Christ Sighed
Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” (Mark 7:34, NKJV)
Every word of scripture is inspired. Every sentence in the gospels gives us insight into our Savior, and, since we are being transformed into his spiritual image, each sentence also gives us insight into the people he is making us to be through his Spirit.
He Grieves: In this little word here, “sighed,” is revealed a great truth about Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of God. It says “he sighed.” It could be translated “He groaned.” The word in Greek here is stenazo. In John’s gospel we see the word embrimaomai, which means “to snort” or, in Christ’s situation, to be moved with indignation (John 11:33,38). Both ideas are similar, that Jesus expressed outwardly the frustration of a holy heart come to live in this fallen world.
Since Christ came from the perfection of heaven, since he held in his own heart the perfect nature of holy God, since there was never a temptation he entertained, nor a sin he committed, and because he lived here on this fallen earth, we should not be surprised to see these moments more often in the gospels.
Imagine a skilled, educated, trained, experienced orchestra conductor with perfect pitch, someone who had worked with the most famous orchestras in all the world, who suddenly must be transferred to teach high school band, where students could hardly tune their own instruments. Would not there be moments of groaning and sighing in his life. But Christ’s groanings are not just out of frustration, but out of deep broken-heartedness at what sin has done to his creation.
Romans 8 also three times mentions groaning: creation groans, we groan, and the Spirit groans.
For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (8:22–23)
In both of these cases the same word stenazo is used. Groaning here represents the hurt, pain, and frustration with sin and its impact on the creation and in lives. (See also 2 Cor. 5:2.) And the “Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (8:26). Here the noun form is used, stegnamos, “groanings” or “sighings.” The Spirit of Christ continues to groan within the Godhead, translating our prayers to the thoughts and plans on the heart of God.
In Ephesians 4:30 we are commanded, “And grieve not the Holy Spirit, with whom you are sealed for redemption.” Our actions and thoughts move almighty God. The outcome of sin upon this world, its foolishness and heartbreak, the spread of disease, the pain that human pride causes, the agony that lust interweaves upon this earth — all of these sadden the heart of God.
These feelings and thoughts of Jesus are foreign to our fallen natures, but the new nature within us understands them, at least in part. We have seen young people, or those more foolish than we are, make great messes of situations. We have seen the impact that sin has upon the lives of others. We have tasted our own tears and torn our nails trying to clean up the messes caused by others. We have wept at the side of the parent whose child was killed in an automobile accident due to alcoholic inebriation. We have stood to comfort the widow whose husband was taken from her too early in anger, or in neglect of one’s health. We have felt the pain and burden of human foolishness — our own and others. We also sigh and groan because the Spirit indwells us and is transforming us into Christ’s image.
This says something about our Savior when he was on earth, and something about the comfort of His Spirit to our hearts today. He was not some holy automaton, who went around doing good unaffected by the evil all around him. As the sin of the world touched him while he was on earth, so our pain, our foolishness touches him today. He weeps for us at every wrong turn we make. He grieves for those in whom pride swells to pour over the brim of their self-estimation. We sighs at everyone’s life that is overrun by lust. He cries out for the victims of injustice. As James wrote, “Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts” (James 5:4). He knows. He weeps. He sighs. He moans. He grieves.
He Acts: Romans 8:26 tells us that there is something going on in the heart of God that we are not fully able to understand. The mind and heart of God is moved due to the pain of the world from sin. He absorbs this, and grieves within himself. He sighs and groans with thoughts and determinations that only God himself can comprehend. But one day he will say “Enough!” One day he will act to end sin and misery and to establish justice.
What does this passage mean but that he also acts to bring justice? In the text he sighed and then he said, “Be opened!” In John 11:33, at the death of Lazarus, he groaned in his spirit, and then he asked, “Where have you laid him?” Then he came to the tomb and groaned again before it and then said, “Take away the stone,” and “Lazarus, come forth!” (John 11:38–43). God is patient with redemption and the exercising of justice, wanting all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9), but he will not wait for ever.
God finds no satisfaction in his groaning alone. He finds no fulfillment in sighing and grieving. And as God he will not let this condition remain. He will sweep away all evil, all that causes harm and misery and sickness and death on this earth. The end result of sin is harm to others. The end result of righteousness is blessing to others. And even if the blinded human race is too deceived and too dull to grasp this point, God will still bring justice and victory and protection to the oppressed.
One day, as he said to John, so will he say to us, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things!” (Rev. 4:1) Sin and misery will have an end to them. Victory and justice shall be established for ever. The righteous shall be rewarded. The faithless shall be separated from them. Justice shall be established forever. This is the declaration of the word of God.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does. (Psalm 145:13)
