MRK 7-31 komm

MRK 7,31 - MRK 7,37 {DEN DØVE SOM HADDE VONDT FOR Å TALE} 

Siden drog han igjen bort fra landet omkring Tyrus, og tok veien gjennom Sidon og Dekapolis-landet og kom til Galilea-sjøen. 32 Her førte de til ham en mann som var døv og hadde vondt for å tale, og de bad ham legge hendene på ham. 33 Jesus tok ham med seg bort fra mengden. Han stakk fingrene i ørene hans, tok spytt og rørte ved tungen hans, 34 løftet blikket mot himmelen, sukket og sa til ham: "Effata!"  - det betyr: "Lukk deg opp!" 35 Da ble ørene hans åpnet, og tungen ble løst, så han talte rent. 36 Jesus påla dem at de ikke skulle fortelle det til noen; men jo mer han forbød det, dess mer gjorde de det kjent. 37 Folk var overveldet og forundret og sa: "Alt han har gjort, er godt. Han får døve til å høre og stumme til å tale." 

7:31–37 The deaf and dumb man. This story of a physical healing is an illustration of that fact that even if people are deaf to God (as the Pharisees were) Jesus can heal them. The actions used by Jesus were intended to make the man understand that this was not healing by magic but healing by God in answer to prayer. Jesus wanted to create faith in the man before he would heal. So, deafness was imitated by stopping the man’s ears, and healing of dumbness imitated by touching his tongue and spitting out. Looking up to heaven and sighing were visible pictures of prayer that a deaf and dumb man could understand. The word of command was spoken in the man’s own native Aramaic, which Mark interprets for his non-Palestinian church.

As usual, Jesus commanded silence, and as usual, he was disobeyed. The excited people said, ‘He has done everything well’, and were amazed, but did they believe? In a short while, Peter would make the leap of faith from this amazement to recognizing the true nature of Jesus: deaf Peter will hear, and dumb Peter will speak.

A Deaf-Mute Healed

7:31.  The Decapolis, literally “ten cities” (see 5:1–20), was predominantly inhabited by non-Jews, though many Jews also lived there.

7:32–33.  Deaf-mutes were protected under Jewish law but classed with other groups (women, slaves, imbeciles, minors) not educated enough to keep the law. Crowds normally gathered to see magicians do their tricks, and this crowd would have preferred to have seen Jesus heal a man in front of them, though he does not do so. On the spittle see 8:22–23; here Jesus may be acting out “healing,” “speech” and (7:34) “from God,” to let the man know what he is about to do (Jewish law recognized that deaf-mutes could communicate via signs). Mark’s term for “mute” occurs in the Septuagint only at Isaiah 35:6, referring to the blessings inaugurated in the messianic era.

7:34–35.  Some scholars point out that magicians often spoke unintelligible phrases during healings. Here, however, Jesus speaks Aramaic, which would have been known to most people, Jewish or Gentile, in Syria-Palestine (cf. also Mk 14:36).[1]

Ear, Hearing

In the Bible the ear is synonymous with the heart and mind as an organ of cognition (Prov 2:2; Is 6:9–10), and true hearing involves listening and understanding (Job 34:16). The ear is personified as hearing and understanding (Job 13:1), seeking knowledge (Prov 18:15) and testing words (Job 12:11). To “incline” the ear is to be favorably disposed to what is heard (Jer 34:14; Ps 31:2). To have *“deaf,” *“heavy” or “uncircumcised” (see Circumcision) ears is to reject what is heard (Jer 6:10; Acts 7:51). “Itching” ears are only favorably disposed to what is already found agreeable (2 Tim 4:3). Idols are deaf (Deut 4:28; Rev 9:20), but God is personified as having ears (1 Sam 8:21) and hearing his people (2 Sam 22:7). Prayers and petitions to God begin with a request to God to “incline your ear” (Ps 17:6). God hears his people groaning in bondage (Ex 3:7), facing their enemies in battle (Is 37:17), crying out in barrenness (Gen 30:6) and complaining when unjustly treated (Jas 5:4). God hears the prayers of the righteous (Ps 17:1; 1 Pet 3:12) and those asking according to his will (1 Jn 5:14). Thus God always heard the prayers of Jesus (Jn 11:41–42; Heb 5:7). God also hears the arrogance of humanity (2 Kings 19:28) and its plotting (Num 12:2). His ears are hard of hearing or deaf to the prayers of sinners and those refusing to hear him (Is 59:1–2; Jn 9:31).

Unlike ancient religions that sought revelation through the eye and through visions, biblical people primarily sought revelation through the ear and hearing. Hearing symbolizes the proper response to God in the Bible. God opens the ears to hear his word (Job 36:10; Is 50:4–5), gives the ears of the prophets his revelation (Is 22:14; 50:4–5) and exhorts his people either directly or through prophets to “hear” his revelation (Deut 5:1; Jer 2:4; Rev 2:7). To faithfully hear God’s voice requires personal apprehension, acceptance and obedience (Mt 7:24, 26; Lk 11:28; Jas 1:22–25). Lack of hearing is the decisive spiritual failure and rebellion against God (Is 48:8; Heb 3:7–8).

Jesus is God’s incarnate Word, and thus God commands us to listen to Jesus in faith and obedience (Mt 17:5). The parable of the sower demonstrates that the efficacy of Jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom depends on faithful hearing. Thus Jesus’ stress upon “Let anyone with ears listen!” (Mt 13:9 NRSV). To hear the words of God is to be a child of God (Jn 8:47) and a sheep hearing the voice of the Shepherd (Jn 10:3, 16, 27). Not to do so is to be spiritually hard of hearing (Mt 13:14–16) and to remain unforgiven (Jn 12:47–49). Hearing is blessing and life, and not hearing is judgment (Job 36:10–12; John 5:24).

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