Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre. He didn’t want anyone to know which house he was staying in, but he couldn’t keep it a secret. Right away a woman who had heard about him came and fell at his feet. Her little girl was possessed by an evil spirit, and she begged him to cast out the demon from her daughter. Since she was a Gentile, born in Syrian Phoenicia, Jesus told her, “First I should feed the children—my own family, the Jews. It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.” She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are allowed to eat the scraps from the children’s plates.” “Good answer!” he said. “Now go home, for the demon has left your daughter.” And when she arrived home, she found her little girl lying quietly in bed, and the demon was gone. Jesus left Tyre and went up to Sidon before going back to the Sea of Galilee and the region of the Ten Towns. A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him, and the people begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man to heal him. Jesus led him away from the crowd so they could be alone. He put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then, spitting on his own fingers, he touched the man’s tongue. Looking up to heaven, he sighed and said, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Be opened!” Instantly the man could hear perfectly, and his tongue was freed so he could speak plainly! Jesus told the crowd not to tell anyone, but the more he told them not to, the more they spread the news. They were completely amazed and said again and again, “Everything he does is wonderful. He even makes the deaf to hear and gives speech to those who cannot speak.” Mark 7:24-37 There were three reasons why faith in the Lord healed people [such as the possessed child]. First, because there was an acknowledgment of His Divine omnipotence, and that He was God. Second, because faith consists of an acknowledgment, and the intuition that then comes to mind. All such intuition, from acknowledgment [of another person], causes them to be present [in one’s heart and mind]….It was this intuition, from an acknowledgment of the Lord’s power to heal, which was their faith. The third reason [the Lord healed people] is that all the diseases healed by the Lord represented and thus symbolized the spiritual diseases that correspond to these natural diseases. And spiritual diseases can be healed only by the Lord, and in fact by looking to His Divine power, and by repentance of life. This is why He sometimes said, “Thy sins are forgiven; go and sin no more.” This faith also was represented and symbolized by their miraculous faith. The faith by which [our] spiritual diseases are healed by the Lord can be given only through truths from the Word, and a life according to them. Swedenborg, Apocalypse Explained §815:5 The “deaf man” symbolizes those who do not obey because they have no understanding of truth. A “speech impediment” symbolizes their difficulty in confessing the Lord and the truth of the church. The “ears” opened by the Lord symbolize the perception of truth and obedience; and the “tongue” whose bond was loosed by the Lord symbolizes the confession of the Lord and of the truths of the church. From Swedenborg, Apocalypse Explained §455:21 CREDITS Dr. Sue Johnson, “Love Sense” www.youtube.com/@DrSueJohnson Emanuel Swedenborg, www.swedenborg.com John Clark Echols, www.clarkechols.com Solomon Keal “Affection for Truth” www.solomonkeal.net Maurice Nicoll, Psychological Commentaries on the Teaching of G.I. Gurdjieff and P.D. Ouspensky, Vincent Stuart, London, 1957 Person To Person: The Gospel of Mark, Paul V, Vickers. Swedenborg Foundation, West Chester, PA 1998 Podcast Host: John Clark Echols Music Credit: Solomon Keal Show Your Support: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/X2NREDETDV6WC YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@abide_in_me Substack: @clarkechols I invite you to continue to listen to the next episode. Be well.
