In verse 31, we are told where Jesus
and His disciples were at. Prior to this, He had brought deliverance to the
Syrophoenician woman’s daughter, and now had left Tyre with His disciples. They
traveled through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee and were now within the region of
the Decapolis. Here he came face to face with a deaf man who also had speech
impediment, brought to him by the people. Perhaps of all physical handicaps of
humanity, what this man was suffering would rank among the worst. It had rendered
him incapable of hearing sound or speaking words audibly. He must have endured
a terrible social stigma which would affect his self-esteem. That was probably the
reason why the Lord took him away from the full view of the public to deal with
his condition.
In His dealings with the sick
and needy, Jesus had employed different ways of bringing
healing. He had laid hands, He had spoken or commanded healing and He even
rebuked the devil. But why did He do what He did with this deaf and dumb? It’s fascinating
to notice the things Jesus did to bring about this healing. He did not lay hand
on the deaf man as urged by the people. We are told, “Jesus took
him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and
after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva; and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He said
to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!”
In taking him aside Jesus was
avoiding further embarrassment to him. And when He put His fingers into His ears,
He was using sign language to indicate to the deaf man that He was going to
heal him. And by spitting, possibly on the tip of His finger, and wetting the
man’s tongue, He was showing him visually that he would soon be using his
tongue to articulate. By looking upward, He was telling him that the source of
his healing was from the God of heaven and that it’s from Him that the power would
flow to touch him. His deep sigh was to tell that man that He understood his plight
that had overtaken him and that He cared all about him. The word, “Ephphatha”
meaning “Be opened” would be the most appropriate word for one who had a closed
ear.
Here the Lord had shown us what would
be needed for ministry to be effective. If we are to be effective, we need to
learn to look up to our Father in heaven. He is the source of all healings. His
sigh tells us that we need to approach people with compassion as we try to understand
their deep hurt. By engaging with a touch to provide the point of contact,
would indicate that God could be touched by our frailties. As we minister be
sure to stay connected to the source of our power; be compassionate and feel
the pain of those we are ministering to; and be engaging and present to the
person’s need.
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