GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 7:33
Doing Things in Secret
There is a sense of satisfaction that comes from doing certain things anonymously. In Kalamazoo, Michigan, an anonymous donor pledged to pay the college tuition for every student in a kindergarten class. That same anonymous donor later gave $30 million to Kalamazoo College. There are many stories of anonymous individuals donating significant amounts of money to various causes. Others, of course, give their time or talents anonymously.
In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus discussed the importance of doing some things anonymously: “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matt. 6:3-4 NIV)
In St. Mark’s account of Jesus’ return to the Sea of Galilee and the healing of the deaf man, he wrote: “And taking him away from the crowd by himself, he put his finger into the man’s ears, and having spit, he touched the man’s tongue.” (Mark 7:33) There’s no explanation as to why Jesus took this man away from the crowd where they could be alone, so writers have used their imagination to fill in the blanks: to have the man’s undivided attention; to prevent his notoriety from growing further; to prevent Gentiles from being drawn into his circle; or to give him a place to talk to the Father. Whatever the case, Jesus was essentially practicing the principle he described to the crowd gathered around him on a hillside: do certain things in secret, in a humble manner.
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