Mark 7:37Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

He takes the deaf and dumb man who was brought to Him apart from the crowd, that He might not do His divine miracles openly; teaching us to cast away vain glory and swelling of heart, for no one can work miracles as he can, who loves humility and is lowly in his conduct. But He puts His fingers into his ears, when He might have cured him with a word, to shew that His body, being united to Deity, was consecrated by Divine virtue, with all that He did. For since on account of the transgression of Adam, human nature had incurred much suffering and hurt in its members and senses, Christ coming into the world shewed the perfection of human nature in Himself, and on this account opened ears with His fingers, and gave the power of speech by His spittle. Wherefore it goes on, And spit, and touched his tongue.

The Lord did not wish to stay in the parts of the Gentiles, lest He should give the Jews occasion to say, that they esteemed Him a transgressor of the law, because He held communion with the Gentiles, and therefore He immediately returns; wherefore it is said, And again departing from the coasts of Tyre, he came through Sidon, to the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the borders of Decapolis.

If however He, as one Who knew the present and the future wills of men, knew that they would proclaim Him the more in proportion as He forbade them, why did He give them this command? If it were not that He wished to prove to men who are idle, how much more joyfully, with how much greater obedience, they whom He commands to proclaim Him should preach, when they who were forbidden could not hold their peace.

A city, however, placed on a hill cannot be hid, and lowliness always comes before glory. Wherefore it goes on, But the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it.

The one whose ears are shut and who is unaware of any sounds, with the command of Christ, removes every hindrance and perceives joyful melodies and soft murmurs. Then, ailment retreats and frailty vanishes, while the voice that had long been mute begins to speak. With great joy, the healed man lifts his mat and walks through the city, celebrating his restoration.

But that which He says, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened, belongs properly to the ears, for the ears are to be opened for hearing, but the tongue to be loosed from the bonds of its impediment, that it may be able to speak. Wherefore it goes on, And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. Where each nature of one and the same Christ is manifestly distinct, looking up indeed into Heaven as man, praying unto God, He groaned, but presently with one word, as being strong in the Divine Majesty, He healed. It goes on, And he charged them that they should tell no man.

The Lord could not remain concealed in that place either, so He and His disciples journeyed to the northeastern region of Galilee, near the lake of Gennesaret. Wherever He traveled, there was an awareness of Him, and upon recognizing Him, the people brought the afflicted to Him, unable to leave them without offering healing. The crowds were eager to listen to His teachings, and He felt compelled to speak. Thus, they congregated around Him, and all He had to do was frequently change His location and encourage discussions about His miracles. His methods of healing were unique. One instance involved a man who was both deaf and mute. Unlike other cases where He would heal by mere words or by laying on of hands, He first took the man aside from the crowd.

Alongside the man who was deaf, unable to speak, and had a dull tongue, the Lord restored health to many other afflicted individuals in the city of Tithegrad. This included those who were paralyzed, sightless, unable to speak, and disabled. The crowd was astonished by these miracles and offered their praises to the God of Israel. However, the Lord instructed those who had been healed not to share their experiences with anyone. Yet, despite His admonitions, they shared their stories even more widely.

He instructed those who had brought the afflicted man to Him not to share the news with anyone. Jesus sought to prevent unnecessary commotion among the people due to the wonders He performed, so He led the deaf and mute individual away from the crowd and worked the miracle in front of just those who had brought him. For this reason, He urged them to remain silent about the event. However, overwhelmed with joy and astonishment, they could not contain their excitement and immediately returned to the crowd to share all that had happened. Jesus reiterated His request for silence, but it proved ineffective; the more He advised them to keep quiet, the more they spread the news about Him.

In certain instances, Christ instructed the man He had healed to keep the miracle a secret. However, this directive proved ineffective as news of Him quickly circulated throughout the land, leading many to marvel and exclaim, "All things worketh well! He maketh the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak."

The phrase "And the deaf are made to hear" indicates a broader understanding, similar to the way information spreads in popular discussions. It can be deduced from these statements that the Lord did not merely perform a single miracle in that region, but rather several acts of divine intervention. Alternatively, it suggests that the residents were already aware of other miraculous works by the Lord occurring in nearby Galilee and Judea.

Jesus Christ departed from Tyre and Sidon, making His way to the Sea of Galilee, passing through the region of the Ten Cities. There, individuals brought to Him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, afflicted by a condition that was beyond human remedy. It is likely they had heard of the numerous times Jesus had healed the sick by the laying on of hands. However, in this instance, He employed a distinct method to bring about healing. First, aiming to distract the bystanders from their idle curiosity, He took the afflicted man away from the crowd. To prepare him for the miracle and to kindle faith within him, Jesus placed His fingers in the man’s ears and, after spitting, touched his tongue.