People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
Mark 7:37 NIV
Imagine an adult who had never heard a sound. Their vocal cords might work well. But their ability to communicate clearly would be minimal because they would not know what words sounded like or what most of them meant. Through hard work, some people can eventually overcome this disability, but it would be challenging.
Now imagine that their hearing was repaired. All the sounds constantly bombarding our ears would suddenly come flooding into them. What would they make of it all? It would take time for them to be able to understand the sounds coming from other people as well as being able to articulate a response. It would be like learning a new language.
And that makes the healing of this man even more impressive. Not only were his ears opened, but he also was given the ability to communicate – understanding what others were saying and clearly responding to them. And it all happened instantly without a learning curve.
Most of us do not experience the type of physical healing this man did. But when we come to Jesus in faith, he does heal us and make us new. We are born of the Spirit. Our ears are opened to hear God’s voice speaking to us in our spirits and through his word. And our tongues are loosed to talk to God through prayer and praise. What was broken is made anew. He allows those who were spiritually deaf and mute to hear and speak.
