MARK 7: 31-37

The Korean Dream is a good, informative monthly Korean-language magazine that is published in Los Angeles. The cover story of the July issue features an inspirational story about Dr. Youngwoo Kang, who serves as the Chairman of the National Disabled Persons Policy Committee a position equivalent to that of an assistant secretary in the Bush Administration. Dr. Kang lost sight in both his eyes in ninth grade at the age of 15 when he was hit by a soccer ball during one of the games at Duksoo Middle School in Korea. At the time, Dr. Kang was being raised by a single mother; upon learning that her eldest son would be blind for the rest of his life, Dr. Kang’s mother died from shock-related stroke. Dr. Kang’s older sister, who raised her younger siblings after her mother’s death, would eventually die herself of fatigue.

Dr. Kang, who suddenly became the head of his household responsible for his two younger siblings was able to overcome the sudden tragedies in his life through his faith in religion. He graduated from a college in Korea, and put himself through a college in the United States, becoming the first blind Korean-American with a doctorate degree. During his tenure as a professor at the University of Illinois, Dr. Kang was chosen to serve as the chairman of the National Disabled Persons Policy Committee the highest office that governs policy-making for disabled people in the US and certainly one of the highest offices that a physically disabled person could hold in the US government.

The one thing that allowed Dr. Kang to succeed and become victorious in life was his faith in benevolent God. Although he would lose the sight of his physical eyes, through his personal tragedy, he was able to open his spiritual eyes. The visual acuity of his spiritual eyes enabled him to see and realize the fact that God had a special purpose and calling for him. Dr. Kang answered this call, and through undying efforts, he was able to finally stand at the pinnacle of life.

The Four Gospels record and recount many instances where Jesus heals the blind. My thought is that although all physical disabilities blindness, muteness, deafness, and such are all unfortunate misfortunes that afflict human beings, blindness may be the most unfortunate of all: Not being able to see the ones you love, as well as the beautiful sights and spectacles of this world. Hence, Jesus, perhaps taking pity on these most unfortunate souls, healed the blind at the highest rate. However, today’s scripture records the instance where a deaf and speech-impaired man come forth to Christ and eventually has his deafness and speech impediment cured. According to the Bible scholars, there are only two records in Isaiah 35: 5-7 and in today’s scripture, verse 32 of deaf and speech-impaired person in the entire Bible. By having impediment in his speech, the man was not a complete, total mute; he was able to make sounds, albeit incoherently and unintelligibly. Today, we will look at how Jesus cures this man of his deafness and speech impediment.

Bible Scholars often demand and argue that the account of Jesus in Mark 7: 24-30 where He chases the demon from a daughter of a Greek woman, who was of Syro-Pheonician descent by birth must be coupled with today’s scripture in order to attain good, comprehensive understanding of these accounts. The reason for this argument is based on the fact that before these two healings take place, Jesus after stating in Mark 7, verse 19, that all foods consumed by humans are pure and clean attempts to show that all of mankind, along with the food it consumes, is pure and clean in the eyes of God. The bottom line is that the Greek woman, who was discriminated against by the Jews, and the man from unholy and decrepit land of Decapolis, were clean in the eyes of God and both despite being considered pagans by Jews deserved to receive God’s salvation. Our attention, this morning, must be focused on the three spiritual meanings behind today’s scripture.

First, the deaf and speech-impaired man came forth to Christ not out of his own accord or faith, but because of the faith of his friends and as a result, he experienced healing of his disabilities. According to verse 32 of today’s scripture, "Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him," vividly illustrating that this deaf man came to know Christ through his friends and was able to come forth to our Lord through their faith. The fact that this man was deaf lets us surmise that he could not have heard the widespread rumors and news of miraculous accounts of healing performed by Jesus Christ; furthermore, having a severe speech impediment, this man probably had to rely heavily on his friends to interpret and communicate to others. Many in the Bible were healed and cured by Jesus through their own faith; however, in the instance of this man, and that of the Syro-Phoenician woman, they received healings through the faith of those around them.

When we experience the healing power and abilities of God, the guidance, love, and assistance of those who have greater faith and loyalty in God often buttress us. The help of those faithful workers of God often help us experience true healing powers of God. In Gospel of Mark, chapter 2, verses 1 through 12, four men, who were carrying a paralyzed man on a litter, attempts to get to Christ to help their friend by uncovering roofs. Therefore, there are still a lot more work to be done on behalf of our neighbors and those who are unfortunate, who may not know Jesus yet. We must help lead them down the right path and become their spiritual counselors, so that both their bodies and their souls become healed through Christ.

Second, Jesus, unlike the accounts of His previous healings where He cures the afflicted with the utterance of a single word, heals the deaf and speech-impaired man through elaborate and complicated series of steps. In verses 33 and 34, the Bible states, "And He took him aside from the multitudes and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue. Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened."

" This image is vastly divergent from the images of previous acts of healings of Christ. Why did Jesus separate this man from the multitudes and heal him when there was no one else present in their vicinity? Why did Jesus spat and touched the man’s tongue? The interesting fact is that the Bible does not specify where Jesus spat at whether He spat on the ground, spat on His fingers, or spat directly onto the deaf man’s tongue. One thing that we can be sure about is the fact that in order to free up and enliven this man’s tongue, which was calcified and stiff due to impediment, Jesus, in one way or the other, put His saliva on the deaf man’s tongue. And why did Jesus put His fingers into the man’s ears? Of course, Jesus probably inserted His fingers into the deaf man’s ears to open up his ears and allow him to hear again. From our modern perspective, putting fingers in this deaf man’s dirty ears, and putting saliva on this man’s tongue, may seem very unhygienic. Why did Jesus perform such acts?

Even more interesting and captivating is that fact that Jesus, after performing such elaborate procedures, looks up at the Heaven, sighs, and shouts "Ephphatha," which means "be opened" in Aramaic. Why did He sigh? Was it because of the pity that He felt at the plight of this poor man? The word "Ephphatha" was a common, hackneyed word used during the days of Jesus that means "be opened." This word can be construed as Jesus’ command to open up and loosen up this man’s ears and tongue. But why did Jesus resort to such elaborate procedures to heal this man and cure him of his affliction, when He treated multitudes with utterance of a single word or simple procedures? Of course, there is no correct answer to this question.

However, we can interpolate that since this man came to Jesus not of his own accord but through the faith of his friends, perhaps Jesus performed such elaborate procedures as a symbolic gesture to plant the seed of faith in this man’s heart. No matter how we interpret Jesus’ intent, Jesus, through today’s scripture, is portrayed as a poker (one who pokes His finger in another person’s ear), spitter (one who spits), toucher (one who touches another’s tongue), sigher (one who sighs), and speaker (one who uttered "Ephphatha"). Through the actions of Christ, this man was able to experience miraculous healing his ears opened up, and his tongue loosened. The thing that we must focus on is not the method through which Jesus cures this man; rather, we must concentrate on the fact that the miracle of Ephphatha takes place after Jesus performs the procedure on this man.

Therefore, third, the man who was cured, as well as those who witnessed the healing, spread far and wide the news of healing and salvation as given by Jesus. After the healing takes place, in verse 36, Jesus, perhaps sensing that the time has not yet arrived to spread the word that He is the Messiah, asks the multitude not to spread the news of healing. However, the sterner Jesus reminded the multitudes to not pass the word of healing, the farther and wider the news of Jesus spread forth. Further, in verse 37, the multitudes "are astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak,"" returning all glory to God. The fact that Jesus cures the mute and the deaf man arouses great faith in those who witnessed the miracle.

Dr. Daniel E. Fountain, a medical missionary in Africa, recounts the following story: "One day, the chauffeur of our hospital pick-up truck in Africa was driving to one of our health centers. He noticed an elderly lady struggling along the road carrying a very heavy load of firewood on her head. The chauffeur stopped and offered to take the lady and her firewood to the village. He helped her into the back of the truck and then proceeded on his way. However, when he glanced in the rear-view mirror, he was astonished to see this lady sitting in the back of the truck with the load of firewood on top of her head!" How often do we Christians, fail to accept the promise of the Lord to carry our burdens? Our Lord, who cured the mute and deaf man, is still with us today. Leave your heavy spiritual and visceral burdens up to Jesus. And when you leave your burdens with Jesus, enjoy your freedom and peace with light and happy heart. Do not worry or fear after leaving your burdens with Jesus.

The first word that the deaf man heard on this earth was "Ephphatha," or "be opened." For this man, not only did his two ears and tongue open, but the Heaven and the ground opened up before him as well. I hope, in the name of our Lord, that our spiritual eyes, ears, and mouth open completely, allowing us to take in the ebullient and effervescent sight of the New Heaven and Landscape that unfold before us. Amen.