“JESUS CHRIST - A MAN APPROVED OF GOD (Acts 2:22)”
  Miracle #24-   “A DEAF MAN’S TONGUE LOOSENED”

 THE TEXT:
32 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.
33 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue;
34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.
35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. 36 And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it;
37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.
(Mark 7:32-35,36-37)

THE EXPLANATION:
And they bring unto him one that was deaf,
Once again, Israel is being reminded how the LORD replied to Moses Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? (Exodus 4:11)

when Moses said unto the LORD the following …

“O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. (Exodus 4:10)

and had an impediment in his speech;
The thin strip of tissue that runs vertically from the floor of the mouth to the undersurface of the tongue is called the lingual frenulum … which is also called the string of the tongue (Mark 7:35).

This man suffers from the speech impediment of being tongue-tied, a condition where tongue movement is restricted due to a short lingual frenulum.

For example, some people have difficulty licking around their lips, or raising the tongue tip inside their mouth. This can mean that they have difficulties with eating and pronunciation of certain letters of the alphabet, and indeed speaking.

and they beseech him to put his hand upon him.
Those that brought the man to Christ, might have in the back of their mind, that Christ just might be God manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16), and would have been mindful of the Old Testament scripture, where the LORD said to Moses “… Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?” (Exodus 4:10-11)

And he took him aside from the multitude,
Often the crowds would mock, add confusion and unbelief or just come for the circus and entertainment that Christ would provide with healing.

and put his fingers into his ears,
Hearing is the most important thing with God not our talking … ears first then the mouth second.

Furthermore, Christ is indicating for those present where he will be healing … the ears and the tongue. If not, the crowd just might think it to be a coincidence. It’s as if Christ is saying with his actions “I’m going to heal this (the ears) and then I will heal that (the tongue)!”

In addition, this is similar to when Christ raised Lazarus, and he spoke “Lazarus come forth …” (John 11:43), so when he arose, greater would be the wonderment for those present.

Christ said what he meant and meant what he said … very specific.

Dear Reader, let us hear what the word says then speak it … not the other way around.

and he spit, and touched his tongue;
Christ spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle (John 9:6)

This action would remind Israel about creation, where Christ uses water to form Adam from the wet dust of the ground. Adam was made from mud.

“But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground …” (Genesis 2:6-7)

To the astute and discerning Jew, here was Christ the Creator (Romans 1:25; Colossians 1:16-17) again ‘re-creating’ a man’s body part.

And looking up to heaven,
Why look up? That’s where God the Father lives. As with raising Lazarus, Christ also looks up to heaven (John 11:41)

he sighed,
Why sigh? In another place Christ “… sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.” (Mark 8:12)

It’s as if Christ says “Here we go again with another miracle … why can’t they just believe that I am God … just like the Gentiles will.”

and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.
Christ on earth is an ever-present reminder to Israel, that Christ is God manifest in the flesh (1Timothy 3:16), and that God had lowered himself to become a man as the Son of man (Philippians 2:7), and therefore speaks in the form of the ‘lesser’ language of the Babylonian Aramaic, which had replaced the pure Hebrew around the 6th century BC.

Other specific instances reflect this as follows ... Abba (Mark 14:36); Raca (Matthew 5:22); Rabboni (John 20:16); Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani (Matthew 27:46)

Even on the cross, Christ, although God himself (1 John 5:7-8), speaks the ‘lesser’ language of Aramaic to God the Father (Matthew 27:46) … Christ being in the likeness of sinful flesh (Romans 8:3).

And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.
Yes Dear Reader, Christ healed instantly right on the spot … as with all his miracles there were no gradual healings. And here’s the difference … today we have eternal salvation, being saved straight into the kingdom of God, but they didn’t under their kingdom of heaven
dispensation with a ‘progress salvation’ leading to Abraham’s bosom. Gradual healings, or none at all, like today, would not have convinced Israel that he was God.

And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it;
This was so as not to attract the thrill seekers, or indeed increase his popularity, as Christ still had more work to fulfil the law (Matthew 5:17) according to the Father’s will.

And were beyond measure astonished, saying, Beyond measure! Now that’s some astonishment.

He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.”
Christ’s healing this man, was a practical demonstration to Israel, of what they could experience spiritually should they so desire (Matthew 13:13) … with their believeth on Christ (John 3:16)

Harley Hitchcock
May 2023

www.
AustralianBibleMinistries
.com


JESUS CHRIST - A MAN APPROVED OF GOD (Acts 2:22)”
  Miracle #25-   “4,000 FED – 7 LOAVES & A FEW LITTLE FISHES”
Matt 15:32-35,36-39; Mark 8:1-4,5-8,9 
Symbolism, numerology, manna,
changing roles


CONTACT US

 Australian Bible Ministries, PO Box 5058 Mt. Gravatt East 4122 Qld, Australia
www.AustralianBibleMinistries.com