Healing a Deaf and Mute Man (Mark 7:31-37)

 

Healing a Deaf and Mute Man (Mark 7:31-37)

Who doesn’t want to be a blessed person? No one. However, not everyone becomes blessed naturally. Here, "blessing" refers to spiritual blessings from heaven, not wealth, health, or success. Heavenly spiritual blessing is eternal life. Eternal life is enjoying God’s love, joy, peace, and patience under any circumstances.

In Mark 7:31-37, people brought a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment to Jesus. Jesus took him aside, away from the crowd, looked up to heaven with a deep sigh, and said, "Ephphatha!" Immediately, his ears were opened, his tongue was loosened, and he began to speak plainly. A blessed person is one who hears and understands God's Word and, through obedience, stores up treasures in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus Goes to Tyre, Sidon, and the Decapolis

"Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis." (Mark 7:31)

Jesus visited the regions of Tyre, Sidon, and the Decapolis. These were all Gentile territories. In the region of Tyre, he praised the faith of a Syrophoenician woman and delivered her demon-possessed daughter (Mark 7:24-30). In the region of the Decapolis, Jesus healed a man possessed by a legion of demons and told him to go and tell how much the Lord had done for him and how he had had mercy on him (Mark 5:19).

Jesus is the Christ for both Jews and the Gentiles (all peoples). This is because God is one (Romans 3:29). Just as God loves the children already in his sheep pen, he also loves those who are not yet inside. Therefore, to manifest God's love, Jesus sent his disciples out into all the world (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8).

20 "My prayer is not for them (his disciples) alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." (John 17:20-23)

God reveals himself to others through those who have already received salvation. He called one man, Abraham, and credited him with righteousness through faith to show the way of salvation through faith for all people (Romans 4:23-24). He established Israel to save all people through one nation (Exodus 19:5-6). God shines his grace and love upon each of us so that it may be revealed to this world. Like the moon reflecting light in the night sky, we reflect the light of God’s love.

Bringing the Deaf and Mute Man

32 There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him. 33 After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. 34 He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). 35 At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly. (Mark 7:32-35)

People brought a disabled man who was deaf and could hardly talk to Jesus. He was a pitiful person who could hear nothing and could not speak properly. Jesus took him aside, away from the crowd, and healed him in a very unique way. Since the man could not hear or speak, Jesus touched his ears and his tongue.

Looking up to heaven, Jesus sighed and said, "Ephphatha (ἐφφαθά)!"—which means "Be opened." Immediately, his ears were opened, his stiff tongue was loosened, and he spoke clearly. Spiritually speaking, being deaf and mute refers to a state where one hears God's Word but does not understand it, and does not know how to come before God to share fellowship.

They Will Be Ever Hearing but Never Understanding

This is the condition of the hearts of those who stubbornly reject and do not believe in God, both in Jesus' time and today. When Jesus spoke the parable of the sower, he quoted the prophecy of Isaiah (Mark 4:12).

9 He said, “Go and tell this people: “‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ 10 Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” (Isaiah 6:9-10)

In Isaiah chapter 6, the prophet was called to go to his people and speak God's Word. At that time, God's presence filled the temple, and the seraphim sang, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." At the sound of their voices, the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke (Isaiah 6:1-4). The God who appeared to the prophet Isaiah still exists today in glory, honor, power, and majesty (Revelation 4:11, 5:13, 7:12). God is omnipresent forever.

God told the people to go and proclaim; specifically, that the people would be ever hearing but never understanding, and ever seeing but never perceiving. At this, Isaiah asked, "For how long, Lord?" Then, the Lord God said:

11 Then I said, “For how long, Lord?” And he answered: “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, 12 until the Lord has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken. 13 And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.” (Isaiah 6:11-13).

Jerusalem, where God’s temple stood, has been destroyed three times in history. The temple was torn down by the Babylonian army led by King Nebuchadnezzar (587/586 BC). Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed a second time by the Syrian King Antiochus Epiphanes (167 BC). Then, in AD 70, Jerusalem and the temple were thoroughly destroyed by the Roman General Titus, leaving not one stone on another. Currently, no temple of God stands in Jerusalem.

Furthermore, this day points to the day when our Lord Jesus Christ will return as King of kings and Lord of lords to judge this world (2 Peter 3:10-12; Isaiah 13:9). This immoral and sinful world will face the righteous judgment of God and be eternally destroyed (Matthew 12:39). However, God has left a remnant. They are those who have received the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God and have been washed by His blood.

Why does God keep them from understanding and perceiving until the land is devastated? This means He does so until people repent and turn back. The blood of Jesus Christ is the atoning blood shed for all people in this world. However, the blood of Jesus becomes effective for those who repent, turn back, and believe. If there is no repentance, the gates of heaven will never open.

Repentance involves the disappearance of one’s self—that is, death. If “I” do not disappear, it is not true repentance. This is because the “me” who is in Adam is fallen and has nothing worthy of being called righteous. Therefore, our old self must die. But if we die, we put on the new self through God’s power of resurrection and gain eternal life (John 12:24).

He Looked Up to Heaven with a Deep Sigh

Jesus looked up to heaven and sighed deeply. In contrast, when Jesus performed the miracle of the five loaves and two fish, He looked up to heaven and gave thanks (Mark 6:41). Jesus sighed because of the stubbornness of His people who were ever hearing but never understanding, and ever seeing but never perceiving. He lamented that they could not fully enjoy the privileges of the Law, the promises, the temple, and worship, but instead fell into being deaf and mute, trapped in the traditions of the elders.

In the days of Noah, when God saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time, He regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled (Genesis 6:5-6). Because God is holy, He cannot just overlook sin and must judge it. He laments that He must judge humans who were created in His own image and likeness (Genesis 6:7).

And God commanded one righteous man who believed in Him, Noah, to build an ark of salvation (Genesis 6:14-16). Noah was a remnant who feared and obeyed God in a fallen world. He followed everything God commanded and built the ark of salvation. His ears were open to hearing God's word, and his lips said "Amen" in obedience.

Even now, God says "Ephphatha" toward this world. He has given His holy word to open the secrets of the kingdom of heaven and pour out treasures of grace. Anyone can read God's word and find comfort and strength. God reveals Himself to those who seek Him with all their heart. He opens the gates of heaven, bestows blessings, and wraps us in His eternal love, joy, peace, and patience.

Therefore, God pleads for us to open our hearts and return to the Lord (Isaiah 1:18). All day long, He holds out His arms, waiting for us to return (Isaiah 65:2; Romans 10:21). Through Christ, He wants us to enter into God, drink eternal living water, and enjoy eternal life (John 4:14). The heart of God the Father is like the father who saw his wayward son returning from a long way off, was filled with compassion for him, ran to him, threw his arms around him and kissed him (Luke 15:20).

He Warned Them Not to Tell Anyone

36 Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. 37 People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” (Mark 7:36-37).

Jesus warned the healed person and the witnesses not to tell anyone. This was to caution against focusing solely on the healing itself. Through this, Jesus wants that person to open their eyes from spiritual darkness and truly know the Christ whom God sent.

It means not to act like a blind man touching an elephant. Until they fully know the Lord Jesus Christ, His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension must take place. Full knowledge of Jesus Christ cannot be known without seeing His entire ministry. If one focuses only on the power to heal diseases, they might misunderstand Jesus as merely a famous doctor.

Those born again in Christ are completely set free from sin and can fully enjoy the treasures of the kingdom of heaven at any time. However, it takes a considerable amount of time to fully understand and actually enjoy this amazing grace and privilege. It is a long journey that takes a lifetime. God helps us realize the truth of being born again through the pain and difficulties of daily life. Amen!

3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:3-6).

Amen!

April 12, 2026

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Scripture quotes are from the NIV.