The Example of the Lord Jesus

A Deaf man was healed in Mark 7:32-35. ‘And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.’

The Saviour was here demonstrating His acute sympathy with the man’s condition by healing him in a very visual way. When healing other people Christ would often confine Himself to speech only, but not here. The Lord Jesus was truly Deaf-aware.

Many people preach on this passage, offering various reasons why the Lord Jesus spat and touched, all of them good and reasonable. But we must look at the passage from a Deaf perspective. Only then can we begin to understand why the Lord Jesus did what He did. This was a practical visual aid designed for the Deaf man himself to understand.

The Lord Jesus took him aside from the multitude. He knew that Deaf people concentrate better with less visual ‘interference’. Also if He were to deal with the man within view of the crowd, all the hearing people would stand and stare. Deaf people find that very uncomfortable, then and today.

Why did the Lord Jesus touch his ears, spit and touch his tongue? What was He doing? Consider the following: the Lord Jesus knows all the languages in the world. He gave Adam his speech. He confounded the builders of the Tower of Babel by giving them many different languages. The disciples were given many different tongues on the day of Pentecost. Psalm 65:2 says, ‘O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.’ That verse means that anyone who prays anywhere in the world in any language is understood on high. Daniel 7:14 speaks prophetically about the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, ‘And there was given him dominion and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him.’

The Lord Jesus is truly the supreme linguist. With that in mind, surely it is not fanciful to suggest that He knew Jewish sign language. In the absence of knowing what ancient Jewish sign language was like, could we not take one more step and suggest that in spitting and touching, the Lord Jesus was using Jewish sign language Himself? If you think that is too far-fetched, we could say that at the very least it was ‘gesture’.

The Lord Jesus was doing four things. Firstly, by touching, etc., He was showing without speech that He knew exactly the man’s need. Secondly, He was indicating visually the parts of the body where the healing was to be done. Thirdly, the Lord Jesus never healed anyone without his or her consent. It was essential that the Deaf man knew what was happening. Fourthly, the Lord touched because He knew that all Deaf people touch each other – to gain attention, and sometimes to make a point.

The Lord Jesus looked upward. Why? He was giving the man a good view for lipreading, without the deep shadows on His face from the strong Palestinian sun. He was also visually indicating from where the man’s help came. He uttered only one word, ‘Ephphatha’ (be opened). One can imagine the clear way the Lord shaped His lips as He spoke, to give opportunity for lipreading. At that word the Lord Jesus healed the man and he was instantly able to hear. Clearly, He dealt with the man in a different way than He did when healing hearing people.

The Lord Jesus didn’t stop there. The Bible tells us that the healing empowered the man to speak immediately. He was Deaf, but like most Deaf people, there was actually nothing wrong with the man’s vocal equipment. The Lord Jesus performed two miracles, if you like: the Deaf man was made to hear, but the second miracle was that the Lord was short-circuiting the learning process needed for the man to hear speech and form his own sounds into speech. That learning process may have taken some time and practice, and the people who heard the man’s faltering words may have been tempted to think that the healing was only half done. No; the Saviour’s healing was always complete. By granting the man instant speech, the Lord Jesus was showing how aware He was of the man’s condition and needs.

Continued...