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Astonished Beyond Measure

What would it take to completely and totally astonish you?  And, if you found out that some others were astonished beyond measure, would you be curious to know why?


Before we get to the why, take a look at some other similar words that have been used to describe their experience of being astonished:


  • Astounded

  • Overwhelmed

  • Amazed

  • Surprised


But there’s more.  Surrounding those powerful words are some descriptive words that indicate the level or intensity of what they experienced:


  • Thoroughly

  • Completely

  • Overwhelmingly

  • Extremely

  • Exceedingly

  • Utterly

  • Totally


All those words are part of how different Bible translations present Mark 7:37 to us. The ESV puts it this way:  


And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”


The “He” is Jesus.   


The “they” were the crowds who had been observing Jesus.  And what they saw, among other things, was that He did all things well.  This was a huge contrast to their observations of the religious leaders.  The religious leaders kept putting burdens on people while Jesus told people to put their burdens on Him.  The religious leaders were quick to point out sins and avoided sinners while Jesus welcomed sinners and ate with them.


But probably what astonished them most was watching Jesus perform miracles.  Jesus had miraculously made the deaf to hear and the mute to speak and such was astonishing beyond measure.

 

So how could all this apply to us?  As we read the Bible, purposely look for Jesus.  As we see Jesus, look for the incredible things that He said and did.  Both changed people’s lives then and are still changing people’s lives today!  And that’s even more than astonishing! 


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