Ear Wax and Spit

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

Mark 7:31-35

“Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis.  There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man. 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.  He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means, “Be opened!”). At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.”

 

It is interesting to study the healings of Jesus for they differ so much from what we see on television in our media age. We either see an evangelist using the same physical actions to heal all sorts of sickness or we see new age false healers do psychic surgery on people with non-human blood provided for effect. Jesus was unique and varied in His methods for He walked and lived under the direction of His Heavenly Father. God ministers in a variety of ways using numerous methods and processes for He knows those in His creation are unique and their needs are unique as well. Jesus ministered in this same way.

 

Sometimes Jesus would heal with a word and at other times with a simple touch. There were even times people simply felt the edge of His clothes and they were healed. Here in Mark, Jesus used touch but also physical substances in the process. Why did Jesus vary so much in the manner with which He healed individuals? Possibly Jesus wanted to avoid the assumption that a specific process was needed to heal. People have a tendency to attribute healing to methods and materials rather than the real source of power, our Heavenly Father.

 

In Jesus day, just as in ours, there were doctors who used herbs and liquids to heal those who were sick. Jesus wanted to establish that while these sources of healing are valid at times, there is a power that supersedes the natural remedies available to man. There are physical illnesses and handicaps that can only be healed by God Himself.

 

Here we see a group of people bring a man to Jesus for healing. We are not told if they are the man’s relatives and loved ones but because they beg Jesus to heal the man it is apparent that they are concerned for his well-being. The handicapped man is all too willing to allow Jesus to help him. The man is deaf and apparently has been so from birth for his speech is impaired. Lacking hearing during childhood development greatly hinders the ability to speak properly. There is a strong relationship between the ability to hear and the skills necessary to form words and sentences that can be understood by others.

 

This man apparently had lived his entire life with this infirmity and who knows how much he had endured due to his lack of normal function. He could not conduct business or hold a job so was probably very poor. He was probably lucky to have others who would look after him for he was more of a burden than help in many ways. These people who have brought him have some degree of faith for they ask Jesus to lay His tender hands on him and heal him.

 

Jesus does some curious things in dealing with the man. First he takes the man away from the crowd of people who had brought him. If we were doing the healing we would probably have wanted a crowd to witness the miracles that were to take place, not Jesus. Jesus wanted to help, but not to draw undue attention to the miracle. Jesus knew His healing miracles helped to validate His ministry, but they could also distract from His main message of bringing salvation to mankind. There are many who wanted physical healing but not spiritual rejuvenation. This is as true today as it was during Jesus’ time. Jesus wished to help people but He had greater concern for their spiritual healing. While we are called to pray for people’s physical healing we should be even more concerned about their spiritual condition as Jesus was.

 

Jesus’ next action is very curious. He puts his fingers in the man’s ears, then spits on his hands and touches the man’s tongue. This first appears like the type of action that some elementary school boys would do on a dare. The thought of sticking my fingers in someone’s ear, spitting on my fingers and then touching their tongue kind of grosses me out. If I were to do this, I would also be concerned about what the other person would think of me doing such a thing. But possibly I’m letting my own personal opinions overwhelm my submission to the will and workings of God’s Holy Spirit and His Holy Son.

 

I would venture to say that Jesus never made a mistake or had poor judgment in the manner with which He healed the sick. Jesus was able to discern the faith of those needing healing, the degree of illness being dealt with and the expectations of the surrounding crowds of people who observed His actions. Here we see Jesus isolating Himself with this man creating an atmosphere of intimacy. Very likely only Jesus and the man witnessed the Jesus’ actions. While Jesus could very likely have just commanded the man to be healed like He did the Centurion’s servant in Matthew 8, He knew that this man’s faith was not as fervent and stable. Often in Jesus’ miracles the faith of the person requesting healing had impact on the process and manner implemented. In this instance Jesus choose to use a peculiar manner of touch and His own spit to carry out the healing. Jesus perceived that the man needed to have someone touch the places on his body that did not function properly. Touch can be very important to people. The Centurion in Matthew 8 had such great faith he saw no reason for Jesus to touch his ill servant and didn’t even feel it was necessary for Jesus to be near the servant to conduct a healing. But in this case Jesus knew that touch was the most effective way to minister to this poor suffering man.

 

This man needed a physical touch, an intimate touch, alone with Jesus, the Son of God. But we must remember that Jesus did one more thing to make sure that the man did not place His trust in fingers in his ears and spit on his tongue. Jesus looked upward to heaven and His Heavenly Father. This man could not hear nor speak properly, but he could see. He saw Jesus place his fingers in his ears. He saw Jesus spit on these same fingers and touch his tongue, but he also saw Jesus look up into the heavens and as if praying a request say, “Ephphatha!” This means “be opened” in Aramaic.

 

God the Father was where the true power from healing came from. Jesus petitioning the Father in heaven for this man’s ears to be opened gives the man the understanding that God heals through His Son. Jesus constantly in His ministry gave glory and honor to His Father. He did this not to degrade His deity, but to demonstrate to us that we are to be submissive to our Heavenly Father. Jesus was fully God, but also fully man and knew He must illustrate what it meant to be a true servant of God. He did this in all His activities and actions.

 

As soon as Jesus commands this healing the man is able to hear and speak. We are not told anything of the man’s response, but it must have been overwhelming to him. His hearing birds chirp in the trees, the water bubbling in a nearby stream and the praises of those who had brought him to Jesus must have been quite emotional. His being able to speak intelligible words to thank and praise the person who has healed you must have been greatly appreciated. It truly must have been an amazing experience for the man and those who had brought him.

 

We can learn several things from this account of healing. First God will work in rather strange and awkward ways to bring about healing and provision for those He loves. It may not make sense to us but God may cater to our lack of faith by providing for our needs in rather unique and mundane ways. Secondly God wants us to understand that provision for our needs originates from His majestic power and love. Too often we claim we pulled ourselves out of the depths of despair by our bootstraps when in actuality God worked in numerous ways using all sorts of resources to help us in our dire circumstances. Thirdly, God sometimes will want us to treasure His answer to our prayers and keep it to ourselves. There is pleasure in receiving healing and our natural response is to boast of what God has done, but sometimes God wants us to revel in His actions for our own benefit. God desires intimacy with us and we draw closer to God at times when we boast only to Him of how He has healed us. Public proclamation has a place, but sometimes we draw even closer to God when we focus our praise and honor of Him in more private ways. Lastly we need to have the heart of those who brought this man to Jesus. We need to seek God first and always in our daily struggles and trials. We know that God works through others, including agencies and organizations, but He should be the first one we call upon for advice, help and intervention when we face difficulties.

 

May your ears be opened to hear God’s Spirit speak daily and upon hearing the Spirit speak, may your mouth be loosed to share the gospel of peace and salvation to all those you meet.