Devotional:

“31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32 And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”” — Mark 7:31-37

If you were to look at a map of the Sea of Galilee, you would see that Jesus and the disciples took an interesting journey from Tyre to Decapolis. Tyre and Sidon were in an area that we know today as Lebanon and Sidon was quite a bit further north of Tyre. So, when it says they went from Tyre to Decapolis through Sidon, it would be like me going from Jacksonville to Daytona through Jesup. It made no sense. But who knows, maybe since He couldn’t get the rest He intended in Tyre and Sidon, He decided to take His time, resting along the way to Decapolis. All we know are the facts and the fact is that it was definitely the scenic route. 

Decapolis was an area Jesus had been to before. If you remember, in devotional 14, this was the region Jesus cast the demons out of the possessed man and into the herd of pigs that ran over the cliff. Also, remember that this was gentile territory and when that happened, the people were terrified and asked Jesus to leave. Jesus also told the healed man to go into Decapolis and tell everyone what happened. This was the typical pattern; in Jewish territory, don’t tell anyone what you saw; gentile territory, tell everyone what you saw.

This man was deaf and had a speech impediment. He did not say the man was mute, but the original translation for speech impediment used in this text is far more severe than a stutter.  Verse 35 makes me wonder if he was actually tongue-tied, which is a simple surgical procedure for us today, but would have caused significant speech issues back then. Or if he had been deaf since birth, It makes sense that he could not learn to speak because 99% of learning how to speak is from hearing. Either way, we know from the translation that he was not entirely mute, but it was severe enough that he could not communicate.

Mark says that people brought this man to Jesus, begging for his healing. This verse alone is a beautiful picture of compassion within a community. He could not plead for himself, so they did it for him.

This isn’t what you would typically have seen back then. Someone deaf and mute would have been cast out or excluded from society and looked down on. People would have even been afraid to touch him, thinking his afflictions were contagious or he was cursed for some reason. But this community did not treat this man like that today, they laid aside their judgment and preconceived notions and became his voice when he needed it the most.

Jesus healed this man in a very intimate and personal way. He took him away from the crowd, and it says privately, He put His fingers in His ears and then spit and touched his tongue, releasing it. My first thought is, “Ok, Jesus, You raised a girl from the dead and didn’t even have to be present to do it and You controlled every demon You encountered with just a word. Did You really have to stick Your fingers in his ears and spit and touch his tongue?” Sounds gross, right? But this is so amazing and it perfectly displays the character of Jesus!

So, imagine: Jesus takes the man to a quiet spot with no one else around. A desperate outcast gentile is face to face with Jesus, so close to Him that he can see Jesus sigh and feel Jesus’s touch. Jesus uses this closeness and intimacy with this man to show the people around them that He had come to break down the boundaries between Jews and gentiles, two people groups who had hated and fought each other for centuries. Jesus is proving that He is the end of this hatred and the beginning of salvation for all people. This was unimaginable to the Jews, because they believed the Messiah was only for them.

When Jesus put His fingers in the man’s ears, spit and touched his tongue, this had to be another very intentional and intimate teaching moment for the disciples. I can’t get it out of my head that Jesus used His spit, the DNA of God, to heal what Jewish people would have called an untouchable, unclean man. He shows the disciples that Jews and gentiles are equal in the eyes of God. And this man watched Jesus’s chest rise and fall as He sighed and he saw Jesus move His mouth as He looked to the heavens; immediately, sound rushed into his ears and he felt his tongue become free to talk. Jesus showed power over all things physical as He had many times before, but this time He showed mercy and compassion and allowed this man to experience it. He was able to feel the touch of God as he was healed.

Jesus chose to heal people in many different ways throughout His ministry. Nothing was out of reach for Him and He could do it with a command or a look. But this day, Jesus chose to touch the broken parts of this man, the parts everyone else was afraid to touch. Jesus showed compassion to a man who desperately needed healing. He did not see this man as untouchable, unclean or unworthy. He healed this man by touching the most broken parts of him, showing His unconditional love. Jesus always went first and was the example of the perfect love of a Father.

Do you have a community of believers you trust that will walk with you through the broken parts of your life?

Are you that person to someone else? Is there someone in your life that God has been nudging you to talk to and to walk through some difficult things they may be going through?

Do you have love and compassion for others who aren’t like you?

God, thank You for the reminder of Your unconditional love and mercy. Thank You for not being afraid of getting into the broken parts of our lives. God, help us to do the same. Give us compassion and love for others who are hurt, lost and in need, even when it is uncomfortable, unfamiliar and seen as unacceptable in the eyes of this world. Let us put aside our fears of being uncomfortable, so that we can be Your hands and feet. Amen