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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!”).
Hearing is considered one of the
most important and valuable human senses. It gives us the
ability to know and understand the messages that the people around
us are trying to convey to us and also helps us understand our
surroundings. Also, only by hearing are we able to learn how
to communicate; if we can’t hear, then we won’t be able to know
what words or sounds we’re supposed to make in order to speak.
So the only way Jesus was able to communicate to the deaf
man, was through sign language and certain gestures and actions.
In verses 33-34 we read about how
Jesus healed this man. He first put his fingers in the man's ears
to show him that He was going to remove whatever was blocking his
ears. He then spits and touches the man’s tongue. Back
in Jesus’s time, spit was believed to be a symbol of healing, so
Jesus did so to send that message to him. Jesus touching the
man's tongue was to make him understand that He was also opening
his mouth so that he would be able to speak. Jesus then
looked to the sky to demonstrate that the healing was coming from
God and not from Himself; to make him understand that all glory and
praise goes to God, our Father, only. Jesus finishes the healing
process by saying ‘Ephphatha!’, which is an Aramaic word that means
‘to be open’. By looking to the sky and saying this, Jesus is
ultimately asking God to open what is closed for the man so that he
would finally be able to hear and speak. The man was now healed; he
was able to hear and speak!
Jesus asked not to tell anyone
about this, but being so overwhelmed with what they had just seen
and experienced, they could not hear what Jesus said; they were
ready to tell everyone! Jesus did the miracle away from the crowd
to have privacy with the man and for him to experience a moment
between himself and God. He also stayed away from the crowd,
because the last thing Jesus wanted was attention and praise for
the miracle He was about to perform, for the wrong reasons.
He didn’t want the people to see him just as some miracle
worker and a ‘king on earth’, but rather as the Son of God! The
theme touches on the idea that at times when we, as humans, are
overwhelmed by the many wonders of this world, we become
spiritually deaf and closed off from the messages that God laid
down for us. Our desires become a priority when we are
overwhelmed and thus we lose our sight of God. When God and
the ambiance of Jesus Christ is before us, we must learn to humble
ourselves and open our hearts and life to our Savior.
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