Mark 7:31 - Meaning and Application

Our Lord Jesus did not stay long in one place, because he knew where his work was and followed it as it changed. After he healed the daughter of the woman from Canaan, he had finished what he came to do there, so he left that region and went back toward the Sea of Galilee, where he usually lived. He did not go straight there, but traveled through the middle of the region of Decapolis, which was mostly on the other side of the Jordan. He often took long journeys like this when he went around doing good.

Here we have an account of a healing that is not recorded by the other Gospel writers. The man was deaf and could not speak well. Some think he had been born deaf, and so he would naturally also be mute. Others think he became deaf through illness or an accident, or at least had very poor hearing, and he had a speech problem as well.

He was completely unable to speak clearly, so he was unfit for conversation. He missed both the joy and the usefulness of hearing other people and expressing his own thoughts. This should lead us to thank God for giving us hearing, especially so we can hear his word, and speech, especially so we can praise him. It should also make us feel compassion for people who are deaf or mute and treat them gently.

Those who brought this poor man to Christ asked him to lay his hand on him, as prophets had done when blessing someone in the Lord's name. They did not simply ask for a cure, but for Christ to notice his need and use his power as he pleased.

Christ's healing was solemn, and some details are unusual. First, he took the man away from the crowd. He usually did his miracles publicly, so everyone could see they were open to careful examination. But here he healed privately, to show that he was not seeking his own glory and to teach us to avoid anything that smells of showiness. We should learn from Christ to be humble and to do good where only God can see.

He also used more visible actions than usual. He put his fingers into the man's ears, as if to clear out what blocked them. Then he spat on his own finger and touched the man's tongue, as if to loosen what held it back. These actions did not cause the healing in any way. They were signs of the power Christ had to heal him, meant to strengthen the faith of the man and of those who brought him. The power came from Christ alone, since he alone heals.

He looked up to heaven to give his Father the praise for what he was doing. As Mediator, meaning the one who stands between God and man, he acted in dependence on the Father and with his eye fixed on him. This also showed that he was working by divine power, the power he had as the Lord from heaven and brought with him from there. The Lord makes the hearing ear and the seeing eye, and he can make them new again. Christ also directed the man, who could see but not hear, to look up to heaven for help. Moses, with his stumbling tongue, was told the same thing in (Exodus 4:11): Who made man's mouth? Or who makes people mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?

Christ sighed. This was not because healing was hard for him or because he lacked power from the Father. He was showing pity for the troubles of human life and sympathy for those who suffer, as one who truly feels our weaknesses. In this man's case, he sighed not because he was unwilling to help, but because of the temptations the man would now face, and the sins he might fall into once his speech was restored, especially sins of the tongue. It would have been better for him to stay tongue-tied unless grace helped him keep watch over his mouth, as in (Psalm 39:1).

Then Christ said, Ephphatha, which means, Be opened. This was nothing like the spells or secret mutterings used by those who dealt with evil spirits (Isaiah 8:19). Christ spoke with authority, and his word carried power with it. “Be opened” covered both parts of the healing: let the ears be opened, let the lips be opened, let him hear and speak freely, and let the restraint be removed. The result matched the word, for immediately his ears were opened, and the bondage of his tongue was released, and everything was made well (Mark 7:35). Blessed is the one who, as soon as he could hear and speak, had the Lord Jesus near him to speak with.

This healing proved that Christ was the Messiah, because it had been foretold that by his power the ears of the deaf would be unstopped and the tongue of the mute would sing (Isaiah 35:5, Isaiah 35:6). It also showed what his gospel does in the minds of people. The great command of the gospel, and the grace of Christ to poor sinners, is Ephphatha, Be opened. In this way, the inward barriers of the mind are removed by the Spirit of Christ, just as those bodily barriers were removed by the word of his power. He opens the heart, as he did for Lydia, and then opens the ear to receive God's word and opens the mouth for prayer and praise.

Christ ordered the matter to be kept private, but it became widely known. This showed his humility, because he charged them to tell no one (Mark 7:36). Most people are eager to talk about their own good deeds, or at least want others to do it for them. Christ was not in danger of pride, but he knew we are, and so he set us an example of self-denial, especially in the matter of praise and applause. We should take joy in doing good, but not in being noticed for it.

Their response also showed zeal. Even though he told them to tell no one, they spread the news before he wanted it made public. Still, they meant well, so this should be counted more as carelessness than rebellion (Mark 7:36).

Those who told the story and those who heard it were amazed beyond measure. They were deeply moved by what Jesus had done, and this became the common response: “He has done all things well” (Mark 7:37). Even people who hated and opposed him as if he were a wrongdoer were ready to admit that he had done no evil. More than that, they had to confess that he had done much good, and done it well, with humility, modesty, and true devotion, and all freely, without any payment.

This added much to the beauty of his works. He makes both the deaf hear and the mute speak, and that is good. It is good for them, and it is good for their families, who had been burdened by their condition. For that reason, those who speak badly of him have no excuse.