5. Amazed with Jesus after His Healing of a Deaf and Mute Man
5. Amazed with Jesus after His Healing of a Deaf and Mute Man.
“Life without wonder – radical amazement – is not worth living. It is the beginning of our happiness. Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement… get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible. Never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed.” (Abraham Joshua Heschel).
I Stand Amazed | Celtic Worship ft. Steph Macleod
Jesus Christ engaged in a ministry of amazement, astonishment, wonder. Everywhere He traveled, He left people astounded and in awe. He caused a big stir wherever he went, and people left in His wake were amazed at who He was and what He was able to do, whether from His unusually wise teaching, His authoritative exorcisms, His unprecedented healings, His clever and insightful conversations, His dramatic miracles. It seemed everyone marveled at Jesus, despite His best efforts sometimes to be off the radar. There are three Greek synonyms that mean complete astonishment or radical amazement: ekplesso, thaumazo, and existemi. The differences between these three words, though, are fascinating. Are those of us who follow Jesus now, are we also amazed and astonished with Jesus?
“And the people were astonished (“ekplesso”) beyond measure, saying, ‘Everything He does is beautiful (“kalos”), and is done with excellence!” (Mark 7:37).
(1.) ASTONISHED: “ekplesso”; a strong Greek word for astonished; amazed; dumfounded; awestruck; overwhelmed at something extraordinary; struck out of one’s senses; takes your breath away, even to the point of panic. There were at least fifteen gospel events in which the Greek superlative “ekplesso” was used to communicate a radical amazement, astonishment, wonder at Jesus. Jesus was met with overwhelming astonishment after His Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 7:28); by His hometown friends as they rejected Him (Matt. 13:54); after His teaching on the inadequacy of wealth (Matt. 19:25); after His conversation with the Sadducees about heaven and the resurrection (Matt. 22:33); at His synagogue exorcism (Mark 1:22, 27); after His healing of the deaf and mute man (Mark 7:37); after He whipped the moneychangers in the Temple (Mark 11:18); at His brilliant level of understanding with the rabbis at just 12 years of age (Luke 2:48); after casting out a demon with just a word (Luke 4:32, 36); at the exorcism of a demon-possessed boy (Luke 9:43).
“And behold, a man from the crowd shouted out, ‘Master, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child! A spirit seizes him and suddenly he screams out and it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth! It mauls him and will scarcely leave him!’ Jesus answered, ‘Bring your son here to me.’ And even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him down to the ground and completely convulsed him. But Jesus severely rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the child, and then restored the boy to his father. And all were completely astounded (“ekplesso”) at the evidence of God’s mighty power, His majesty and His magnificence. While they were all marveling (“thaumazo”) at everything Jesus was doing…” (Luke 9:38-43).
(2.) MARVELED: “thaumazo”; another strong Greek word that means… marveled at, astonished by; amazed at; filled with wonder to the point of being bewildered; being awestruck in admiration. There were forty-four passages in the gospels in which people were greatly amazed by Jesus, astonished to the point of awed by Him. Included in the group of people who were completely amazed, “thaumazo’d” by Christ: the shepherds, Mary and Joesph, the disciples, the Pharisees, various crowds during His ministry, and even Pilate himself was astonished by Jesus and marveled at Him. People were amazed by everything from the angelic baby announcement, to various prophecies in Jesus’ young life, to the calming of the storm and the withering of the fig tree; from His miraculous exorcisms and healings to His teachings that always were on point and what were needed at the time.
“Then a blind and mute man under the power of a demon was brought to Jesus and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. And all the crowds of people were overwhelmed with astonishment, stunned with amazement and practically out of their minds with wonder (“existemi”), and said, ‘This cannot be the Son of David, the Messiah, can it?” (Matt. 12:22-23).
(3.) FLABBERGASTED: “existemi”; an extreme word that means to be out of one’s mind with amazement; crazy with wonderment; a stunned astonishment so strong that one is beside oneself; to be overwhelmed so as to be bowled over; literally, to remove from a standing position. This word is used seventeen times in the gospels, including when Jesus healed and forgave the paralyzed man dropped through the ceiling of Peter’s house; when Jesus raised a young girl from the dead; when Jesus calmed the storm and casually climbed into the boat with His disciples; on the road to Emmaus when the disciples heard about the empty tomb from the women. Existemi is also used when the family of Jesus thought He was crazy, going out of His mind.
I Stand Amazed (How Marvelous)
“Soon after this, Jesus and His disciples came back through the region of Tyre, passed through Sidon and the region of the Decapolis, and on to the Sea of Galilee. The people there brought to Jesus a man who was deaf and had an extreme speech impediment, and they begged Jesus to place His hands upon him. Taking him aside from the crowd privately, Jesus thrust His fingers into the man’s ears, and touched his tongue with His spittle. And looking up to heaven, Jesus groaned deeply and said, “Be opened! Now!” And the man’s ears were opened, and his tongue was set free so he could speak distinctly. And Jesus ordered the people sternly, expressly telling them to tell no one of the healing; but the more Jesus commanded them, the more zealously they proclaimed it broadly. And the people were overwhelmingly astonished, amazed beyond measure (“ekplesso”), saying, ‘Everything He does is beautiful, and is done with excellence!” (Mark 7:31-37).
Walk, walk, walk. Sometimes it must have seemed to the disciples that’s all they did, walk one dusty trail after another. They were always on the move, constantly walking from here to there, engaging people in conversation all along the way… It is estimated by the Bible scholars who research such things that Jesus and His disciples walked an estimated 2,500-3,100 miles during their three-year ministry! They would not restrict their travels to trips from Capernaum to Jerusalem, a total of 85 miles, or from the Sea of Galilee to Jerusalem (70 miles), or a journey on foot from Nazareth to Jerusalem, a total of 65 miles. But the disciples would also find themselves following Jesus to the far northern port of Tyre, 104 miles from Jerusalem, or maybe for a short jaunt to Samaria, only 42 miles from Jerusalem. Hither and yon, here and there, one conversation after the next. As renowned Chicago pastor Rev. Otis Moss said, “Jesus had a mobile ministry, going to where He was needed!” The journey on foot mentioned so quickly in verse 31 was a long trek of many miles that would have taken many days to travel.
A Healing Tour. After touring the region around Tyre and Sidon (is modern day Syria), Jesus returned to his adopted ministry headquarters around the Sea of Galilee. In the parallel passage in Matthew 15:29-31, Jesus sits on a hill and gathers many people in dire physical need… the deaf, the blind, the crippled, the mute. These needy people were all brought to Jesus, and, Matthew says, “Jesus healed them all.” The crowd surrounding Jesus were amazed, astounded, that the Lord would be healing all these people!
Christ the Healer. We know that Jesus healed people, all the time, but here’s a question… why? Why did Jesus heal people? Was it some moral obligation He felt? Did He compel Himself to heal because the people expected Him to do so? It’s clear that, from the start of His public ministry, Jesus was a healer far beyond what the people had ever seen. But why did He heal? Here are some thoughts on why…
- He is love. “And Jesus went around doing good, doing wonderful things for others and helping them wherever he went…” (Acts 10:38). He couldn’t seem to help Himself. Mercy is in His spiritual DNA. God is love, so Jesus is the Son of Love. His inherent nature is pure compassion, so He gravitated to love-in-action. If He sees someone broken, He jumps at the chance to bring wholeness. Healing was His natural form of self-expression as the Anointed One of God.
- Healings are personal. “Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and preaching the Good News about the kingdom. And He healed every kind of disease and illness.” (Matt. 4:23). Jesus proved that God is not distant or abstract. Through Jesus, God is intensely personal and in the flesh. He didn’t just want to talk about love, He wanted to demonstrate it. Jesus proved that long-distance interaction is no longer sufficient. And healing was the most kind-hearted, most personally helpful thing He could do. Jesus was all about making things whole, and healings of the body was a good place to start.
- Healings are proof. When John the Baptist had some moments of doubt, and sent some of his disciples to ask if Jesus is the One, how did Jesus answer that question? Jesus replied that they should go and tell John that the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. (Luke 7:20-22). The Hebrew Scriptures state that miraculous healings would be a sign of the Messianic Age. Healings were prophesied to be vivid pictures of the New Kingdom (eg, Isaiah 26:19, 29:18-19, 35:5-6, 61:1-2). Through His healings, Jesus confirmed that He was indeed the long-awaited Messiah. The healings authenticated His role as the anointed Son of God.
The Man who was Deaf and Mute. One of the people brought to Jesus as He sat on a hill was a man who couldn’t hear a thing, and he also had a serious speech impediment. His tongue could not be used properly, and so he was unable to speak clearly. It appears this man had friends who brought him to Jesus, who wanted Jesus to heal him. In fact, these friends pleaded with Jesus, they begged Jesus to lay His hands on this man. These faithful friends were the beginning of this man’s healing.
A More Private Healing. At this time Jesus stood up and led this man away from the crowd, so they could have privacy. Jesus evidently was not comfortable making a spectacle of this man’s healing. Once they were a bit distant from the people, Jesus placed His fingers into the man’s ears. Then He spit on His own fingers and touched the man’s tongue. Next, Jesus looked up prayerfully to the Father in heaven, and He sighed. The Greek word “stenazo” is used here, the only time in any of the Gospels, and it means to groan deeply as an expression of grief and empathy regarding the man’s suffering. Jesus then spoke in Aramaic, “Open up, now!” Jesus didn’t want a gradual miracle. He wanted it accomplished immediately. Aramaic was the common language of that day. Jesus spoke it, as well as His disciples, as an everyday language.
Be Opened! Sure enough, the man’s ears were immediately opened. He instantly heard everything perfectly, and his tongue was untied so he could communicate clearly in words. Jesus was creative when it came to His healings, sometimes healing with a word, sometimes long distance, sometimes with physical touch. We can’t put Jesus in a box as to how He decided to heal in His ministry. It’s interesting that In the Jewish culture of that time, the saliva of the firstborn son was considered to have healing properties. So Jesus’ use of his own spit was probably not a big shock to the people looking on.
Quiet! Jesus told everyone to keep this miraculous healing a secret, but the people were too excited to take His words in. The more He insisted to keep it under wraps, the more widely they talked about it. So the news spread over the whole area. After all, this was such wonderful news! Why would Jesus want to keep the healings quiet? Now here comes the irony of what is known as “the messianic secret,” in which Jesus deliberately concealed his role of messiah, and He implores the people not to tell anyone else about this miracle. The Gospel of Mark is known for this secret (1:44, 3:12, 5:43, 8:30), but He is also recorded as saying this in Matthew (16:20) and Luke (8:56, 9:21). Since Jesus made a big splash wherever He went, leaving people astounded, astonished, full of wonder, did He really expect for all these dumfounded people to keep Him a secret? There has been much speculation about this messianic secret of Jesus. Perhaps He didn’t want to attract too much attention at the early points in His ministry, so the crowds wouldn’t hamper His growing ministry. Maybe He didn’t want to be known merely as a miracle worker but also as a preacher and teacher and bringer of salvation. He no doubt didn’t want people to follow Him just to watch Him do exciting “magic tricks.” Maybe He didn’t want to be known by the religious authorities quite yet and the undue publicity might hasten a confrontation between them that would lead to His Passion earlier than He wanted. Certainly He didn’t want any premature confrontations with the Roman authorities, or to be considered as a political king in any way. Jesus wanted to be known for more than His supernatural power, but also his desire to seek and save the lost, and even to suffer and sacrifice Himself to death. Jesus was sensitive to the Father’s timing in His life and ministry, and didn’t want anything to be done before its time. Whatever the reason for His messianic secret, we can trust that Jesus knew what He was doing, and that the timeline for Jesus is all clearly understood between Him and the Father. And in the fullness of time, He gave Himself over to the process of death, resurrection and ascension for the salvation of the world.
The Astonished Crowd. The people witnessing these healings, especially this particular one, were completely amazed! According to scholars, there is in this passage a unique construction of the Greek words found nowhere else in the New Testament, and can be taken to mean utterly astonished, absolutely beside themselves with excitement, amazed beyond measure, overcome with wonder with unbounded admiration. So the people witnessing this healing were awestruck, and they couldn’t wait to spread the word about Jesus.
“Everything He does is beautiful! This Man does everything with excellence!” (Mark 7:37).
BEAUTY: The quality of outstanding excellence in appearance, in usefulness, in moral character, in creative expression; brings delight to the senses; well-designed and constructed; a harmony that reflects creation; extremely attractive; that which inspires awe, wonder, admiration, praise; profoundly pleasing; an act of pure goodness; the presence of loveliness and grace; something exquisite in form, function, and proportion; that which contains glory and splendor.
“Kalos” is the Greek term used in Mark 7:37 above. “Kalos” means beautiful, perfect, excellent, very good, well done, admirable, wonderful, morally virtuous and honorable. Kalos was used over 100 times in the New Testament in a variety of contexts. It was often translated as “good” in passages such as good fruit, good ground, a good tree, and good works. But when applied to a person, it often referred to the moral character and the overall beauty of someone’s inner nature and outer work, such as Jesus being the “Good” Shepherd” in John 10. In Jesus’ case, kalos was referring to His whole personhood that was beautiful inside and out; His attractive purity; the beautiful excellence He demonstrated in His everyday life; the beautiful sweetness in His interactions with those in need; the beauty of His inner goodness and virtue; the excellent usefulness and practical wisdom of His demonstrations of power. According to the people surrounding Him and watching His every move, everything Jesus did was beautiful, excellently done, and profoundly useful.