“Thithors!”  That word was my nemesis.  Every ‘s’ seemed an irresistible command for my tongue to leave its ‘tongue-tip-up position’ and slide out between my teeth.  My frontal lisp transformed ‘s’ words to ‘th’ words.  But ‘scissors’ was paradigmatic of my struggle.  Every Tuesday, I would leave Mrs. Cost’s first-grade classroom to sit at a tiny desk in the hallway with a speech therapist who helped untie my tongue.  I don’t remember all the exercises, but I remember when “thithors” became “scissors.”

While there are a variety of lisps common in the childhood of English-speaking children, they are all labelled as ‘speech impediments.’  The word ‘impediment’ is apt.  With no stigma attached, ‘impediment’ expresses the challenges unclear speech introduces into life.  Nothing is more broken in a fallen world than our communication.  And there are lots of impediments to it.  Impediments to expression.  And impediments to understanding. 

And our fallenness impedes nothing more thoroughly than a clear understanding of God’s nature and our own significance.  In his explanation of the Christian faith, John Calvin writes.

“Our wisdom, in so far as it ought to be deemed true and solid Wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves… Man never attains a true self-knowledge until he has contemplated the face of God, and come down after such contemplation to look into himself.”   –Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin

But how can we know what kind of God exists?  One preacher rightly noted, “if we look at God from the middle of our circumstances, we will get a distorted view of God.”  Indeed, unless he reveals himself to us, our experience alone will always form a dreadful, threatening, apathetic, capricious view of Him.  But He overcomes the impediment of our darkened understanding by revealing himself in his Word and through his Son.   The Bible notes.

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.  –Hebrews 1:1-3

In Mark 7:31-37 we encounter a man with a remarkable speech impediment.  He could not hear or speak clearly.  Perhaps he had suffered a childhood sickness that imprisoned him in uncommunicable silence.  As Jesus travels through the area that once begged him to leave out of fear, now the people flock to him and beg him to lay his hands on this man for good. 

At first glance, Jesus’ approach to healing the man seems surprisingly ritualistic and conventional.  Jesus had just healed a demon possessed girl remotely without a word.  But here he puts his fingers in the deaf man’s ears, spits and touches the man’s muddled tongue, makes a point of looking up to heaven and sighing, and then commands his ears to “Be opened!”  Why the drama?  Why the therapeutic actions when only his silent will is necessary?

But a careful look at the story shows us its overwhelming concern for clear communication.  Clarity about God’s grace.  Clarity about the nature of His redeeming and restoring work in our lives.  Clarity about what kind of God He is.  And how we may know Him.  In this short, compelling account, God sweeps away impediments and offers the good news of the Kingdom to all types of men and to this particular man.  And we see Jesus, clearly offered as the only Savior for all men.

Join us as we examine Mark 7:31-37 and consider Jesus, clearly offered to broken, isolated men as the only sufficient Savior.  We meet Sundays at 10:30 am on the square in Pottsville, Arkansas right next to historic Potts’ Inn for worship.  Get directions here or contact us for more info.  Or join our livestream on YouTube.