31 Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. 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.
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.”
Read Mark 7:31-37 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
One of the things in our passage that amazes me is how Jesus responds to crowds who bring people for Him to heal. It seems as though Mark draws our attention to something that Matthew, Luke, and John don’t pay much attention to.
In Mark, we see an interesting setup for this healing. In verse 32, we learn that “Some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.”
Having read the gospels a number of times, groups of people bringing individuals with disabilities to Jesus was nothing new. It was probably what Jesus was most famous for.
But the next thing Jesus does is fascinating. In verse 33 we read that Jesus “took him aside, away from the crowd…” This seems like an odd thing for Jesus to do, except for when we read about how the crowd actually brought the man to Jesus. Verse 32 ends with the phrase: “they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.”
When someone begs another person to do something, it is because they want something for themselves. It is as though the crowd is saying, “Jesus, we found this person who has some disabilities, and we want to see you perform a miracle, so we brought him to You.” The crowd is not as interested in the wellbeing of this person as much as simply wanting just one more reason to elevate Jesus in their minds.
But Jesus wants to help the person, and fame is not one of His goals, so He takes the man away from the crowd. This way Jesus can help the individual without encouraging the crowd’s behavior and self-centered desire to see a miracle.
We can learn a lesson from what Jesus did: Jesus was not interested in gaining fame or popularity from His actions. Instead, He simply wanted to help where He could.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
Subscribe to this blog and never miss an insight.