He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it

From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon.  And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden.  For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet.  The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.  But Jesus said to her, "Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs."  And she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs."  Then He said to her, "For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter."  And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.

Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee.  Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him.  And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched His tongue.  Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened."  Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly.  Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it.  And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well.  He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."

- Mark 7:24-37

On Saturday, we read that the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Jesus, having come from Jerusalem.  Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault.  For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders.  When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.  And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches.  Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?"  He answered and said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:  'This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.  And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'  For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men -- the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do."  He said to them, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.  For Moses said, 'Honor you father and your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.'  But you say, 'If a man says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban" -- ' (that is, a gift to God), then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down.  And many such things you do."  When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear Me, everyone, and understand:  There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man.  If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!"  When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable.  So He said to them, "Are you thus without understanding also?  Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?"  And He said, "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man.  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.  All these evil things come from within and defile a man."

 From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon.  And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden.  For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet.  The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.  But Jesus said to her, "Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs."  And she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs."  Then He said to her, "For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter."  And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.  My study bible suggests that if we compare this story here in Mark to the one reported in Matthew (Matthew 15:21-28), we find two differences:  in Matthew's version, Jesus tells the woman, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel"  (and Mark's does not); and also in Matthew's version, the Gentile woman calls Jesus "Son of David," which is a Jewish term for Messiah.  While it's clear that Matthew's Gospel was written presumably for a Jewish audience, my study bible suggests here that Christ went to the Gentile cities not to preach, but to withdraw from the faithless Pharisees.  It says that this is confirmed here in Mark's gospel, where we read that Jesus entered a house and wanted no one to know it.  When Jesus tells her that it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs, He's speaking of the "house dogs" - little pups who would be underfoot and "under the table" awaiting the children's crumbs!   She finishes His metaphor with a great flourish of faith and persistence.

Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee.  Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him.  And He took him aside from the multitude, and put is fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched His tongue.  Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened."  Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly.  Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it.  And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well.  He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."   In this story, we're given the detail that Jesus sighed.   My study bible suggests that a sigh from Jesus is a sign of His compassion.  It also notes that Jesus forbids the people to tell no one of the miracle -- and it's quite a miracle, indeed; it's a sign of the Messiah according to the prophet Isaiah, who stated that at the time of His coming, "the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped" and "the tongue of the dumb sing"  (see Isaiah 35:5-6).  My study bible suggests that Jesus shows here that we mustn't seek acclaim or praise when we do good to others.  But it also notes that the commentator Theophylact upholds those who disobey Christ in this situation, seeing them as a good example -- that we should proclaim those who have done good to us even if they do not want us to.  It's the "good news." 

I find it interesting that Mark every once in awhile gives us little hints about the "interior" Jesus:  how Jesus is feeling, or what He is thinking.  How do we know the mind of the divine?  This human/divine man is so much more for us than we often understand.  Here, there are two snippets of the interior Jesus:  He wanted nobody to know He was in a house in this region of Tyre and Sidon, to the north of Galilee, and far away from Jerusalem.  This is just after the visit of the Pharisees and scribes who came from Jerusalem, and criticized His disciples, noticing the details with which they ate at table, and, we could say, "carping" over them.  Jesus is particularly careful about what is noticed, and when is the right time for the fuller revelation of identity.  This is consistent throughout the Gospels.  And it's an important reference leading into the next story about "unstopping" the ears of the deaf and mute man, because again the theme goes back to His commanding the people to "tell no one."  We note that He had even taken the deaf and mute man aside, apart from the crowds, for this healing.  Perhaps His sigh of compassion also came at a time when He's trying to avoid the frenzy of talk about Him, and this healing He performs is one more Messianic sign that will surely get Him further notice from Jerusalem and the ruling parties of the temple, the religious authorities who already seek to find fault (and we can imagine particularly so after His sharp criticism of them we read in Saturday's reading).  This is a Jesus that might perplex us a little:  why would the Messiah, the Christ, be wary of what people were talking about, about the publicity according to the things He's doing?  It's a very important question, because it stands our notions of publicity and public life on their heads.  In a time when people put just about every personal detail in public over social media sights, we might find it hard to understand that Jesus doesn't want His good works widely known, and for a time wished to be hidden in a house in Gentile territory.  There's an important revelation to us about the dangers of publicity and public life here, even for good things, and about the need to discern what we do and what we seek.  For one thing, we can see Jesus' absolute humility evident here.  If He is to reveal anything, even to begin His public ministry -- and to leave the life of Jesus the carpenter's son in Nazareth behind -- then it is only because He is answering the call of the Father.  We can be somewhat astonished that Jesus spent an apparent thirty years living in Nazareth without people understanding anything of His divine nature (that is, with the exception of His mother, to whom His identity had been revealed before His conception).  It's a startling thing to consider when we read the Gospels and the story of His ministry.  How is it possible that all that He is was hidden throughout thirty years of life in Nazareth?  The Gospel here gives us a sense about discernment and its necessity and importance.  Elsewhere, Jesus counsels that His disciples are to be as shrewd as serpents and as simple as doves, teaching that we need both an awareness of what's not good for us as we do need a pure faith in the heart.  The discernment of both the evil that may trip us up in the world and the pure heart that knows the goodness of God is a requirement for all of us, if we would live His way.  It's the way He shows us also in the Gospels and via His own ministry.  But there's also another factor involved here, one that seems to be outside of Jesus' control, which plays a part.  And that is the tremendous power in and of itself in His ministry, that just can't be contained.  He can't be and remain hidden in a house, and these people will not "stop their tongues" from telling the story of the formerly mute who can now sing if He wants to.  There is a sense of a tremendous "spring" happening here, where everything opens up and blooms, and is revealed in an action that is impossible to suppress.  In this ministry is Life itself, a life in abundance, that gushes forth outside of anyone's control.  That is the power of the Spirit of Life, that compels attention in ways we can't measure nor calculate.  And it is in that Spirit that the ministry proceeds, and Jesus as divine is working hand-in-hand with both Father and Spirit.  There is a quality to this ministry that is like flowing water from a spring that continually gushes forward, and we have even read about life restored to those who have passed and who literally live among the tombs.  Let us remember the quality of this holy power, and understand also that the real force of the power of the holy is an illuminating reason why discernment is so essential to living our lives His way.