The healing of the man deaf and dumb

I've been really enjoying this account from Mark 7:31-37 as it is a lovely opportunity to witness the compassion and grace of the Saviour. These qualities are so rarely seen today, yet we see them in such abundance and beautiful balance in the person of the Lord Jesus! How we should also be marked by these attributes, not a cold or cruel nature, but by warmth and gentleness, kindness and compassion.

Note the helplessness of this poor man - he was deaf and dumb! Think about this, as here was one who could not have heard about the Saviour, his tremendous miracles or his authoritative words and teaching. Here was one who could not have called out or asked to meet the Saviour. Remember both of these features were present in the case of Bartimaeus the blind man! It was when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth that he cried out to the Saviour for mercy. This man could not do either of these things, yet in God's grace he meets the Saviour, who takes time to bless him and change his life forever.

The gospel writer Mark gives us the actions of the Saviour in lovely detail, as you would expect from the writer showing us the Perfect Servant and recording his actions and movements. Here are just a few simple standout thoughts that I had regarding this account:

• The Lord Jesus takes him aside from the multitude. This would be an intimate one to one experience where the man would focus upon the Saviour and the Saviour would deal with him directly and exclusively. I think this would have been unusual for this man, as the society of the day was hard and cruel. Remember that the Lord reproved the Pharisees for devouring widow's houses; the Gospel's tell us of unjust Judges; doctors who would take a woman's life savings in return for their guess-work; and tax collectors who would skim off the top from the people! I don't think this man would have known much human interaction, as a man who was deaf and dumb would not make for good company, he could not hear what people said and he could not articulate much to them (if anything) in return! Yet the Saviour lavishes this personal attention upon this man.


• Notice that in verse 33 of our account there are no words spoken, just the actions of the Lord recorded. Upon reading this I notice something lovely - the crowd plead with the Saviour to put his hand (singular) on this man, yet a careful reading of the verse tells me that it is possible that this man knew more physical contact from the Saviour than anyone else. The Saviour puts his fingers (plural) in the mans ears (plural) so I envisage the Lord using both hands and embracing this mans head with his hands and fingers. The man also had his tongue touched by the very spittle of the Lord Jesus, one of only two miracles where this was used. The Saviour always gives more! Our ways are not his ways, and he delights to show us his abundant goodness in our lives. How touching to think that soon those blessed hands that had been around this man in compassion would be taken and cruelly nailed to a rough wooden cross.


• The Saviour sighs and looks to heaven, the place from where he had come into this world that was so marred by sin. When the Lord Jesus looked to heaven I believe it was not just an upward look to the sky, but into the very portals of heaven and the presence of God the Father. The Saviour knew a better place, a better realm where there was no sin, neither could there be! A place of perfection, peace and happiness, completely free from the taint of sin and its consequences. I think this was a sign for the man, that here was something from heaven just for him. The one standing before him was from a heavenly realm, and God himself was the source and giver of this blessing.


• Straightway, or immediately the man could hear and the string (or bond) of his tongue was loosed, and he could speak plainly! No speech therapy needed here, his healing was full and complete.

I often wonder what this man said with his new-found speech? Scripture says that his tongue was 'loosed' like it had been captive, and that he had longed to talk and speak as others for some time. It could be that this man had so much to say that he had thought about for many years, so much to communicate, so much pent-up frustration! However, I think that all that he had wanted to say was forgotten as now there was a new message upon his lips, one that bore testimony to the man who had healed him, the Son of God, his healing power, grace and mercy!

Surely we would agree with the statement toward the end of our reading - "he hath done all things well..." how true of our blessed Saviour, Gods only well-beloved Son! Surely we could put this over his whole earthly life, well should we continually bear testimony of the one who has done all things well and give him thanks and praise.

Now in a song of grateful praise, to our blest Lord the voice we raise; With all His saints we join to tell - Our Saviour hath done all things well!

And since our souls have known His love, what mercies hath He made us prove! Mercies which all our praise excel - Our Saviour hath done all things well!

And when on that bright day we rise, and join the anthems of the skies, among the rest this note shall swell - Our Saviour hath done all things well!

(Samuel Medley)

The leper who said thank you...

Luke 17:12-19

If you read the passage above you will read of a lovely occasion when a leper (one of ten in the colony) returned to give thanks to the Lord Jesus as he healed them. In many ways this account is a lovely picture of the sinner being saved and born again, and responding with thanks and praise as they walk in newness of life. As an interesting side-note I believe this is the only example in scripture of an individual actually saying thank you directly to the Lord Jesus following a miracle! I find lots of other interesting points to note from this account:

• Notice that the lepers "stood afar off" forming their own colony on the outskirts of this community. Of course this was scriptural, as in Leviticus 13:46 we read; "all the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be." Leprosy meant uncleanness, corruption, defilement, and meant separation for that person. Surely a perfect picture of the sinner, as we read in Ephesians 2:13 "ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ"


• On top of all this man's problems, scripture records that "he was a Samaritan" and in these times the Samaritans were looked down on by the Jew "the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritan". What a sorry condition for this man! Diseased and decaying, untouched by medicine, unclean by the law, put out from society and shunned by the Jew! But on this day he was to meet one who would deal with the Samaritan, and who was willing and able to cleanse the leper and turn this man's life around.


• I think on the subject of medicine, Luke the physician would have been particularly impressed by these events as they were relayed to him! Leprosy was not a condition that was treatable in those days, in fact leprosy has only been treated successfully in the 20th century. Lepers would almost certainly face a miserable existence where their condition would deteriorate as the decay would further disfigure and debilitate the poor person. Remember that leprosy was a matter for the priest not a doctor, as lepers were pronounced so by the priest (Lev 13) so it was unlikely that a leper had ever seen the inside of a doctors treatment room! Medicine had no answer for the condition, but the Son of God has all the answers, and he loves to show compassion and mercy just as he does when he saves the sinner!

I love to think about the reaction of the priests when this man (and presumably the others) arrived to be examined and pronounced clean. Would a priest ever have been faced with a cured leper? I doubt it! Just think of what the scriptures say about those who were lepers: 

• Gehazi (2 Kings 5) he was told that the leprosy would cleave unto him, there would be no respite or abatement!


• Jereboam (2 Kings 15) he was a leper until the day of his death


• Remember the words of the Lord concerning lepers - "many lepers were in Israel... none of them were cleansed... save Naaman the Syrian". On the subject of Naaman the Syrian, he would not have presented himself to the priest, this man was a Syrian and had no regard for Jewish law!

So perhaps we now find ourselves asking the question, why would the Word of God give us Leviticus chapter 14 then? Here it clearly talks about "the day of his cleansing"  and what the priestly procedure should be. Well my thought is simple - I believe that God in his infinite wisdom, his grace and mercy made provision for the leper knowing that there would come a day when a Samaritan man would come before a priest and say "I've been made clean, and it was Jesus of Nazareth who healed me!" You see the day was coming when God's Son would walk this earth and even the leper in his hopeless condition would be cleansed, such was the power and compassion of the Lord Jesus Christ. The cold-hearted Jew would need clear instruction from the law of Moses to know what to do and to re-integrate these individuals into society. Remember the Lord Jesus told them that some of the law was written for "the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept". 

Is there any wonder then that this man turns to give thanks and worship the one who had transformed his existence? Before he met Christ he had no life, no hope, no prospects, no joy! He now begins his life anew, one with happiness and a whole new outlook, because of the Saviour. Surely this should speak to our hearts as we apply this to ourselves, as sinners saved by grace we should turn and give thanks to the Lord for his goodness and mercy in saving us!

Yours in Christ, Mark