About 700 years before Jesus, Isaiah prophesied many things concerning the Messiah. For instance, “Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing for joy, for water will gush in the wilderness, and streams in the desert;” (Isaiah 35:5–6, CSB) Mark may have had this prophecy in mind as he wrote about Jesus’ healing of a deaf/mute man.
Mark writes, “Again, leaving the region of Tyre, he went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, through the region of the Decapolis. They brought to him a deaf man who had difficulty speaking and begged Jesus to lay his hand on him. So he took him away from the crowd in private. After putting his fingers in the man’s ears and spitting, he touched his tongue. Looking up to heaven, he sighed deeply and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”). Immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was loosened, and he began to speak clearly. He ordered them to tell no one, but the more he ordered them, the more they proclaimed it. They were extremely astonished and said, “He has done everything well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” (Mark 7:31–37, CSB)
In some respects, the crowd wanted a show. They brought a willing “victim” and hoped to witness something marvelous. Jesus didn’t play their game, but interacted with the man in private. Jesus communicated with the man using signs, placing his fingers in the man’s ears and touching his tongue. Then, with a silent prayer to His Father and a simple command, the man was healed and could speak clearly.
Jesus not only healed the physical issues but also gave him the ability to speak. We have all learned how to speak based on hearing and mimicking the speech of others. We don’t know the degree of the man’s deafness. It is clear that up to this point, he’d never clearly heard language, and yet Jesus gave him the ability to speak clearly in an instant.
The crowd was beyond astonished. The word Mark uses for “extremely” means to go way beyond the extreme. Infinite astonishment. “He has done everything well,” they exclaimed.
Jesus still does everything well. We forget that sometimes. We often look to Him for surface issues, but He goes deeper. Jesus addresses what we really need and not just what we think we need. He heals our deafness AND gives us the learned ability to speak in an instant. How, when, and where are all in His hands. We can trust that Jesus really does do everything well.
That doesn’t mean that we won’t have struggles. We will. There will be times when we want Jesus to help with one thing, but His focus is on something deeper that we need to learn or overcome. In all things, in all ways, at all times, Jesus does everything well.
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