The Gospel of Mark
The Healing of the Deaf Man, Mk 7,31-37
Isaiah chapter 35 is a magnificent oracle of salvation which is similar to the exile oracles of the second part of Isaiah (Is 40-55). Placed somewhat earlier in the book gives them more of a future orientation. Thus the great promise that the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped will have a very special fulfilment in the ministry of Jesus. The messianic age which fulfils Isaiah's vision has arrived in the person of Jesus. This is now being recognised by Gentiles. This must be a opening deeper than ordinary hearing or sight, pointing towards an openness to the kingdom of God proclaimed by Jesus (1,15).
The route followed by Jesus in verse 31 is very circuitous. The evangelist's purpose is not so much geographical consistency as keeping Jesus in Gentile territory which included the Decapolis (ten cities). Those bringing the man for healing and the man himselfare Gentiles.
The five stages of the healing are:
The problem is indicated (32a)
A request is made (32b)
Jesus responds by his actions and his word (7,33-34)
The cure takes place (7,35)
The miracle is greeted with amazement and a command to silence, promptly broken.
The man is described as being deaf and with a speech impediment rather than mute. The detail here is that it is a word found only here and in the Greek version of Is 35,6. Those who bring the man to Jesus in verse 32 implore him to lay on hands, touching in one way or another being a quite common gesture of healing.
Here something far more elaborate takes place. Here and 8,23 are the only times Jesus touches the affected organ. Jesus does 6 different things but what matters is the word "Be opened". As elsewhere (5,41, 6,11), Mark likes to use Aramaic words with a translation.
Jesus looking up to heaven in verse 34 indicates an attitude of prayer (6,41 see Ps 123,1). The quotation I mentioned from the letter to the Romans speaks of the spirit sighing too deep for words (Rm 8,26).
The key word in verse 35 is "immediately". Exodus 4,11 is a reminder of the divine origin of speech.
Then in verse 37, "he has done all things well" echoes Genesis 1,31 concerning God's work of creation. With the background of Is 35,5-6, this restoration of hearing and speech becomes God's new creation.
And the acclamation is based on Isaiah 35,5-6, as we have seen.
The command to silence and the failure to keep has echoes elsewhere in the Gospel, notable 1,44-45. Now that Jesus is in Gentile territory, it is important that people have the right understanding of Jesus, that he does not use magic to heal.
Yet Jesus himself has been learning through this chapter. In the first half, he has clear teaching about purity, a purity which rises above the Jewish Law. The consequences of this become clear when Jesus is confronted with the Syrophoenician Woman who makes him heal her daughter. With the healing of the deaf mute Jesus has now learnt the lesson, that healing and salvation is for all, Gentiles as well as Jews. This time he heals a Gentile without question. Further consequences will now follow.
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The Sunday Gospel
We have seen that chapter 35 of Isaiah which accompanys this Gospel is an oracle of God's salvation which anticipates the return of the exiles proclaimed in chapter 40 onwards as I have said. This leads to a new openness to God's ways by the people of God, seeing and hearing what he has done for them.
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