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The dilemma of performing miracles (Mk 7:31-37)
Jesus departed “from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon” and “came unto the sea of Galilee.” (v31) “And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him.” (v32) His sickness was a difficult one—both deaf and speech-impediment (口吃). Jesus used a very unique way to treat the case. “He took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, ‘Ephphatha,’ that is, ‘Be opened.’ And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain (說話也清楚了).” (v33-35) So, both his ears and tongue functioned again. This unique curing method was not only amazing to everyone but proved to be very effective.
Although the handicapped was fully recovered and the charming miracle was performed, however, the negative effect of the healing miracle emerged afterward. As usual, Jesus “charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it.” (v36) As mentioned before, he did not want people to focus only on his power of healing. Instead, he would like to see that they listen carefully to his soul-winning gospel. “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” (Mark 4:9, 4:23, 7:16) This is the message that he always reminded the listeners. Besides, fame serves merely the purpose of honouring oneself. Yes, people were amazed at his power of healing and admired him so much, just like this time: people “were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.” (v37) But nothing was mentioned if anyone believed in him as the Son of God and the Savior they had been waiting for because of the miracle.
In addition, he knew very well that his power actually came from the Father, not himself. In this miracle, for example, he looked up to heaven and sighed (perhaps asking the Father to grant mercy) before he said, “Be opened.” (v34) He wanted them to perceive that the healing power came from the Father above, not himself. And he wanted them to glorify the Father, not him. In the Book of John, he kept on clarifying this point before the public. In John 5, he healed a sick man by the pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem. After the man was healed, Jesus told the people around him, “the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do; for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth; and he will show him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.” (John 5:19-20) As he prayed to the Father in John 17, he said, "I have glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do." (John 17:4)
We can see the dilemma in this healing account. On one hand, he was very willing to heal the sick with miracles. On the other hand, he worried that people might be sidetracked by the miracle, meaning that they tended to focus their attention on his charming power but neglect the key messages of the gospel that he preached. All he could do was to tell people not to spread the miracle. That’s why he was reluctant to perform miracles to show off his power except for healing.
If we look at some of the churches in foreign countries, there are cases of preachers performing miracles of healing or driving out demons. This is not surprising at all. But the key is: did the so-called “believers” believe in the Lord because of the miracles, or did they truly perceive their sins and repent as they believed in the Lord? In my opinion, we should not put so much emphasis on the miracle of healing and the like, or the truth-seekers can be “misled” by the miracles.
By the same token, Paul would rather do more teaching than speak tongues in church. He said in I Cor 14:18, “I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all. Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.” Both teaching and speaking tongues are spiritual gifts. Yet he prefers teaching to speaking tongues because “he that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.” (I Cor 14:4) He cited two examples to pinpoint the shortcomings of speaking tongues in church. First of all, he questioned: “when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say ‘Amen’ at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest?” (I Cor 14:16) Then he questioned again: “If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?” (I Cor 14:23) Hence, he encourages the believers as such: “forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.” (I Cor 14:12). Nowadays, however, there are still a multitude of church believers pursuing the gift of speaking tongues hotly, thinking that this is the kind of spiritual performance that they are supposed to achieve without ceasing.