Have you ever said to or thought about a person “Are you deaf?” to someone who can hear? What was the point of saying that? Is it because they could not hear you? Is it because they would not hear you? I have also heard the phrase “You hear what you want to hear.” or “You never listen.” I have even heard the phrase “You have selective hearing.” In these cases these people are hearing what’s being said, but are choosing not to listen either because they don’t want to hear what is being said or they don’t like what is being said. Many people hear the Word of God and it seems like it goes in one ear and out the other. Or they hear the Word of God and it makes them angry. These people still have their ears blocked from knowing the truth. They do not have a choice. Just like you once were, they are dead in sin so they cannot hear anything, say anything, see anything when it comes to confessing and believing in Christ.

The Word of God convicts the sinner, but at the same time gives relief and forgiveness through the message of Christ’s death and resurrection. The conviction of sin and the message of forgiveness is only understood by the Holy Spirit. Scripture says
None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit.

Those that do not understand, those that are angry, their ears are closed to the truth. They don’t get to decide what they hear, they don’t have a choice, but are spiritually deaf to what the truth is. It is only until Christ through the Holy Spirit opens the ears of the hearer do they now hear what scripture says.

In the Gospel the man they brought to Jesus was deaf both physically and spiritually. This is an in your face reminder of sin. Your wrinkles, your aches, your pains, your flaws even death all are physical reminders of your sin. Even the weather is a reminder of sin. The seasons show death. This hot weather that burns your skin and gives you cancer a reminder of sin. With this man the effects of sin show what happens to mankind. You are deaf to the Word of God, you cannot speak clearly because sin has blocked your tongue. What you hear in sin is only your own desires, the temptations of the world and the temptations of satan and the demons. Just the same with your tongue, you only speak in half truths. “Love is love” and “My body my choice” and “Coexist” all sound good, to the fallen world but when the truth is known you know that these are far from it, but are rooted in human selfishness.

To those who have their eyes opened, their ears opened, their mouth opened. Seeing and hearing the effects of sin becomes in your face. You see what sin has wrought. You see the effects it has had on people, it has had on society, it has on the world, it has had on the environment. When you see all of the effects of sin, you cry out for God to save you from it because it is overwhelming. However, do not look to others and their impairments or faults and and ask who sinned, this man or his parents? What all the fallen state of this world and mankind does is point to Christ. That a savior is needed! That the works of God might be displayed in it.
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

The men brought this deaf and speech impaired man to Christ because they knew that this man could do nothing for himself. He could not relieve himself of his deafness and could not work out his speech. He needed someone outside of himself to relieve him of his condition. The men had heard what Christ had done. They heard the miracles Christ could do. The men believed and the man that Christ was the man that could do this. Christ did indeed do that very thing. Christ could have just said a word and healed this man, but Christ took this man aside and made it very personal. He took this deaf, speech impaired man and put his fingers in his ears, and touched his tongue. Looked up to heaven and said “Ephphatha” “Be opened”. This man who knew no sound, who heard no words now could hear. He could speak plainly.

The imagery of this this man’s healing reminds me of the opened tomb. Christ came down and touched humanity. He became man, born of a virgin. He made his salvation for the world personal. He took on the world’s sin and went to the cross. He saw that you were deaf and that you were blind and He came to open your ears, open your eyes so that you could speak plainly. His words “It is finished” are what opened heaven up to us. The opened tomb lets you know that sin, death, and the devil no longer rule over you, but you have been freed from them.

What did the man do after he was healed? He spoke plainly. What is your response when you are forgiven? What is your response to hearing the Word of God? You do it in the liturgy all the time. It is to confess Christ as Lord and give thanks! This is speaking plainly. This is the language of the Christian. Your speech is a response to your healing. It is a response to you being made alive in Christ. He has healed you. You are made pure and perfect in His blood! Knowing this joy this grace your response is plain. It is gratefulness for having a God that you can call Father, a God that loves you unconditionally.

Yes, this deaf man was healed. Hopefully this reminds you of the OT reading and also of Isaiah 35
the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
This miracle also fulfills scripture that Christ is the true Messiah. That He is the Savior of the World. But, Christ did not just heal the physically blind, deaf, lame and mute. He healed the spiritually blind, deaf, lame and mute in the crucifixion. His death and resurrection opened up salvation and redemption for all mankind. His death and resurrection has given you the ability to see clearly, hear clearly, speak plainly that Christ is Lord. What now can you the former deaf hear? You can hear the words of a book. You can hear the Good Work from the Book of Life. You can hear the very Gospel Christ has given you. He has given you His Spirit so that you can see, you can hear, you can speak.

Through this you do have confidence like the epistle says, the confidence that we have through Christ toward God.
Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

He has given you life. Your sufficiency is in His sacrifice. You hear the Word, the Good News, not by what you have done, but because He has come to you and pronounced Ephphatha that heaven is opened to you by His death and resurrection. Heaven is opened to you, God is opened to you, the Word is opened to you and through Christ you have the confidence and can declare plainly that You are healed, you are forgiven, you are His.

SDG

Pr. Daniel Holm

Mark 7
31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

2 Cor 3
4 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.

Isaiah 29
17 Is it not yet a very little while
until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field,
and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest?
In that day the deaf shall hear
the words of a book,
and out of their gloom and darkness
the eyes of the blind shall see.
The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord,
and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.
For the ruthless shall come to nothing
and the scoffer cease,
and all who watch to do evil shall be cut off,
who by a word make a man out to be an offender,
and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate,
and with an empty plea turn aside him who is in the right.

Therefore thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:

“Jacob shall no more be ashamed,
no more shall his face grow pale.
For when he sees his children,
the work of my hands, in his midst,
they will sanctify my name;
they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob
and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
And those who go astray in spirit will come to understanding,
and those who murmur will accept instruction.”