0204 THE FORMULA OF JESUS

THE FORMULA OF JESUS

Mark 7:31-35

Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.

Jesus has returned to the region where the man whose name was Legion had been delivered. And because of that demoniac-turned-evangelist, there are many who come to Jesus, seeking deliverance and truth from him.

This is a unique healing that has several actions to it. The actions are strange, with several steps. And these are not things that he is recorded to have done with anyone else. In fact, it strikes me that all of Jesus’ healings are individualized events. He did not follow a simple formula, but he custom-fit each deliverance or healing to best serve the needs of that person. 

I’m impressed with the individual attention Jesus gave to each person. The gospels are filled with healings from Jesus, and the variety of methods is staggering.

Sometimes he speaks a word and someone is healed some distance away. Sometimes he makes mud for blind eyes, or he touches the leper, or he asks a question (“What do you want me to do for you?” “Do you want to get well?” “How long has he been like this?” “What is your name?”). Other times he tells someone to do something (“Stretch out your hand.” “Go wash.” “Pick up your bed and walk.”). Still other times they touch the hem of his robe, they kneel down in worship, they scream and fall down in convulsions, they ask him to come to see someone in need. Jesus touches the hand of a girl who was dead, he calls forth a dead man, addresses a demon, or he rebukes a fever. Or he might heal blindness part of the way, and it takes a second touch to bring full sight.

This is not what we would call  good business practice today. I know Henry Ford hadn’t come along yet, but assembly line miracles would not have been Jesus’ choice, I’m sure.

So, thinking like a modern-day entrepreneur, I ask, what is scalable about what Jesus is doing? If he has a formula, then it can be mass produced, multiplied, and truly turn the world upside down. But if he has to take time like he does here with each individual, and it takes direct interaction with each one, then he is limited to a private practice, but not to multiplication.

And what about finances? Why not charge people for your services? How do you provide for yourself and your staff so that you can eat today and be available for the people who need you tomorrow?

I think we will have to talk about what a poor businessman Jesus was some other day. Today, we’re just talking about scalability.

So, Jesus treated each person as an individual. Loving all, showing mercy to all, it took a different form with every healing. Got it. But what about scalability? What was Jesus’ plan to reproduce this moment?

In a name, His plan was the Holy Spirit. Jesus left, so that the Father could send the Holy Spirit, who would do all the things Jesus himself had done, and even greater works. The things they had learned they would be able to teach others, also. Jesus gave himself completely to a system of making disciples for about three years, and then he left. He entrusted the system to the disciples who had learned from him.

And so, we walk in the footsteps of the Master, serving each individual according to their needs. Each time we tell the gospel story, each time we counsel or advise, each time we pray, we start over and speak and do what the Spirit directs us to do. 

This is the way.