Christ the Healer: The Deaf and Mute Man

Christ the Healer: The Deaf and Mute Man. 

Please read Mark 7:31-37.

1. A Healing Tour. After touring the region around Tyre and Sidon, 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!
2. 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. Would your friends bring you closer to Jesus if they had the chance? Would you bring your friends closer to Jesus if you had the chance?
3. Prelude to a Healing. At this time Jesus stood up and led this man away from the crowd, so they could have privacy. 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 to the Father in heaven in prayer, and He sighed, The Message says He actually groaned mightily, out of deep compassion. Jesus then said “Ephphatha“, an Aramaic word which means “Open up, now!” Jesus didn’t want a gradual miracle. He wanted it accomplished immediately. Why did He seem a little impatient with this man’s healing? Aramaic was the common language of that day. Jesus spoke it, as well as His disciples, as an everyday language. It’s interesting that Jesus used the everyday language in this miracle and not Hebrew. Why do you think Jesus wanted privacy for this particular healing?
4. 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. Do you think there is a point to these different methods Jesus uses in His healings? In  the Jewish culture of that time, the saliva of the firstborn son was considered to have healing properties. Is this why Jesus was so comfortable using His spittle in many of His healings?
5. The Crowd. The people witnessing these healings, especially this particular one, were utterly astonished! They were beside themselves, thrilled with wonder and awe, and they couldn’t wait to spread the word about Jesus.
6. Quiet! Jesus told everyone to keep this all 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? Did He not want others to know He was the Messiah?
7. Big Question: What did we learn about Jesus in this healing?