Mark 7:34 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened."

NIV: He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, "Ephphatha!" (which means "Be opened!").

NASB: and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He *said to him, 'Ephphatha!' that is, 'Be opened!'

CSB: Looking up to heaven, he sighed deeply and said to him, "Ephphatha!" (that is, "Be opened!").

NLT: Looking up to heaven, he sighed and said, 'Ephphatha,' which means, 'Be opened!'

KJV: And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.

NKJV: Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”

Jesus and the disciples are in Decapolis, possibly near the southeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. A group of people have brought Him a man who is deaf and can't speak clearly. Jesus has pulled him away from the crowd and indicates what He plans to do.

Jesus tends to look up in situations where He wishes to direct attention to God, notably, when He feeds the five thousand (Mark 6:41) and raises Lazarus (John 11:41). "Ephphatha" is either Hebrew or Aramaic for "be opened." Like with the raising of the little girl (Mark 5:41), Mark records the original words, perhaps to show Jesus did not use a magical spell.

There's a lot of confusion over the fact that although Jesus is God, He often prays to God. The topic touches on the nature of the Trinity and whether Jesus is all-powerful during His life on earth. Jesus clearly states that as a person, He is separate from the Father (John 5:19–27). In fact, He "emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant" (Philippians 2:7). Jesus' power comes from the Holy Spirit, not Himself (Mark 3:22–30).

Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit are members of the Trinity. They are of the same essence, but they are different persons with different roles. In His time on earth, Jesus learns obedience to God (Hebrews 5:8) and asks God for power (John 11:41–42) and wisdom (Mark 1:35; 6:46). Jesus, the only perfect man who ever lived, serves as our example; no matter how much we think we have what we need, we still need to ask for God's power.

Mark 7:31–37 mentions only this one healed man and is the only Gospel to do so, while Matthew 15:29–31 describes Jesus healing a great crowd. It's possible that this one healing created the crowd mentioned in Matthew. Healing the deaf is associated with God's direct blessing (Isaiah 35:5) and the Old Testament does not record any account of a literally deaf person being healed; most mentions of ''deaf'' people are references to those who are spiritually hardened. The people praise Jesus not only for healing the deaf and mute man, but for doing it well.

Jesus counters another traditional error from the scribes and Pharisees, explaining that food in and of itself does not make a person unclean. Rather, it is the intent of the heart that matters to God. He specifically condemns traditions which effectively undo the original intent of God's commands. Jesus heals the daughter of a persistent Gentile woman, and a man suffering from deafness and a speech impediment.

After showing His authority over demons, death, and physics, Jesus asserts His superiority over manmade traditions. For generations, Jewish religious leaders have added to the Law in an attempt to keep the nation holy. Such traditions, however, serve to make the leaders look good but unnecessarily burden the people. Jesus argues in word and action that any law that dismisses love is either misinterpreted or manmade.

The Gospel of Mark emphasizes both Jesus' servanthood and His role as the promised Messiah: the Son of God. This is done through a concise, action-packed style. Mark provides relatively few details, instead focusing on actions and simple statements. This relates to the Gospel's authorship, which is believed to be based on the memories of the apostle Peter. These include many of Jesus' miracles, in contrast to other Gospels which include many more of Jesus' teachings and parables. Mark also makes frequent mention of Jesus' ministry being misunderstood by others.