Word Live: Be Opened!
Think about your friendships. Who are the people you value most, whom you enjoy being with, to whom you would turn in a time of trouble? Thank God for them.
Bible passage
Mark 7:31–37
Jesus heals a deaf and mute man
31 Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. 32 There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.
33 After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spat and touched the man’s tongue. 34 He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, ‘Ephphatha!’ (which means ‘Be opened!’). 35 At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosed and he began to speak plainly.
36 Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. 37 People were overwhelmed with amazement. ‘He has done everything well,’ they said. ‘He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.’
Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Explore
In the first century, being deaf and mute would have been terribly isolating and disabling.
The man in our story, however, had some good friends who brought him to Jesus. That’s what friends do – they love us, want what is best for us and do whatever they can to help us.
With some unusual actions (including poking and spitting), Jesus prays for the unfortunate man. His deep sigh perhaps indicates the depth of his compassion and maybe the spiritual struggle involved in setting this person free (v 34). The word of command, ‘Be opened!’ shows his authority over sickness. The man receives a double healing: he can both hear perfectly well and speak clearly. His friends are mightily impressed.
The healing ministry of Jesus demonstrates the compassion of God to all who are sick, but is also a way of announcing that the kingdom of God has come, and that Jesus is the Messiah. Did the people realise this? Did the man realise it? Admiration is not the same as faith. We have to see beyond the miracle to its deeper significance and recognise it as another authenticating sign that Jesus is the Christ (Isaiah 35:5,6; Matthew 11:4–6).
Author
Tony Horsfall
Respond
The physical miracle has a spiritual parallel when our ears are opened to hear God’s voice and our lips burst forth in praise. That too is miraculous.
Deeper Bible study
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will … the mute tongue shout for joy.’1
After his encounter with the Syrophoenician woman, Jesus travels to another Gentile region where he meets a man with a speech and hearing impairment. Mark’s use of ‘deaf’ and ‘could hardly talk’ in verse 32 to portray the man’s condition alludes to Isaiah 35:5 and 6, where Isaiah prophesies about the coming messianic age and restoration of God’s people.2 At the same time, the man’s deafness is probably reflective of the disciples’ condition in 8:18 and its resolution in 9:7.
Having healed the man privately, Jesus directs the crowd to tell no one about it (v 36a). Jesus regularly directs people not to publicise spectacular events,3 probably because a reputation as a miracle worker would hinder people from coming to know Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God – Mark’s stated purpose in 1:1. Those who cannot see beyond the spectacular and miraculous resemble the rocky ground with little topsoil where the seed springs up quickly but fails to take root.4 It seems that Jesus only wants to be proclaimed when people truly understand his identity.
In this case, however, Jesus’ command has the opposite effect. The more he orders the crowd to keep it quiet, the more they proclaim what has happened (v 36). Although the crowd (including the healed man, probably) disregards Jesus’ command, it unwittingly partakes in and advances the Gentile mission by proclaiming Jesus’ miraculous deed. Proclamation (of the good news) is central to Jesus’ ministry 5 and that of the disciples.6 Evidently, the Gentiles also participate in this proclamation: in 5:20, the healed demoniac proclaims what Jesus has done for him, and here the Gentile crowd proclaims that Jesus ‘has done everything well’ (v 37).
Reflect on how you can participate in the proclamation of the good news. It may simply be telling others what Jesus has done for you!
1Isa 35:5,6 2 KR Iverson, 2007, p61 3Mark 1:44; 5:43; 8:30; 9:9 4Mark 4:5,6,16,17 5Mark 1:14,39 6Mark 3:14; 6:12; 13:10
Author
Cor Bennema
