:
"The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!" 24
This is the foundation of the entire Psalm.
God's reign does not expire.
Earthly governments change.
Kings die.
Empires disappear.
Human plans perish.
But the Lord reigns forever.
This is ultimately fulfilled in Christ's eternal kingdom.
Jesus has been exalted to the right hand of the Father and reigns over all things.
His kingdom will have no end.
Psalm 146 does not explicitly mention the Messiah by name, but the New Testament reveals that Jesus performs the works associated with the Lord in this Psalm.
Psalm 146
The Lord:
opens blind eyes. [25]
Jesus
Jesus gives sight to the blind. 26
Psalm 146
The Lord:
raises those who are bowed down. [27]
Jesus
Jesus repeatedly restores those crushed by sickness, sin, and oppression.
Psalm 146
The Lord:
cares for the needy. [28]
Jesus
Jesus proclaims good news to the poor. 29
Psalm 146
The Lord:
reigns forever. [30]
Jesus
Christ is the eternal King whose kingdom has no end. 31
Thus Psalm 146 finds its ultimate fulfillment in Christ.
The connection between the Psalm and Isaiah is especially strong.
Isaiah promises:
The deaf will hear.
Psalm 146 declares:
The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
Isaiah promises:
The afflicted will rejoice.
Psalm 146 declares:
The Lord raises those who are bowed down.
Isaiah promises:
God will restore His people.
Psalm 146 declares:
Blessed is he whose hope is in the Lord.
Both readings proclaim the same God:
the God who saves the helpless.
The Gospel provides a concrete demonstration of Psalm 146's theology.
Psalm 146 says the Lord opens the eyes of the blind and cares for the afflicted.
In Mark 7, Jesus encounters a deaf man with a speech impediment.
Jesus takes him aside.
Jesus touches him.
Jesus looks toward heaven.
Jesus sighs.
Then He says:
"Ephphatha" - "Be opened." [32]
Immediately the man's ears are opened.
The Gospel therefore demonstrates the Lord's saving work in the person of Jesus.
The Epistle provides the theological explanation for how God's saving work continues in the Church.
Paul says:
"The Spirit gives life." [33]
The Psalm describes God as the One who gives life and restores the helpless.
Paul explains that the Holy Spirit continues God's life-giving work through the New Covenant ministry.
The Christian therefore does not merely admire God's past works.
The Spirit continues to give life through the Gospel.
Psalm 146's emphasis on God's saving action fits naturally with the Lutheran doctrine of the Means of Grace.
The Christian does not have to search for God through mystical experiences.
God has promised to work through His Word and Sacraments.
The Augsburg Confession V teaches that the ministry of teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted so that the Holy Spirit might be given and work faith. 302
The Church therefore gathers around:
These are not human attempts to reach God.
They are God's gifts through which Christ comes to His people.
Psalm 146 is itself an act of worship.
The Psalmist does not merely describe God.
He praises Him.
This illustrates why the Psalms are so important in Lutheran worship.
The LCMS describes the Psalms as a rich collection of praise and prayer that covers the Christian experience and notes the recovery of sung Psalms in Lutheran worship.
The Psalm teaches the congregation to speak back to God with the words God Himself has given.
Law
Do not trust human beings for salvation.
Human rulers die.
Human plans perish.
Human strength is insufficient.
The sinner cannot save himself.
Gospel
The Lord:
The Gospel's invitation is:
"Put your hope in the Lord."
Psalm 146 is particularly relevant in every political age.
Christians may participate responsibly in government and may advocate for justice.
But no political leader can save.
No political party can establish God's kingdom.
No earthly government can provide eternal security.
Christ is King.
The Lord gives daily bread.
Christians therefore receive ordinary blessings with thanksgiving rather than entitlement.
The Lord cares for the widow, fatherless, and sojourner.
His people should therefore care for vulnerable neighbors.
God keeps faith forever.
When circumstances change, God's promises remain.
The works of Psalm 146 are ultimately displayed in Jesus.
When you need mercy, look to Christ.
When you need forgiveness, look to Christ.
When you fear death, look to Christ.
When you suffer, look to Christ.
When earthly powers fail, look to Christ.
The proper response to God's grace is worship.
The Psalm begins and ends with:
"Praise the LORD!" [34]
Primary Theme
"Blessed Is He Whose Help Is the Lord"
Alternative Themes
LSB 818 - In Thee Is Gladness is especially fitting because Psalm 146 calls God's people to rejoice in the Lord rather than place their hope in earthly things.
LSB 803 - Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee fits the Psalm's dominant call to praise.
LSB 578 - Thy Strong Word connects naturally with the Lord's powerful Word that gives life and restores His people.
Psalm 146 directs the Christian away from every false source of ultimate confidence and toward the Lord.
Princes die.
Plans perish.
Human strength fails.
But:
The Lord keeps faith forever.
The Lord gives food to the hungry.
The Lord frees prisoners.
The Lord opens blind eyes.
The Lord raises those who are bowed down.
The Lord reigns forever. [35]
This is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
The God of Psalm 146 has come in human flesh.
Jesus opens the ears of the deaf.
Jesus gives sight to the blind.
Jesus feeds the hungry.
Jesus frees sinners from bondage.
Jesus raises the dead.
Jesus reigns as the eternal King.
Therefore the Christian's hope is not placed in princes, governments, wealth, health, or human strength.
"Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God." 36
The Lutheran confession gives this hope its doctrinal foundation: sinners cannot justify themselves but are freely justified for Christ's sake through faith. 300 The Holy Spirit creates and sustains that faith through the Gospel and Sacraments. 302
Thus Psalm 146 teaches the Christian to live with a simple and enduring confession:
My help is not in myself.
My hope is not in earthly rulers.
My salvation is not in human strength.
My hope is in the Lord.
And because the Lord reigns forever, the Christian can praise Him now and look forward to praising Him eternally.
"Praise the LORD!" [37]
- The Psalm calls God's people to praise the Lord and trust Him rather than human rulers. - Isaiah promises that the deaf will hear, and Jesus fulfills this promise by opening the ears of a deaf - The Psalm begins and ends with "Praise the LORD." - Human rulers cannot provide salvation. - The Lord creates, remains faithful, executes justice, provides for the needy, frees prisoners, opens eyes, raises - Those whose hope is in the Lord are blessed. - The Psalmist calls his own soul to praise the Lord. - The Psalmist commits to lifelong praise. - Human rulers are not to be objects of ultimate trust. - Human life ends and human plans perish. - The blessed person places his hope in the Lord. - The Lord is the Creator of heaven and earth. - The Lord keeps faith forever. - The Lord executes justice for the oppressed. - The Lord gives food to the hungry. - The Lord sets prisoners free. - Christ gives true freedom. - The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. - God promises that the blind will see. - The Lord raises those who are bowed down. - The Lord loves the righteous. - The Lord watches over the sojourner and upholds the widow and fatherless. - The Lord reigns forever. - The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. - Jesus identifies His works, including the deaf hearing and blind seeing, as signs of His messianic ministry. - The Lord raises those who are bowed down. - The Lord provides for the helpless and vulnerable. - Jesus announces good news to the poor and liberty to the oppressed. - The Lord reigns forever. - Jesus reigns over an everlasting kingdom. - Jesus says "Ephphatha" and opens the deaf man's ears. - "The Spirit gives life." - The Psalm begins and ends with the call to praise the Lord. - The Lord's faithfulness, mercy, power, and eternal reign provide the foundation for Christian hope. - The believer's blessedness rests upon hope in the Lord. - The Psalm concludes with "Praise the LORD." - Explains the use of Scripture readings and Psalms in the Lutheran Service Book lectionaries and their role in the weekly Divine Service. - Describes the Psalms as the Church's hymnbook of praise and prayer and discusses their use in Lutheran worship. - Presents the Psalms as the Holy Spirit's hymnbook and encourages their use for prayer, study, and singing with faith in Jesus Christ. - Sinners cannot be justified by their own strength, merits, or works but are justified freely for Christ's sake through faith. - The righteousness by which sinners are justified is received through faith for Christ's sake. - Through the Word and Sacraments the Holy Spirit is given and works faith in those who hear the Gospel. - Faith necessarily produces good fruits, while good works are not relied upon for justification. - The Church is the congregation in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered. - Christ, true God and true man, reconciles sinners to the Father through His death and reigns eternally. - Christians are to fear, love, and trust God above all things. - God provides daily bread and teaches His people to receive His earthly gifts from His gracious hand. - Christ's righteousness is received through faith and is the basis of justification before God.Generated using ChatGPT chatbot
The Spirit Gives Life Through the New Covenant
Paul teaches that Christian sufficiency comes entirely from God. The apostolic ministry is not based upon human ability, wisdom, or competence. God makes His ministers sufficient to serve the New Covenant, not as ministers of the letter but of the Spirit, because "the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." 1
The passage contrasts the ministry engraved on stone tablets with the greater ministry of the New Covenant. The former brought condemnation because it exposed sin; the latter brings righteousness and life because it delivers the saving work of Christ through the Holy Spirit. 2
The central message is:
God gives life through the Gospel by the Holy Spirit, and the glory of the New Covenant surpasses the glory of the covenant ministry given through Moses.
Paul begins by acknowledging that Christian confidence exists "through Christ to God." 3
He immediately rejects self-sufficiency:
"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God." 4
God has made Paul and his fellow ministers servants of the New Covenant. 5
Paul then contrasts:
The passage reaches its climax in verses 8-11, where Paul declares that the ministry of the Spirit has greater glory because the New Covenant possesses an enduring glory. 6
|
Verses |
Theme |
|
3:4-5 |
Christian sufficiency comes from God |
|
3:6 |
Ministers of the New Covenant |
|
3:6 |
Letter kills; Spirit gives life |
|
3:7-9 |
Ministry of death and condemnation versus ministry of righteousness |
|
3:10 |
The greater glory of the New Covenant |
|
3:11 |
The permanent glory of the New Covenant |
The movement is:
Human insufficiency -> Divine sufficiency -> New Covenant ministry -> Death contrasted with life -> Condemnation contrasted with righteousness -> Temporary glory contrasted with permanent glory
Law
Paul says that the letter kills. 7
This does not mean that God's written Word is bad.
The problem is the Law's function toward fallen sinners.
The Law reveals God's righteous will.
The Law exposes sin.
The Law condemns the sinner.
The Law cannot give the righteousness it demands.
Therefore the Law cannot create the spiritual life necessary for salvation.
The sinner cannot look at the Law and manufacture righteousness.
Gospel
The Spirit gives life.
The Gospel announces what God has done in Christ.
The Holy Spirit works through that Gospel to create faith.
The sinner receives Christ and His righteousness rather than producing righteousness through works.
The Augsburg Confession teaches that sinners are "freely justified for Christ's sake, through faith" and not by their own strength, merits, or works. 300
Thus:
The Law says, "You are a sinner."
The Gospel says, "Christ has died for sinners."
The Law condemns.
The Gospel forgives.
The Law demands righteousness.
The Gospel gives Christ's righteousness.
Paul's statement in verse 5 is foundational:
"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God." 8
This destroys human boasting.
Paul does not attribute the success of his ministry to:
His sufficiency comes from God.
This applies especially to the Office of the Holy Ministry.
The pastor is not the source of salvation.
The pastor is a servant through whom God delivers Christ's Word.
Paul says:
"God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant." 9
The ministry is therefore God's institution.
The Augsburg Confession V teaches that the ministry of teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted so that people may obtain faith. Through these instruments, the Holy Spirit is given and works faith in those who hear the Gospel. 301
This is one of the clearest Lutheran applications of 2 Corinthians 3.
The pastor's authority is not based upon himself.
It comes from God's institution and Word.
The pastor therefore serves by delivering what God has commanded him to deliver.
Paul says that God made the apostles "ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit." 10
This must not be interpreted as though Paul were opposing Scripture to the Holy Spirit.
Paul is not saying:
Scripture bad - Spirit good.
Rather, he is contrasting the old covenant ministry of the Law with the New Covenant ministry of the Gospel.
The written Law reveals God's demands and condemns sinners.
The Spirit works through the Gospel to deliver Christ's righteousness and create faith.
The distinction is therefore fundamentally one of Law and Gospel.
Paul's statement:
"The letter kills" [11]
must be understood in its context.
God's Law is holy and righteous.
The problem is the sinner.
Because sinners are corrupt, the Law exposes their guilt.
Paul says elsewhere:
"Through the law comes knowledge of sin." 12
The Law cannot forgive.
The Law cannot justify.
The Law cannot create faith.
The Law reveals our need for Christ.
The Formula of Concord emphasizes the importance of carefully distinguishing Law and Gospel so that the Gospel's comfort is not obscured by turning it into another demand. 302
This is the theological center of the passage.
"The Spirit gives life." [13]
The Holy Spirit is the giver of spiritual life.
This corresponds with Jesus' teaching that a person must be born of water and the Spirit. 14
It also corresponds with the Augsburg Confession V, which teaches that through Word and Sacrament the Holy Spirit is given and works faith. 303
The Christian therefore does not create spiritual life by:
The Holy Spirit gives life.
This passage is foundational for understanding the Lutheran doctrine of the Means of Grace.
Paul is speaking about a ministry.
The Spirit gives life through that ministry.
The Augsburg Confession explicitly connects the ministry to Word and Sacrament, saying that through these instruments the Holy Spirit is given and works faith. 304
This means that Christians should seek Christ where Christ has promised to be found:
God's grace is not dependent upon the minister's personality.
The power belongs to God's Word and promise.
Paul describes the Law as:
"the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone." 15
The reference is clearly to the Mosaic covenant and the tablets of the Law.
The Law is glorious because it comes from God.
But its effect upon sinners is condemnation.
It tells us what righteousness requires.
It does not supply the righteousness it requires.
Therefore Paul calls it a ministry of death.
Verse 9 calls the old covenant ministry:
"the ministry of condemnation." 16
This is the proper function of God's Law toward sinners.
It reveals guilt.
It exposes rebellion.
It silences human boasting.
It demonstrates our need for Christ.
The Gospel then announces the opposite:
"the ministry of righteousness." 17
This righteousness is not our achievement.
It is the righteousness Christ has accomplished and gives to sinners through faith.
The New Covenant is called:
"the ministry of righteousness." 18
This is one of the most important phrases in the passage.
The Gospel does not merely tell sinners that they ought to become righteous.
It delivers righteousness.
The Augsburg Confession IV teaches that God freely justifies sinners for Christ's sake through faith and imputes faith as righteousness. 305
Thus the New Covenant ministry is glorious because it delivers what sinners need:
forgiveness, righteousness, reconciliation, and life in Christ.
Paul refers to the glory associated with Moses.
When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, his face shone because he had been speaking with God. 19
This glory was genuine.
Paul is not denying that the Old Covenant was glorious.
Rather, he argues that the New Covenant possesses a far greater glory.
The glory of Moses was temporary.
The glory of the New Covenant is permanent.
Paul repeatedly emphasizes the temporary character of the old covenant ministry.
The former glory was "being brought to an end." 20
The ministry of the Spirit possesses "even more glory." 21
The New Covenant possesses an enduring glory. 22
The contrast is therefore not:
glory versus no glory.
It is:
temporary glory versus permanent glory.
The old covenant pointed forward.
Christ fulfills what it anticipated.
The New Covenant is greater because it is centered upon Christ.
Christ fulfilled the Law.
Christ bore its condemnation.
Christ suffered the death that the Law pronounces upon sinners.
Christ rose from the dead.
Christ gives His righteousness to sinners.
Christ sends the Holy Spirit.
Therefore the ministry of the New Covenant is a ministry of Christ's finished saving work.
The glory of the New Covenant is ultimately the glory of Christ crucified and risen for sinners.
The Holy Spirit does not draw attention away from Christ.
The Spirit's work is to deliver Christ to sinners.
Jesus teaches that the Holy Spirit will take what belongs to Christ and declare it to His people. 23
Thus:
Christ accomplishes salvation.
The Spirit delivers Christ's salvation.
The Gospel proclaims Christ's salvation.
Faith receives Christ's salvation.
This is the Trinitarian structure of salvation.
Verse 5 is especially important for Lutheran theology:
"Our sufficiency is from God." [24]
Human beings cannot generate saving faith by their own powers.
The Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration II, teaches that fallen humanity is spiritually blind and cannot convert itself through natural powers. It specifically rejects the idea that the Holy Spirit comes to people through their own preparations apart from the external Word. 306
This is why the Gospel must come from outside us.
The sinner needs to receive salvation rather than produce it.
The Lutheran confession strongly emphasizes the external Word.
The Holy Spirit does not ordinarily create faith by bypassing God's appointed means.
The Augsburg Confession V rejects those who teach that the Holy Spirit comes through human preparation and works without the external Word. 307
This is especially relevant to 2 Corinthians 3.
Paul speaks about a ministry.
There is proclamation.
There is hearing.
There is the Gospel.
And through this ministry, the Spirit gives life.
The sermon is therefore not merely religious education.
The pastor proclaims God's Word.
The Law exposes sin.
The Gospel delivers Christ.
The Holy Spirit uses the Gospel to create and strengthen faith.
The minister therefore must resist the temptation to make preaching primarily:
The preacher's fundamental task is to deliver Christ.
The same principle applies to Holy Absolution.
The sinner does not need merely to hear:
"Try harder."
The sinner needs to hear:
"Your sins are forgiven."
The Apology of the Augsburg Confession explains that faith is born from the Gospel or Absolution and receives the forgiveness of sins for Christ's sake. 308
The Spirit gives life through the Gospel's promise.
Absolution is therefore not merely psychological reassurance.
It is the external Word of Christ applied to an individual sinner.
The New Covenant ministry also points toward Baptism.
Christ commands Baptism and promises the Holy Spirit's work through it.
The Augsburg Confession IX teaches that Baptism offers the grace of God and that through Baptism children are received into God's grace. 309
Baptism therefore belongs to the New Covenant ministry through which God gives His gracious promise.
The emphasis remains upon God's action rather than human achievement.
The New Covenant is ultimately established through Christ's blood.
At the institution of the Lord's Supper, Jesus identifies His blood with "the new covenant." 25
The Lord's Supper therefore belongs directly within the New Covenant established by Christ.
The Augsburg Confession X teaches that Christ's body and blood are truly present and distributed to those who eat the Supper. 310
The Sacrament therefore delivers Christ's saving gifts to His people.
The Epistle fits closely with the Old Testament reading.
Isaiah promises that those who are spiritually confused will gain understanding. 26
Paul explains how God gives spiritual life:
"The Spirit gives life." [27]
Isaiah describes God's restoration.
Paul explains God's life-giving New Covenant ministry.
The two readings therefore converge:
God opens spiritually blind and deaf sinners through His gracious Word and Spirit.
Psalm 146 declares:
"Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God." 28
Paul says:
"Our sufficiency is from God." [29]
The same theological principle appears in both passages.
Human beings cannot be the ultimate source of hope.
God is.
Human strength cannot create salvation.
God gives it.
The Gospel shows Jesus physically opening the ears of a deaf man.
The Epistle explains the deeper spiritual reality:
"The Spirit gives life." [30]
The Gospel demonstrates Christ's authority to restore.
The Epistle explains the Spirit's life-giving work through the New Covenant.
Thus the readings together proclaim:
Christ opens ears; the Spirit gives life.
The phrase "ministry of righteousness" points directly toward justification.
The sinner's problem is not merely that he lacks moral improvement.
He stands guilty before God.
The Gospel answers that problem by delivering Christ's righteousness.
The Augsburg Confession IV teaches:
"men cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works." 311
Instead, they are justified for Christ's sake through faith.
This is the righteousness that the New Covenant ministry delivers.
Although Paul emphasizes justification and the life-giving work of the Spirit, this ministry also produces a new life.
The Spirit who gives life also produces new obedience.
The Apology teaches that faith brings the Holy Spirit and produces new life in the heart, including love, prayer, thanksgiving, praise, and obedience. 312
Therefore the Gospel does not merely change one's legal status.
The Spirit creates a new life that bears fruit.
But that new obedience remains the fruit of faith, never the basis for justification.
The Gospel possesses greater glory because it delivers an enduring salvation.
The Law's glory was real but temporary.
The Gospel's glory is permanent.
The Law says:
"Do this and live."
The Gospel says:
"Christ has done it."
The Law reveals our failure.
The Gospel reveals Christ's righteousness.
The Law brings condemnation.
The Gospel brings forgiveness.
The Law exposes death.
The Spirit gives life.
Your sufficiency is not in yourself.
It is from God.
This is especially important when Christian service feels unsuccessful.
The effectiveness of the Gospel does not depend upon the minister's personality.
The Spirit gives life through the Gospel.
Therefore Christians should regularly hear God's Word.
God has attached His promises to Baptism and the Lord's Supper.
Receive them with faith in Christ's promises.
When burdened by sin, do not merely look inward.
Hear Christ's forgiveness.
Do not turn the Gospel into another demand.
The Gospel announces what God has already accomplished in Christ.
If faith exists, God receives the credit.
If ministry bears fruit, God receives the glory.
If sinners are forgiven, God receives the praise.
Primary Theme
"Our Sufficiency Is From God"
Alternative Themes
LSB 578 - Thy Strong Word is particularly appropriate because the passage emphasizes God's powerful Word and the Spirit's life-giving work.
LSB 566 - By Grace I'm Saved, Grace Free and Boundless strongly reinforces the passage's emphasis on divine sufficiency rather than human merit.
LSB 589 - Speak, O Lord, Your Servant Listens fits the connection with Isaiah 29 and Mark 7 and the Spirit's work through hearing the Word.
2 Corinthians 3:4-11 strikes at the heart of human self-reliance:
"Our sufficiency is from God." [313]
This applies to salvation.
It applies to faith.
It applies to Christian ministry.
It applies to sanctification.
It applies to the Church's mission.
It applies to the Christian life.
The sinner cannot create spiritual life.
The pastor cannot create spiritual life.
The congregation cannot create spiritual life.
The Spirit gives life.
And the Spirit does so through the external Word and Sacraments.
This is precisely the Lutheran confession. The Augsburg Confession V teaches that God instituted the ministry of the Gospel and Sacraments so that the Holy Spirit may be given and work faith. 314
The Law remains God's good and holy Word, but it cannot give the righteousness it demands. It exposes sin and brings condemnation.
The Gospel does something entirely different.
It delivers Christ.
It delivers forgiveness.
It delivers righteousness.
It delivers the Holy Spirit.
It delivers life.
Therefore the glory of the New Covenant is greater because its glory does not rest upon what sinners must accomplish.
Its glory rests upon what God has accomplished in Christ.
The Christian confession is consequently not:
"I am sufficient."
It is:
"My sufficiency is from God."
Not:
"I made myself righteous."
But:
"Christ is my righteousness."
Not:
"I created spiritual life."
But:
"The Spirit gives life."
And not:
"I will trust in myself."
But:
"I will trust in Christ."
- "The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." - Paul contrasts the ministry of death and condemnation with the ministry of the Spirit and righteousness. - Christian confidence is through Christ toward God. - Christian sufficiency comes from God. - God makes His servants ministers of the New Covenant. - The ministry of the Spirit possesses greater and enduring glory. - The letter kills. - "Our sufficiency is from God." - God makes His servants ministers of the New Covenant. - The New Covenant ministry is of the Spirit rather than the letter. - The letter kills. - Through the Law comes knowledge of sin. - The Spirit gives life. - Jesus teaches the necessity of being born of water and the Spirit. - The ministry engraved in letters on stone is described as a ministry of death. - The old covenant ministry is called a ministry of condemnation. - The New Covenant ministry is called a ministry of righteousness. - The ministry of righteousness has greater glory. - Moses' face shines after speaking with the Lord. - The former glory was being brought to an end. - The ministry of the Spirit has greater glory. - The New Covenant ministry possesses enduring glory. - The Holy Spirit takes what belongs to Christ and declares it to His people. - Human sufficiency is denied and God's sufficiency affirmed. - Jesus identifies His blood with the New Covenant. - Those who go astray in spirit will gain understanding. - The Spirit gives life. - Blessed is the person whose hope is in the Lord. - Our sufficiency is from God. - The Spirit gives life. - Human strength cannot provide justification before God. - Jesus opens the ears of the deaf man. - The Spirit gives life. - The New Covenant ministry is a ministry of righteousness. - "Our sufficiency is from God." - Discusses the Church's ministry and mission in light of the marks of the Church and the Gospel-centered work of the Church. - Emphasizes that Christians should look to God's revealed Word and Sacraments rather than to circumstances or subjective experience for God's gracious promises. - Justification: Sinners are freely justified for Christ's sake through faith and not through their own strength, merits, or works. - The Ministry: God instituted the ministry of the Gospel and Sacraments so that the Holy Spirit may be given and work faith. - Law and Gospel: The distinction between Law and Gospel must be carefully maintained so that Christ's merit and the Gospel's comfort are not obscured. - The Ministry: Through Word and Sacrament the Holy Spirit is given and works faith. - The Ministry: The external ministry of the Gospel and Sacraments is God's appointed instrument for giving faith. - Justification: Christ's righteousness is received through faith rather than earned by human works. - Free Will or Human Powers: Fallen humanity cannot convert itself to God and the Holy Spirit works through the external Word. - The Ministry: The Holy Spirit is given through the external Word and Sacraments rather than through human preparation apart from God's appointed means. - Justification: Faith receives forgiveness through the Gospel and Absolution for Christ's sake. - Baptism: Baptism offers God's grace and receives people into God's grace. - The Lord's Supper: Christ's true body and blood are truly present and distributed in the Sacrament. - Justification: Human strength, merits, and works cannot justify sinners before God. - Love and Fulfilling the Law: Faith brings the Holy Spirit and produces new life, love, prayer, thanksgiving, and obedience. - The Ministry: The Gospel and Sacraments are God's instruments through which the Holy Spirit gives and sustains faith.Generated using ChatGPT chatbot
Faith Comes From Hearing Christ
Romans 10:9-17 centers on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, received through faith and proclaimed through the external Word. Paul declares that salvation is received by believing in Christ and confessing Him as Lord, while emphasizing that this faith does not arise from human strength. Rather, "faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." 1
The passage therefore connects Christ's saving work, faith, confession, preaching, the Office of the Holy Ministry, and the Means of Grace.
The central message is:
God creates saving faith through the preached Word of Christ, so that sinners believe in Christ, confess Him, and are saved.
Paul declares that the Gospel is near - it is not a message requiring human achievement or a journey into heaven or the abyss. The Word is "near you, in your mouth and in your heart." 2
The heart of the Gospel is Christ:
Paul then asks a series of questions:
How can people call upon Christ if they have not believed?
How can they believe if they have not heard?
How can they hear without preaching?
How can anyone preach unless he is sent? [4]
He concludes:
"Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." 5
|
Verses |
Theme |
|
10:9-10 |
Faith in Christ and confession of Christ |
|
10:11-13 |
Salvation is offered to all who believe and call upon Christ |
|
10:14-15 |
The necessity of preaching |
|
10:16 |
Israel's rejection of the Gospel |
|
10:17 |
Faith comes through hearing Christ's Word |
The movement is:
Christ's resurrection -> Faith -> Confession -> Salvation -> Preaching -> Hearing -> Faith
Law
Romans 10 contrasts the righteousness based on the Law with the righteousness based on faith. 6
The sinner's problem is not simply ignorance.
The sinner cannot establish his own righteousness before God.
Paul has already declared that Israel sought to establish its own righteousness rather than submit to God's righteousness in Christ. 7
Human religion naturally attempts to say:
"I can make myself acceptable to God."
The Gospel says:
"Christ has accomplished salvation for you."
Gospel
The Gospel announces:
"Jesus is Lord." [8]
God raised Jesus from the dead. 9
Everyone who believes in Him will be saved. 10
Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. 11
The Gospel therefore directs the sinner away from himself and toward Christ.
The LCMS doctrinal position explicitly confesses that forgiveness, eternal life, and salvation are received through faith in Jesus Christ and that human works cannot reconcile sinners to God. 200
Paul says:
"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." 12
This verse should not be understood as teaching that saying the right words earns salvation.
Confession is the outward expression of faith.
Faith believes in Christ.
Faith therefore confesses Christ.
The Augsburg Confession XX teaches that good works necessarily follow faith, but they do not earn justification. 300
Likewise, Christian confession does not earn salvation.
Rather:
Faith receives Christ.
Faith confesses Christ.
Faith trusts Christ.
The confession "Jesus is Lord" is extraordinarily significant.
Paul is not merely saying:
"Jesus is a helpful religious teacher."
He is confessing Jesus as the divine Lord.
The early Christian confession Kyrios Iesous identifies Jesus with the Lord whom Israel worships.
Paul applies Joel's Old Testament promise to Christ:
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." 13
The Lord upon whom sinners call for salvation is Jesus.
This is a profound Christological affirmation.
Paul specifically connects salvation with believing:
"that God raised him from the dead." 14
The resurrection is not an optional addition to Christianity.
It is central to the Gospel.
Jesus died for sins.
Jesus rose bodily from the dead.
The Father vindicated His Son.
The resurrection demonstrates that Christ's atoning work has been accomplished.
Paul declares elsewhere that if Christ has not been raised, Christian faith is futile. 15
Therefore Christian faith rests upon historical saving events, not merely religious sentiment.
Paul says:
"For with the heart one believes and is justified." 16
This is a clear statement of justification by faith.
The sinner does not become justified through:
The sinner is justified through faith in Christ.
The Augsburg Confession IV teaches that people "cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works" but are justified for Christ's sake through faith. 301
Paul continues:
"With the mouth one confesses and is saved." 17
The confession of Christ is the natural expression of faith.
Christianity is not merely an inward private experience.
The Christian believes something objectively true about Jesus and therefore confesses it.
This has implications for:
The LCMS has specifically connected Romans 10:9 with the necessity of publicly confessing the faith, emphasizing that Christians do not earn salvation by public confession but that faith necessarily produces confession. 302
Paul emphasizes the universality of the Gospel:
"Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." 18
There is no limitation based upon:
The Gospel is for sinners.
The Gospel is for Jews.
The Gospel is for Gentiles.
The Gospel is for all nations.
The Gospel is for everyone who believes.
Paul declares:
"For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all." 19
The Gospel creates one people of God through faith in Christ.
This does not erase historical distinctions between peoples.
Rather, it declares that no ethnic distinction determines one's standing before God.
Salvation is entirely dependent upon Christ.
Christ is Lord of all.
His lordship extends beyond Israel.
He is Lord of:
This gives the Church its missionary mandate.
Christ is Lord of all, therefore Christ must be proclaimed to all.
Paul quotes Joel 2:32:
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." 20
In its Old Testament context, the Lord is Yahweh.
Paul applies this confession to Jesus.
This is therefore another powerful testimony to Christ's divine identity.
Christ is not merely a messenger who tells people how to find God.
Christ is the Lord upon whom sinners call for salvation.
Paul's logic in verses 14-15 is central to the Church's mission.
People must call upon Christ.
They must believe in Him.
They must hear Him proclaimed.
Therefore someone must preach.
And preachers must be sent.
The LCMS explicitly teaches that the primary mission of the Church is to make disciples of all nations through the preaching of the Gospel and administration of the Sacraments. 303
The Church's mission is therefore fundamentally Christ-centered and Gospel-centered.
Paul assumes that faith comes through hearing.
Christianity is therefore an audible religion.
God speaks.
The preacher speaks God's Word.
The hearer hears God's Word.
The Holy Spirit works through that Word.
Faith is created.
This is why Lutheran worship places such emphasis upon:
The Christian faith is received through God's Word.
Paul asks:
"How are they to preach unless they are sent?" 21
This is an important text for the doctrine of the Holy Ministry.
The preacher is not simply someone who decides that he would like to speak publicly about God.
The preacher is sent.
The Augsburg Confession V teaches that God instituted the ministry of teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments so that people may obtain faith. 304
The LCMS likewise describes the pastoral office as the "Preaching Office" and emphasizes that the Holy Spirit works through the preached Word to create and strengthen faith. 305
Preaching is not merely:
Paul says:
"Faith comes from hearing." [22]
The Word of Christ is God's appointed instrument for creating faith.
The preacher's task is therefore to proclaim Christ.
The LCMS describes preaching as a means through which God's Word of Law convicts and God's Gospel comforts and strengthens faith. 306
Paul quotes Isaiah:
"How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" 23
The imagery is striking.
The feet of the messenger may appear ordinary.
The messenger may be unimpressive.
But the message is glorious.
The value of the preacher is ultimately not in his personality.
It is in the Gospel he carries.
The Church therefore does not need impressive messengers nearly as much as she needs faithful messengers of Christ.
Verse 17 is the theological climax:
"So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." 24
Faith is not generated by:
Faith comes through hearing Christ's Word.
This corresponds directly with Lutheran teaching on the Means of Grace.
The Holy Spirit creates faith through the external Word.
The Formula of Concord rejects the teaching that the Holy Spirit converts people without the external preaching and hearing of God's Word. 307
This passage is particularly important for the Lutheran doctrine of the external Word.
God has not hidden salvation in an inward spiritual experience that each person must discover.
He has put His Gospel into words.
Those words are proclaimed.
Those words are heard.
Those words create faith.
The Christian therefore does not need to ask:
"How can I know whether God really loves me?"
God answers through His Word:
Christ died and rose for sinners.
The Christian hears the promise and trusts it.
Romans 10 emphasizes the Word, while the broader Lutheran doctrine teaches that God works through both Word and Sacrament.
The Augsburg Confession V teaches that through the ministry of the Gospel, including the administration of the Sacraments, the Holy Spirit is given and works faith. 308
Therefore the Church should not separate preaching from Baptism and the Lord's Supper.
The same Christ who is proclaimed in the sermon is given sacramentally to His people.
Romans 10 provides a biblical foundation for evangelism.
If people need to hear Christ in order to believe, then Christians should proclaim Christ.
Evangelism is not primarily:
"Come join our organization."
It is:
"Hear what God has done for sinners in Jesus Christ."
The message is:
The Church's mission is therefore not simply to improve society.
Christian mercy and service are important fruits of faith, but the Church's unique mission is the proclamation of Christ.
The LCMS states that the primary mission of the Church is to make disciples by bearing witness to Jesus Christ through preaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments. 309
Romans 10 provides the logic:
No proclamation -> no hearing.
No hearing -> no believing.
No believing -> no calling upon Christ.
Therefore:
Proclaim Christ.
Paul asks:
"But they have not all obeyed the gospel." 25
The existence of unbelief does not mean the Gospel has failed.
The Word is proclaimed.
Some believe.
Others reject it.
This reflects the biblical distinction between God's gracious work and human resistance.
The Gospel is genuinely offered and proclaimed.
Unbelief remains the sinner's rejection of God's Word.
Paul's argument is saturated with Old Testament Scripture.
He cites or alludes to:
This demonstrates that the Gospel of Christ is not a theological invention of the New Testament Church.
The Gospel fulfills God's Old Testament promises.
Christ is the fulfillment of Israel's Scriptures.
Isaiah 29 promises God's restoration of people who are spiritually blind and deaf.
Romans 10 explains how the saving Word reaches them.
They hear the Word.
Faith comes through hearing.
They call upon Christ.
They are saved.
Thus the prophetic promise of God's restoration is connected with the New Testament proclamation of Christ.
Psalm 146 declares:
"Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God." 26
Romans 10 identifies the Lord upon whom people call as Jesus Christ.
The Psalm calls people to trust the Lord.
Romans explains how that trust is created:
"Faith comes from hearing." [27]
Thus the two readings converge on the same truth:
Salvation comes from the Lord, and the Lord gives saving faith through His Word.
Mark 7 records Jesus opening the ears of a deaf man.
Romans 10 emphasizes the importance of hearing the Word of Christ.
The connection is both physical and spiritual.
Jesus opens physical ears.
Through the Gospel, the Holy Spirit opens spiritually deaf hearts to Christ.
The command:
"Ephphatha" - "Be opened." [28]
becomes a fitting image for the work of the Gospel.
Christ opens ears so that sinners may hear His saving Word.
Romans 10 must not be read as though the act of confession itself earns salvation.
Paul's sequence is:
belief -> justification -> confession [29]
Faith receives Christ.
God justifies the sinner through faith.
The justified believer confesses Christ.
This is consistent with the Lutheran confession that faith alone receives Christ's righteousness, while genuine faith necessarily produces confession and good works.
Although Romans 10 does not explicitly discuss Baptism, its language of confession and faith naturally connects with Christian Baptism.
Baptism joins the believer to Christ's death and resurrection. 30
The baptized Christian therefore has an objective basis for confessing:
Jesus is Lord.
The Christian's confidence does not rest upon the strength of his present emotions.
It rests upon God's promise in Christ.
Romans 10 also provides a strong foundation for the practice of confession.
The Christian who believes in Christ confesses Christ.
The Christian who knows his sin confesses his sin.
And the Christian receives Christ's forgiveness through the Word of Absolution.
The LCMS emphasizes that the Gospel frees the conscience from works-righteousness by delivering God's promise of forgiveness through Christ. 310
Christian evangelism must distinguish Law and Gospel.
Law
You are a sinner.
You cannot establish your own righteousness.
You cannot save yourself.
Gospel
Christ died for sinners.
Christ rose from the dead.
Christ is Lord.
Whoever believes in Him will be saved.
Whoever calls upon His name will not be put to shame.
The Gospel is not:
"Become a better person."
It is:
"Trust Christ, who has accomplished salvation for you."
Faith comes through hearing.
Therefore Christians should not neglect the Divine Service and preaching.
Do not measure God's grace by your emotions.
Measure it by God's Word.
Faith naturally speaks.
Christians should not be ashamed to confess Jesus publicly.
Paul's logic demonstrates the importance of faithful preachers.
Pray that pastors faithfully proclaim Christ.
The Gospel must be proclaimed so that people may hear.
Christian support of the Church therefore serves the proclamation of Christ.
Invite others to hear the Word.
Share Christ.
Bring people to the place where the Gospel is proclaimed.
Primary Theme
"Faith Comes From Hearing"
Alternative Themes
LSB 589 - Speak, O Lord, Your Servant Listens is particularly fitting because Romans 10:17 places hearing the Word at the center of faith.
LSB 578 - Thy Strong Word emphasizes the divine power of God's Word to create and sustain faith.
LSB 566 - By Grace I'm Saved, Grace Free and Boundless reinforces justification by faith rather than human merit.
LSB 545 - Word of God, Come Down on Earth focuses on Christ, the Word made flesh, whose Gospel is proclaimed to sinners.
Romans 10:9-17 gives a remarkably concise description of how God brings sinners to salvation:
Christ has died.
Christ has risen.
Christ is Lord.
The Gospel is proclaimed.
The Word is heard.
The Holy Spirit creates faith.
The sinner believes.
The sinner is justified.
The believer confesses Christ.
The believer calls upon the Lord.
The believer is saved.
Paul's emphasis on hearing is especially important for Lutheran theology.
Faith does not originate in human decision or spiritual potential.
"Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." 31
The LCMS therefore confesses that the Church's primary mission is to proclaim Jesus Christ through the preaching of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments. 312
The preacher is sent.
The Word is proclaimed.
The sinner hears.
The Holy Spirit works through that Word.
Faith receives Christ.
This is why Lutheran preaching is not merely religious instruction. It is God's appointed means for delivering Christ and His saving gifts. The LCMS describes the preaching office in precisely these terms, emphasizing that the Holy Spirit works through the preached Word to create and strengthen faith. 313
The ultimate confidence of the Christian therefore does not rest in the strength of his faith, the quality of his confession, or the eloquence of the preacher.
It rests in Christ.
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." 314
And because God has chosen to bring people to faith through the Word, the Church continues to preach:
Jesus Christ is Lord.
He died for sinners.
He rose from the dead.
He forgives sins.
He gives eternal life.
Hear His Word.
Believe in Him.
Confess Him.
Call upon His name.
You will not be put to shame.
- Faith comes from hearing through the Word of Christ. - The Word of faith is near. - Christ is Lord, God raised Him from the dead, and everyone who calls upon Him will be saved. - Paul establishes the sequence of calling, believing, hearing, preaching, and being sent. - Faith comes through hearing the Word of Christ. - Paul contrasts righteousness based on the Law with righteousness based on faith. - Israel sought to establish its own righteousness rather than submit to God's righteousness in Christ. - Jesus is confessed as Lord. - God raised Jesus from the dead. - Whoever believes in Christ will be saved and will not be put to shame. - Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. - Confession of Jesus as Lord and faith in His resurrection are connected with salvation. - Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. - Belief in Christ's resurrection is central to the confession of faith. - Without Christ's resurrection, faith would be futile. - With the heart one believes and is justified. - With the mouth one confesses. - Everyone who believes in Christ will not be put to shame. - There is no distinction between Jew and Greek. - Everyone who calls upon the Lord will be saved. - Preachers are sent to proclaim the Gospel. - Faith comes through hearing. - The feet of those who proclaim good news are described as beautiful. - Hearing through the Word of Christ creates faith. - Not all obey the Gospel. - Blessed is the person whose hope is in the Lord. - Faith comes through hearing the Word of Christ. - Jesus opens the ears of a deaf man. - Faith believes and is justified, while confession expresses that faith. - Baptism joins believers to Christ's death and resurrection. - Faith comes from hearing through the Word of Christ. - Everyone who calls upon the Lord will be saved. - The proclamation of Christ requires sent preachers. - Faith in Christ produces confession of Christ. - Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. - Confesses Christ as the only Savior and identifies the preaching of the Gospel and administration of the Sacraments as the Church's primary mission. - Explains the Lutheran understanding of preaching as an essential function of the Office of the Holy Ministry and as a means through which the Holy Spirit creates and strengthens faith. - Connects Romans 10:9 with the Christian's public confession of faith in Jesus Christ. - Explains how the Gospel and Absolution deliver God's promise of forgiveness and free the conscience from works-righteousness. - The primary mission of the Church is to make disciples through the preaching of the Gospel and administration of the Sacraments. - The Office of the Holy Ministry proclaims God's Word, through which the Holy Spirit creates and strengthens faith. - Justification: Sinners are justified for Christ's sake through faith rather than by their own strength, merits, or works. - The Ministry: God instituted the ministry of the Gospel and Sacraments so that the Holy Spirit may be given and faith may be created. - Faith and Good Works: Good works necessarily follow faith but do not merit justification. - The Ministry: The Church's ministry is God's appointed instrument for delivering the Gospel and the Sacraments. - The Ministry: Through the ministry of the Gospel and Sacraments, the Holy Spirit is given and works faith. - The Gospel: The Gospel is the message of Christ's saving work and is to be proclaimed for the forgiveness of sins. - Free Will: Fallen humanity cannot convert itself to God, and the Holy Spirit works through the external Word. - Free Will: The Holy Spirit does not ordinarily convert people apart from the external preaching and hearing of God's Word. - The Ministry: The Holy Spirit is given and works faith through the Gospel and Sacraments. - The Ministry: The Church's mission is carried out through the ministry of the Gospel and administration of the Sacraments. - Justification: Faith receives the forgiveness of sins through the Gospel and Absolution for Christ's sake. - Justification: Human works cannot justify; sinners receive Christ's righteousness through faith.Generated using ChatGPT chatbot
"Ephphatha - Be Opened"
Mark 7:31-37 records Jesus healing a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment. Jesus takes the man aside, personally attends to him, touches his ears and tongue, looks toward heaven, sighs, and says, "Ephphatha," meaning "Be opened." 1
Immediately the man's ears are opened and his tongue is released.
The miracle demonstrates Jesus' divine authority over the brokenness of creation and anticipates the messianic promises of Isaiah. It also provides a vivid picture of the Gospel's work: Christ comes to those who cannot hear rightly, opens their ears through His Word, and gives them the ability to speak rightly of Him.
The central message is:
Jesus, the promised Messiah and divine Lord, opens what sin and brokenness have closed and restores sinners through His life-giving Word.
Jesus travels through the region of the Decapolis, a predominantly Gentile area. 2
People bring Him a deaf man with a speech impediment and ask Jesus to lay His hand upon him. 3
Jesus takes the man away from the crowd and deals with him personally. He:
Immediately:
Jesus then commands the witnesses not to tell anyone, but they proclaim the miracle even more widely. 6
The crowd concludes:
"He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak." 7
|
Verses |
Theme |
|
7:31 |
Jesus enters the region of the Decapolis |
|
7:32 |
The deaf man is brought to Jesus |
|
7:33-34 |
Jesus personally ministers to the man |
|
7:35 |
Jesus opens his ears and releases his tongue |
|
7:36 |
Jesus commands silence |
|
7:37 |
The crowd marvels at Jesus' work |
The movement is:
Need -> Jesus -> His Word -> Restoration -> Witness
Law
The deaf man's condition visibly demonstrates the brokenness of fallen creation.
He cannot hear.
He cannot speak normally.
He cannot remedy his condition.
His physical helplessness provides a picture of humanity's deeper spiritual condition.
By nature, sinners are spiritually deaf to God's Word.
They do not naturally receive God's truth.
They do not naturally praise God.
They cannot make themselves spiritually alive.
The problem is therefore deeper than a physical disability.
Sin has brought death and corruption into God's good creation.
Gospel
Jesus comes to the helpless.
He does not wait for the man to make himself worthy.
He does not demand that the man first demonstrate sufficient faith.
He acts.
He touches.
He speaks.
And the man's ears are opened.
The Gospel likewise comes from outside the sinner.
Christ speaks His Word.
The Holy Spirit works through that Word.
The spiritually dead are given life.
The spiritually deaf hear.
The spiritually mute confess Christ.
The LCMS teaches that God communicates the spiritual blessings purchased by Christ through His ordained Means of Grace, especially the Gospel Word and the Sacraments. 300 LCMS - Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position
Mark says Jesus traveled through the region of the Decapolis. 8
This is significant because the Decapolis was predominantly Gentile territory.
Jesus' ministry is therefore not restricted to Jewish territory.
The miracle anticipates the universal scope of Christ's saving mission.
The Gospel is for:
Christ's salvation is not limited by ethnicity or geography.
The man does not come to Jesus independently.
"They brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment." 9
Others recognize the man's need and bring him to Christ.
This illustrates an important aspect of Christian vocation.
Christians bring people into contact with Christ's Word.
Parents bring children to Baptism and catechesis.
Friends invite friends to hear the Gospel.
Christians bring the suffering to the Church for prayer and pastoral care.
The Church continually brings sinners to Christ.
But the saving action belongs to Christ.
The man's deafness and speech impediment prevent normal communication.
He cannot hear properly.
He cannot speak properly.
His condition limits his ability to participate in ordinary human interaction.
Jesus does not treat him as an inconvenience.
Jesus takes him seriously.
This is an important picture of the compassion of Christ.
The Lord does not merely see people as members of a crowd.
He sees individuals.
He knows their particular needs.
Jesus takes the man away from the crowd. 10
The miracle is not performed as a spectacle.
Jesus deals with the man personally.
This demonstrates that Christ's saving work is not merely theoretical.
Christ knows individual sinners.
He deals with individuals through His Gospel.
The same Christ who died for the world also knows the individual believer personally.
Jesus puts His fingers into the man's ears and touches his tongue. 11
These actions are not magical techniques.
Jesus does not need physical gestures in order to heal.
Elsewhere He heals with a word from a distance.
Here, however, Jesus communicates personally with a man who cannot hear.
The physical actions give the man something tangible to understand.
Jesus communicates with him in a manner appropriate to his condition.
This reveals the compassion of the incarnate Christ.
The physical nature of the miracle emphasizes the reality of the Incarnation.
Jesus does not save humanity from a distance.
The eternal Son became flesh.
He possesses:
The same Jesus who touches this man's ears will later stretch out His hands upon the cross.
The Savior comes bodily to save bodily creatures.
Jesus looks toward heaven. 12
This demonstrates His relationship with the Father.
The Son is not acting independently of the Father.
The saving work of Christ is Trinitarian.
The Father sends the Son.
The Son accomplishes redemption.
The Holy Spirit applies Christ's saving work.
The miracle therefore points beyond itself to the saving work of the Triune God.
Jesus sighs. 13
This is a remarkable detail.
Christ does not treat human suffering as an abstraction.
He encounters the consequences of sin personally.
The sigh expresses the seriousness of human brokenness and Christ's compassionate engagement with it.
Jesus enters into the suffering of His fallen creation.
Ultimately, He bears the consequences of sin Himself.
Jesus says:
"Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." 14
This is an authoritative command.
Jesus does not merely pray that something might happen.
He speaks.
And the man's condition changes.
The command of Jesus accomplishes what it says.
This is consistent with the biblical pattern of God's creative Word.
God says:
"Let there be light."
And there is light. 15
Jesus says:
"Be opened."
And the ears are opened.
The Word of Christ possesses divine authority.
This is one of the most important Lutheran themes in the passage.
Jesus' Word is not merely information.
His Word does something.
He says:
"Be opened."
The ears open.
God's Word is therefore an effective Word.
The LCMS teaches that the Gospel Word is an ordained Means of Grace through which God works faith and gives the Holy Spirit. 301
This connects directly with Romans 10:17:
"Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." 16
The healing is immediate. 17
There is no gradual therapeutic process.
Jesus speaks.
The ears open.
This emphasizes Christ's authority.
The miracle is not the result of human effort.
It is the result of Christ's Word.
The man contributes nothing to the effectiveness of Christ's command.
Christ does the work.
The healing includes both hearing and speaking. 18
Jesus opens the man's ears and releases his tongue.
This is significant because hearing and speaking belong together.
He can now receive communication.
He can now communicate himself.
The miracle therefore restores the man to ordinary human fellowship.
But the pattern also points toward Christian discipleship:
Christ opens ears so that mouths may confess Him.
The appointed alternate Epistle provides an especially strong connection.
Romans 10 says:
"Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." 19
Mark 7 shows Christ opening a man's physical ears.
Romans 10 explains the spiritual significance:
Christ must be heard.
The Word must be proclaimed.
Faith comes through hearing.
Thus the two readings together emphasize the centrality of the spoken Word.
The Indiana District of the LCMS specifically connects Mark 7:31-37 with Romans 10:9-16, noting that Jesus' opening of the deaf man's ears illustrates the importance of hearing the Word and the preaching office. 302
The primary Epistle says:
"The Spirit gives life." [20]
Mark 7 shows Jesus giving hearing and speech.
The two passages therefore present complementary aspects of the Gospel:
Christ speaks.
The Spirit gives life.
The external Word is proclaimed.
The Holy Spirit works through that Word.
The sinner hears.
Faith is created.
This is precisely why Lutheran theology emphasizes the external Means of Grace rather than an immediate, inward experience detached from God's Word.
The Old Testament reading contains a remarkable prophecy:
"In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book." 21
Mark 7 presents Jesus fulfilling this promise.
Isaiah says the deaf will hear.
Jesus opens the ears of the deaf.
Isaiah says the afflicted will rejoice.
Jesus restores the afflicted man.
Isaiah describes God's messianic restoration.
Jesus demonstrates that restoration.
The miracle therefore identifies Jesus as the promised Messiah.
The broader prophetic context is also important.
Isaiah 35:5-6 promises:
Mark 7 presents precisely this kind of restoration.
Jesus is demonstrating that the promised messianic age has arrived.
The miracle is therefore more than compassion.
It is a messianic sign.
Jesus is revealing who He is.
The crowd says:
"He has done all things well." 22
This statement is especially significant in light of creation.
In Genesis 1, God sees what He has made and declares it good. 23
Jesus restores what sin has damaged.
The crowd's words therefore point toward Christ's role as the One who restores creation.
The Creator has come to repair His fallen creation.
The Gospel assumes a biblical understanding of creation.
Human suffering is not the original condition of God's creation.
Deafness, speech impairment, disease, death, and corruption belong to the fallen condition.
Jesus' miracles are signs that He has authority over this brokenness.
They point toward the final restoration of creation.
The Christian hope is therefore not escape from physical existence.
It is resurrection.
Christ will restore the body.
Jesus' healing ministry points forward to the resurrection of the body.
The deaf man's ears are opened.
His tongue is released.
But eventually this man died.
The miracle was temporary.
The resurrection will be permanent.
At the Last Day, Christ will raise His people bodily.
There will be no:
Christ's miracles are previews of the final restoration.
Jesus' ability to restore creation points toward His divine identity.
He is not merely a prophet asking God to act.
His Word itself accomplishes the healing.
The Gospel therefore contributes to the New Testament's cumulative testimony that Jesus is true God and true man.
The Augsburg Confession III confesses that the Son of God became man and that Christ is truly God and truly man. 303
At the same time, Mark emphasizes Jesus' genuine humanity.
He:
Jesus is not a distant divine being.
He is the incarnate Son.
He has entered our fallen world.
He bears our suffering.
He goes to the cross.
He dies.
He rises.
The miracle therefore reveals both:
Divine authority
and
human compassion.
Jesus commands with divine authority.
Jesus touches with human hands.
Jesus heals with divine power.
Jesus sighs in human compassion.
This is consistent with the Lutheran confession of the two natures of Christ.
The one Jesus is true God and true man.
The question naturally arises:
Why does Jesus use fingers, saliva, touch, and speech?
Jesus could have healed with a simple command.
But He chooses to use physical means.
This should not be turned into a formula for Christian healing.
Rather, it reveals an important feature of God's work:
God is pleased to work through means.
The same principle is central to Lutheran theology.
God uses:
The LCMS teaches that God communicates Christ's saving gifts through His divinely instituted Means of Grace rather than through an immediate operation detached from those means. 304
The miracle should not be used to claim that every Christian healing must involve physical touching.
Instead, it points toward the broader biblical pattern that God works through means.
In the Church:
Word
God speaks Christ's forgiveness.
Baptism
God joins sinners to Christ through water and the Word.
Absolution
Christ's forgiveness is spoken to the individual sinner.
Lord's Supper
Christ gives His true body and blood for the forgiveness of sins.
The Lutheran Christian therefore does not search for God's grace in an undefined spiritual experience.
God has given His people specific means through which He promises to work.
The physical deafness of the man also provides a useful picture of spiritual deafness.
A spiritually deaf person may:
The problem is not that God's Word lacks power.
The problem is the sinner's fallen heart.
The Holy Spirit must open the ears of the heart through the Gospel.
The man's tongue is released.
This suggests another important Christian application.
The Gospel does not merely cause Christians to hear.
It gives them something to say.
Christians confess:
Jesus is Lord.
They pray.
They sing.
They praise.
They speak forgiveness to one another.
They tell others about Christ.
Faith receives the Gospel and then speaks.
Romans 10 says:
"With the mouth one confesses and is saved." 24
Mark 7 provides a vivid picture of a man whose mouth is released after Jesus opens his ears.
The sequence is significant:
opened ears -> released tongue
This is a fitting image for Christian discipleship:
hear Christ -> believe Christ -> confess Christ.
The restored tongue becomes an instrument of praise.
This connects with Psalm 146.
The Psalm begins:
"Praise the LORD!" [25]
The man in Mark 7 has been given the ability to speak.
Christian worship is likewise a gift.
God opens our ears through His Word.
God creates faith.
God gives us mouths to confess His goodness.
Therefore worship is not primarily something we manufacture for God.
It is the response of people whom God has graciously restored.
Romans 10 asks:
"How are they to hear without someone preaching?" 26
Mark 7 demonstrates why hearing matters.
People need to hear Christ.
The Church therefore must proclaim Christ.
The LCMS describes Lutheran preaching as the proclamation of God's Word by those called to speak on His behalf, through which the Holy Spirit creates and strengthens faith. 305
Preaching is therefore not merely educational.
It is a Means of Grace.
Jesus commands the witnesses not to tell anyone. 27
This is part of what is sometimes called the Messianic Secret in Mark.
Jesus does not permit the crowds to define His identity according to their own expectations.
His messianic identity will be understood properly only class=GramE>in light of His cross and resurrection.
Jesus did not come merely to be known as a miracle worker.
He came to suffer, die, and rise for sinners.
The more Jesus commanded them not to speak, the more they proclaimed Him. 28
Their response demonstrates how astonishing the miracle was.
They could not remain silent.
The good news compelled proclamation.
There is an important contrast here:
Jesus' earthly ministry had a specific timing and purpose.
The Church's post-resurrection mission is explicitly universal:
"Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation." 29
After Christ's resurrection, the Church is sent to proclaim Him openly.
The crowd's final confession is profound:
"He has done all things well." 30
This statement can be heard on multiple levels.
Jesus has healed the man well.
Jesus has demonstrated divine authority.
Jesus has fulfilled prophetic promises.
Jesus has begun restoring creation.
And ultimately:
Jesus does all things well for the salvation of sinners.
Even the cross - which appeared to be the ultimate failure - becomes the place where Christ accomplishes salvation.
Mark 7 must ultimately be read in light of the cross.
Jesus opens the ears of the deaf.
But He will allow His own body to be pierced.
Jesus releases the tongue of the mute.
But He will remain silent before His accusers. 31
Jesus restores others.
But He will surrender Himself to death.
Why?
So that sinners may be restored to God.
The healing points toward the greater work of redemption.
The Christian life begins and continues with hearing.
Hear the Law.
Recognize sin.
Hear the Gospel.
Receive forgiveness.
Hear Christ's Word.
Receive His promises.
Hear Absolution.
Receive forgiveness personally.
Hear the Word at the Lord's Table.
Receive Christ's gift.
Faith is continually nourished through hearing.
The Christian therefore should not despise preaching.
Christ also gives Christians mouths to speak.
The Christian mouth is used for:
A Christian who has heard the Gospel becomes a Christian who speaks the Gospel.
The friends brought the deaf man to Christ.
Bring people to the place where Christ's Word is preached.
Jesus' Word accomplishes what He intends.
Trust the promises of Christ.
Do not treat preaching as optional religious information.
Through the Word, Christ speaks to His people.
Look for Christ where He has promised to be found:
The restored tongue becomes a tongue of confession and praise.
Use your words to confess Christ and encourage your neighbor.
Christ's healing miracles point toward the day when every bodily defect will be removed and death itself will be destroyed.
Primary Theme
"Ephphatha - Be Opened"
Alternative Themes
LSB 589 - Speak, O Lord, Your Servant Listens is particularly appropriate because Mark 7 centers on Jesus opening ears and Romans 10:17 teaches that faith comes through hearing the Word of Christ.
LSB 578 - Thy Strong Word emphasizes the powerful Word of Christ that accomplishes what He commands.
LSB 803 - Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee fits the crowd's response to Jesus' mighty works and the Psalm's call to praise.
Mark 7:31-37 is not merely a story about a man who was physically deaf.
It is a revelation of who Jesus is and how He works.
The man cannot hear.
Jesus opens his ears.
The man cannot speak properly.
Jesus releases his tongue.
The man cannot heal himself.
Jesus does everything.
This is the Gospel.
The sinner cannot make himself spiritually alive.
The sinner cannot create faith.
The sinner cannot make himself righteous.
Christ comes to the helpless.
He speaks His Word.
His Word accomplishes what it says.
The Holy Spirit works through that Word.
The ears of faith are opened.
The sinner hears Christ.
Faith receives Christ.
The tongue confesses Christ.
This is why the connection with Romans 10 is so powerful:
"Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." 32
The LCMS likewise teaches that the Holy Spirit works through the external Means of Grace, especially the Gospel Word and the Sacraments, rather than through a grace detached from God's appointed means. 306
And so the Christian does not need to ask:
"How can I make myself hear God?"
Instead, come where Christ speaks.
Hear the Scriptures.
Hear the sermon.
Hear the Absolution.
Hear the Gospel.
Receive the Sacraments.
There Christ continues to speak His gracious "Ephphatha."
And the final promise is even greater than the opening of physical ears.
At the resurrection, Christ will restore the whole person.
The deaf will hear.
The blind will see.
The mute will speak.
The dead will rise.
The broken creation will be restored.
And the redeemed will confess forever:
"He has done all things well." 33
- Jesus takes the deaf man aside, touches him, says "Ephphatha," and immediately restores his hearing and - Jesus travels through the region of the Decapolis. - People bring the deaf man to Jesus and ask Him to lay His hand upon him. - Jesus touches the man's ears and tongue, looks toward heaven, sighs, and speaks. - The man's ears are opened and his tongue is released. - Jesus commands the people not to tell anyone. - The crowd declares that Jesus has done all things well and makes the deaf hear and the mute speak. - Jesus enters the region of the Decapolis. - The deaf man is brought to Jesus. - Jesus takes the man aside privately. - Jesus touches the man's ears and tongue. - Jesus looks toward heaven. - Jesus sighs before healing the man. - "Ephphatha" means "Be opened." - God creates by His spoken Word. - Faith comes from hearing through the Word of Christ. - The man's ears are immediately opened. - His tongue is released and he speaks plainly. - Faith comes through hearing the Word of Christ. - "The Spirit gives life." - The deaf will hear the words of God's book. - The crowd declares that Jesus has done all things well. - God sees that His creation is very good. - Faith in Christ is confessed with the mouth. - The Psalm begins with the command to praise the Lord. - Paul explains the necessity of preaching so people can hear and believe. - Jesus orders the people not to tell anyone. - The more Jesus commands silence, the more the people proclaim Him. - The risen Christ commands His disciples to proclaim the Gospel to all creation. - The crowd confesses that Jesus has done all things well. - The suffering Servant remains silent before His accusers. - Faith comes from hearing through the Word of Christ. - The crowd's confession anticipates the complete restoration accomplished by Christ. - Brief Statement of Doctrinal Position - Explains preaching as a Means of Grace through which Christ's Word is proclaimed and the Holy Spirit creates and strengthens faith. The Place of Lutheran Preaching - Indiana District LCMS - Justification: Sinners are justified freely for Christ's sake through faith rather than by their own strength, merits, or works. - The Ministry: God instituted the ministry of the Gospel and Sacraments so that people may obtain faith through the Holy Spirit's work. - Law and Gospel: The Law must expose sin while the Gospel delivers forgiveness and salvation through Christ. - The Son of God: Jesus Christ is true God and true man, who was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered, died, and rose for humanity's salvation. - Free Will: The Holy Spirit works through the external Word rather than through an immediate operation detached from God's appointed means. - The Ministry: The ministry of the Gospel and administration of the Sacraments is God's appointed means for giving faith. - The Ministry: The Holy Spirit is given and works faith through the Word and Sacraments.