27

To Speak or Not to Speak
(Mark 7:31–37)

Again He went out from the region of Tyre, and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of Decapolis. They brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they implored Him to lay His hand on him. Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva; and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” And his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he began speaking plainly. And He gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it. They were utterly astonished, saying, “He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.” (7:31–37)

These verses might be introduced with a riddle: Who is permitted to speak but not able, and able to speak but not permitted? That enigmatic question finds its answer in this dramatic account.

After more than a year of public ministry in Galilee, Jesus took His disciples away for a time of isolated instruction. The Twelve had recently affirmed that He was the Son of God (Matt. 14:33) who alone spoke words of eternal life (John 6:68). The time had come for the Lord Jesus to focus His efforts more intently on preparing them for their ministry after His death and resurrection. They would be commissioned as the first generation of gospel preachers, charged with launching the truth toward the ends of the earth (cf. Matt. 28:19; Acts 1:8).

Jesus and His disciples journeyed first to the northwest, traveling outside of Israel into the region of Tyre (modern Lebanon). There they encountered a Gentile woman who desperately sought Jesus’ help and, in the process, exhibited genuine faith in Him (cf. 7:24–30). Her humble persistence provided the apostles with a vivid illustration of their future missionary work. It would not be long before they would see many Gentiles similarly displaying faith in Christ as the gospel spread beyond the borders of Israel (cf. Acts 10:11–48; 11:1–18, 20–25).

After their stay near Tyre ended, Jesus and the Twelve went out from the region of Tyre, and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of Decapolis. Traveling in a circuitous route, in order to extend the time with His disciples, the Lord continued going north through the city of Sidon (situated on the Mediterranean coast about twenty miles from Tyre) before journeying east and then south to His destination on the southeastern shores of the Sea of Galilee.

The region of Decapolis, located on the southeast side of the lake, was home to Gentiles and outside the territory of Herod Antipas. The region encompassed ten city-states (the name Decapolis, from the Greek deka [“ten”] and polis [“city”], literally means “ten cities”). Archaeological discoveries indicate that these towns were centers of Greek paganism, littered with idols honoring pagan deities like Zeus, Aphrodite, Artemis, and Dionysus. Though the nation of Israel was still Jesus’ priority, His willingness to minister in this Gentile area, much like His interaction with the woman from Tyre, previewed the fact that the gospel was always intended to be preached throughout the whole world. (For more on this point, see chapter 26 in the current volume.) By traveling to Decapolis, Jesus returned to the vicinity of Gerasa where He had earlier healed a man possessed by a legion of demons (cf. Mark 5:1–20). Through the witness of that man (v. 20), along with others from Decapolis who had traveled to Galilee to see Jesus (cf. Matt. 4:25), the news about Jesus had already spread to this area.

The Lord’s time of instruction with the Twelve was ended as massive crowds gathered around Him once again. Matthew 15:29–31 sets the scene:

Though the residents of Decapolis were idol worshipers, they had heard about Jesus’ power and knew He could do what their pagan deities had never done. Consequently, they rushed those who were physically disabled to Him, and He healed them, immediately and completely. Predictably, they “marveled” (from the Greek thaumazō, meaning to be struck with awe) and began to glorify the true God. Ironically, the Jewish leaders of Israel who saw the same miracles rejected Jesus, accusing Him of operating by Satan’s power (Mark 3:22); the Gentile pagans of Decapolis recognized that His power came from God. For the moment, turning from their idols, they offered praise to the God of Israel.

It is in that context that the account described in this passage (Mark 7:31–37) took place. Whereas the parallel passage in Matthew 15:29–31 provides an overview of Jesus’ healings, Mark is the only gospel writer who includes this encounter. Initially, the deaf man described here was unable to speak. By Christ’s will and power, he was enabled to speak. Finally, when the Lord commanded him to keep quiet, he was unable not to speak.

UNABLE TO SPEAK

They brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they implored Him to lay His hand on him. (7:32)

Friends or family members brought a man who was deaf and spoke with difficulty to see Jesus. His deafness was likely congenital or long-term; without being able to hear as a child, he was unable to learn how to speak, thereby resulting in a severe speech impediment. In that world, no remedies existed for such a condition. Those suffering from such physical impairments were ostracized by society. Even in Israel, deaf people, because of their hearing loss and speech defects, were generally regarded as mentally handicapped. Adding insult to injury, the Jews alleged that disabilities like deafness or blindness were the direct result of God’s judgment for sin (cf. John 9:1–2). That this man lived in a pagan society likely meant that the ill treatment and disdain he endured was even worse.

Nonetheless, some cared enough about this man to bring him to Jesus, and they implored Him to lay His hand on him. In this context, the verb implored (from the Greek verb parakaleō) means “to beg” or “to entreat” with a sense of urgency. In desperation they pled on behalf of their friend, who could not speak for himself, that Jesus would enable him to hear. Jesus often laid His hands on people to visually and tangibly demonstrate His power to the sufferers (cf. Mark 1:31, 41; 5:41; 6:5; 8:22, 25). Unlike the Pharisees and scribes, who considered themselves to be above the common people, Jesus gladly mingled with the crowds and willingly extended His touch toward those in need. Doing so displayed His and heaven’s tender compassion and personal care. It also demonstrated that He was not afraid of ceremonial defilement. Jesus was never defiled by those whom He touched—whether it was a leper (1:40–41), a woman with a hemorrhage of blood (5:25–34), a dead body (5:41–42), or a Gentile man who suffered from deafness. Rather than being corrupted by them, they were cleansed and restored by Him.

ENABLED TO SPEAK

Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva; and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” And his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he began speaking plainly. (7:33–35)

Responding with compassion as He always did (cf. Matt. 9:36; 14:14; Mark 1:41; 8:2, etc.), Jesus took the man aside from the crowd, by himself. In the midst of the pressing throng, with many others waiting to be healed, the Lord Jesus gave His attention to one desperate man who had surely been ignored and neglected throughout his life. For as long as the man could remember, he had been scorned, ostracized, and despised. But in that moment, he received the undivided attention and compassion of the Creator Himself.

In an act of profound kindness, the Lord began to communicate in sign language, using gestures and nonverbal signals. Jesus used four specific signs to make His point. First, He put His fingers into both of his ears to indicate that He recognized the man’s physical problem. Jesus understood that he was not stunted mentally or possessed by demons, as some may have thought; he simply could not hear. The Lord used a symbolic gesture to demonstrate that He had rightly diagnosed the medical issue. Second, after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva. Jesus again employed a physical gesture to identify the man’s speech disability. Though Jesus used saliva in His healings on two other occasions (cf. Mark 8:23; John 9:6), it obviously had no power. However, ancient people generally believed that saliva had healing properties. The deaf man would have understood that Jesus’ use of saliva meant He intended to heal him. Third, looking up to heaven, Jesus demonstrated that the creative power He exercised came from God. Even as a pagan, the man would have understood what Jesus meant by gazing toward heaven. Fourth, by giving a deep sigh, the Lord communicated a sincere sympathy for the long agonies of this man’s disability. An honest groaning visibly projected pain and heartache on the man’s behalf. So, using nonverbal communication, the Lord Jesus taught this man about both God’s power and His compassion. The Son of God would heal him, with power that came from above, because He cared deeply about him.

Those two wonderful truths must have filled the man’s heart and mind as the miraculous happened. Jesus said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” By using the Aramaic term Ephphatha, Mark provided an exact quote of Jesus’ words, since the colloquial language He spoke was Aramaic. However, Mark immediately translated it for his Greek-speaking readers: “Be opened!” With a command from the incarnate Creator, the man was immediately given new hearing organs and his tongue was miraculously loosed to speak. As Mark explains, his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he began speaking plainly. The word impediment, from the Greek word desmon, means “bond” or “chains.” It was as if his speech had been imprisoned in the dungeon of deafness. Immediately, he was set free and able to hear perfectly and speak plainly.

The extent of the miracle went beyond merely repairing the man’s physical faculties. He was also given the ability of miraculous language acquisition. Not only could he hear sounds, he was able to understand and articulate words without needing any linguistic training or speech therapy. The word plainly comes from the Greek word orthōs, meaning “straight” or “right.” The English medical terms “orthopedics” and “orthodontics” are derived from that Greek term. In an instant, the One who created the world (John 1:1–3), and upholds it with “the word of His power” (Heb. 1:3), supernaturally enabled this man to hear and speak fluently. Like every miracle Jesus performed, this healing was an act of divine creative energy through His word, the same way He made the universe in the beginning (cf. Gen. 1:3, 6, 9, 14, 20, 24, 26).

UNABLE NOT TO SPEAK

And He gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it. They were utterly astonished, saying, “He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.” (7:36–37)

No doubt, the man’s reaction was one of exuberant joy. Naturally, his instant impulse was to tell everyone what happened. But Jesus instructed him and his friends to keep quiet—an immense restraint in light of such an experience. Yet, He gave them orders not to tell anyone.

Orders (from the Greek diastellomai) refers to a command. That Jesus commanded this man to remain quiet may seem strange, not only because He had just given him the ability to speak but also because the Lord had earlier told the Garasene demoniac to do the exact opposite:

One might wonder why Jesus instructed the former demoniac to spread the news about Him throughout the region of Decapolis and later told the former deaf man to keep quiet. There was an important difference. The former demoniac was the first missionary to that Gentile area. But now, largely through his witness, the news about Jesus’ miracle-working power was well-known throughout the region, resulting in widespread euphoria. The situation had reached epic proportions due to the unbridled enthusiasm of the unwieldy crowds. As in Galilee, the Lord had no desire to add fuel to the fire of their inherently materialistic and political expectations about Him (cf. John 6:15).

Jesus issued similar commands at other times as well (cf. Matt. 8:4; 9:30; 12:16; 17:9; Mark 1:25, 34, 44; 3:12; 5:43; 7:36; 8:26, 30; 9:9; Luke 4:41; 9:21). On certain occasions, the Lord insisted on silence because He knew the report would amplify the enthusiastic fervor of the crowds, which would only hinder His ministry (cf. Mark 1:40–45; John 6:14–15). As noted above, that was likely part of Jesus’ concern on this occasion since large crowds were already flocking to Him in the Decapolis (cf. Mark 8:1–10). At other times, the gag order served as an act of judgment on unbelievers by obscuring the truth from those who had permanently rejected Him (cf. Luke 9:21).

However, the primary reason Jesus repeatedly insisted on this kind of silence is found in Mark 8:30–31. After His disciples identified Him as the Messiah and the Son of God (v. 29; cf. Matt. 16:18), “He warned them to tell no one about Him. And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” Knowing that His earthly mission would not be accomplished until after His death and resurrection, Jesus instructed even His own disciples to remain quiet until after the story was complete. Many whom He healed knew Him merely as a miracle worker, but Jesus had come for a far more glorious purpose (cf. Luke 19:10). A message that highlighted only His miraculous healings would be inadequate. The full message about Him must include the truth that “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3–4).

Aware of their uncontainable elation, the Lord repeated His instruction, but the more He ordered them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it. In spite of His repeated commands, the man and his friends, unable to contain their joy, proved disobedient. Ironically, though Jesus had healed his ears, the man refused to listen to the Lord’s instruction. It is likely that Jesus’ admonition was also aimed at bystanders in the crowd who had witnessed this stunning miracle. The disciples must have wondered also why Jesus would issue such a command. Even they would only later come to understand the full story of Jesus’ work—including His death and resurrection (cf. Mark 9:32; Luke 9:45; 18:34; John 12:16).

Upon seeing the miraculous wonders He did, including the transformation of this deaf man, the people in the crowd were utterly astonished. The word utterly comes from the Greek term huperperissōs, meaning “exceedingly,” “above all measure,” or “superabundantly.” Astonished translates a form of the word ekplessō, which means “to be struck with amazement” or, colloquially, “to be blown out of one’s mind.” The people were completely awestruck and unable to contain themselves. So, in spite of Jesus’ instruction to the contrary, they too spread the word everywhere.

In their excitement, the people exclaimed, He has done all things well. He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak. The adverb well translates the Greek word kalōs, meaning “rightly,” “correctly,” or “appropriately.” The people were commenting on the perfection of His miracles. He made the blind to see, the lame to walk, the deaf to hear and the mute to speak. Their recovery was immediate, and their restoration complete. Jesus’ healings never failed; they were perfect every time.

The word mute comes from the Greek word alalos, meaning “without speech.” That term is used only three times in the Gospels, all in Mark (cf. 7:37; 9:17, 25). Earlier, in verse 32, Mark used an even less common word to describe this man’s condition. The phrase “spoke with difficulty” translates a form of the Greek word mogilalos, occurring only here in the New Testament. Significantly, that same word occurs only once in the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament) in Isaiah 35. That prophetic passage describes the wonders of the future millennial kingdom when Christ returns to reign on the earth: the desert will blossom with beautiful flowers (vv. 1–2), Israel and the surrounding nations will see the glory of the Lord God (v. 2), the weak and feeble will be encouraged (v. 3), and God’s enemies will be judged and the righteous saved (v. 4). In that context, Isaiah writes, “Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will shout for joy” (vv. 5–6). The word “mute” (from the Hebrew word ‘illem) is translated by a form of the Greek word mogilalos in the Septuagint. By using that same rare term, Mark connected his account with the prophecy of Isaiah 35. The healings Jesus performed, like the curing of a deaf man with a severe speech impediment, were previews of the glories of His future messianic kingdom, when death and disease will be greatly diminished (cf. Isa. 29:18; 30:23; 32:14–15; 65:20).

Isaiah 35:8–10 continues its description of the millennial kingdom with a beautiful picture of the redeemed who will dwell there:

While the people Jesus healed physically during His ministry were right to rejoice, their momentary exuberance cannot compare to the eternal joys that await those whom He has saved spiritually and to whom He has promised eternal glorified bodies (cf. John 11:25–26; 1 Cor. 15:20–28, 35–56). During the millennial kingdom (cf. Rev. 20:1–6) and then forever on the new earth (cf. Rev. 21:1–22:5), the redeemed will exult in the wonder of their completed salvation.

By healing temporal maladies, the Lord Jesus pointed people to something greater: the hope of eternal life (cf. John 5:40; 6:35; 10:10; 17:2–3). Through Him, forgiveness from sin and reconciliation with God are readily available to everyone who believes the gospel, whether Jew or Gentile (cf. Rom. 1:16; 2 Cor. 5:20–21; Gal. 3:28). Jesus is infinitely more than a miracle worker and the greatest teacher. He is the only Savior (John 14:6; Acts 4:12) who died to pay the penalty for sin (cf. Isa. 53:4–5; Rom. 4:25; Col. 2:13–14; 1 Peter 3:18) and rose victoriously to demonstrate His power over death (cf. Acts 2:24; 17:31; Rom. 8:11; 1 Cor. 15:20–22, 54–56). Those who repent and believe in Him savingly will experience His life-giving power for all of eternity (cf. John 4:14; 7:38; Rev. 7:17; 21:6). Spiritually, their sinful hearts are cleansed at the moment of conversion (cf. Acts 10:43; 15:9; Rom. 8:1; 2 Cor. 5:17; Titus 3:4–7). Physically, their bodies will one day be resurrected, never to experience disease or decay again (cf. John 5:28–29; 1 Cor. 15:42–56; 2 Cor. 5:1–4; Rev. 21:4). In that state of glorified perfection, free from both sin and sickness, they will forever worship their Redeemer and King (cf. Rev. 5:13; 19:1–6; 22:3–4).