Again
he departed from the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and came to the sea of Galilee, through the middle of the region of Decapolis. They brought to him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech. They begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside from the multitude, privately, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat, and touched his tongue. 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 released, and he spoke clearly. He commanded them that they should tell no one, but the more he commanded them, so much the more widely they proclaimed it. They were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He makes even the deaf hear, and the mute speak!”
Mark 7:31-37
Mark 7 [30.] She went away to her house, and found the child having been laid on the bed, with the demon gone out.
Mark 7 [31.] Again he departed from the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and came to the sea of Galilee, through the middle of the region of Decapolis. They brought to him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech. They begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside from the multitude, privately, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat, and touched his tongue. 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 released, and he spoke clearly. He commanded them that they should tell no one, but the more he commanded them, so much the more widely they proclaimed it. They were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He makes even the deaf hear, and the mute speak!”
Mark 8 [1.] In those days, when there was a very great multitude, and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to himself, and said to them, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have stayed with me now three days, and have nothing to eat. If I send them away fasting to their home, they will faint on the way, for some of them have come a long way.”
Meaning:
Jesus continues his journey through Gentile lands and arrives in the Decapolis, where a man who is deaf and can hardly speak is brought to him. With unusual tenderness, Jesus takes him aside, uses touch and gesture the man can understand, looks up to heaven, sighs, and speaks one Aramaic word: "Ephphatha!" The healing fulfils ancient prophecy and leaves the crowds declaring, "He has done all things well."
- A Long Road Through Gentile Lands
Mark traces a remarkable route. Leaving the region of Tyre, Jesus travels to the Sea of Galilee "through the middle of the region of Decapolis." (Some early manuscripts read that he went "through Sidon," which would make the journey even longer, north and then east and south.) Either way, Jesus deliberately spends time in Gentile territory. The Decapolis was a league of about ten Greek-style cities east of the Jordan and the Sea of Galilee, with temples, theatres and a largely non-Jewish population.
Jesus had been here before. After he freed the man possessed by Legion, that man "began to proclaim in Decapolis how Jesus had done great things for him, and everyone marveled" (Mark 5:20). Now people bring a needy friend to Jesus, perhaps as a result of that testimony. One changed life had prepared a whole region.
- Deaf and Hardly Able to Speak
The man was deaf and "had an impediment in his speech." The rare Greek word Mark uses appears nowhere else in the New Testament, but it does appear in the Greek translation of Isaiah's great prophecy of restoration: "Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame man will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing" (Isaiah 35:5-6). Mark seems to be signaling that the age Isaiah foresaw had arrived in Jesus. When John the Baptist asked whether Jesus was the Coming One, Jesus pointed to exactly these signs: "the deaf hear" (Matthew 11:4-5).
- Fingers, Spittle, a Sigh and a Word
Jesus takes the man "aside from the multitude, privately." A deaf man in a noisy crowd could easily feel confused or put on display; Jesus gives him dignity and personal attention. Because the man could not hear, Jesus communicates in a way he could understand: fingers in his ears, a touch on his tongue, a look up to heaven. In the ancient world saliva was widely believed to have healing properties, but here it serves as a sign that the healing power comes from Jesus himself.
"Looking up to heaven" expresses Jesus' dependence on his Father in prayer. "He sighed," or groaned, shows his deep compassion and grief over the suffering of a broken world. Paul uses a related word for the Spirit who intercedes "with groanings which can’t be uttered" (Romans 8:26-28). Then comes the single Aramaic word, "Ephphatha," which Mark preserves just as he preserved "Talitha cumi" at the raising of Jairus' daughter (Mark 5:40-43). These were the very sounds the eyewitnesses remembered from Jesus' lips.
- “He Has Done All Things Well”
Jesus commands the people to tell no one, but "the more he commanded them, so much the more widely they proclaimed it," just as the healed leper had done (Mark 1:45). Jesus did not want to be known merely as a wonder-worker, and his hour had not yet come. Yet the joy of the people could not be contained.
Their verdict, "He has done all things well," echoes the creation account: "God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good" (Genesis 1:31). The Creator who once asked Moses, "Who made man’s mouth? Or who makes one mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind?" (Exodus 4:11-12) is now present in Jesus, restoring what was broken.
The Significance of Mark 7:31-37
- Jesus Opens Ears and Mouths
This healing stands beside a chapter full of spiritual deafness: Pharisees who did not hear God's word, and disciples who were "without understanding" (Mark 7:17). Jesus' "Be opened!" is a picture of what he does for hearts as well as ears. The risen Lord later "opened their minds, that they might understand the Scriptures" (Luke 24:45). We can ask him to open our ears to his word and our mouths to praise and witness.
- Compassion That Treats People as Persons
Jesus did not heal the man as a public spectacle. He took him aside, communicated in a way he could understand and shared his grief. Christians are called to the same kind of personal, respectful compassion, especially towards people with disabilities, who are often overlooked or talked about rather than spoken to. Like the friends in this story, we can also bring others to Jesus.
Cross-References:
Isaiah 35:5-6: "Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame man will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing" The prophecy of restoration that Jesus fulfils in this healing.
Exodus 4:11: "Who made man’s mouth? Or who makes one mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Isn’t it I, Yahweh?" The Creator of mouths and ears is at work in Jesus.
Genesis 1:31: "God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good." The crowd's praise, "He has done all things well," echoes God's verdict on creation.
Matthew 11:4-5: "the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them." Jesus points to such healings as evidence that he is the promised Messiah.
Conclusion: Mark 7:31-37 shows Jesus in Gentile country, opening the ears and loosening the tongue of a man who had lived in silence. With tender touch, heartfelt prayer and a word of power, he fulfils Isaiah's promise and reveals himself as the Creator restoring his creation. The crowd's verdict remains true for all who come to him: "He has done all things well."
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible