Mark 7:33 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue.

NIV: 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.

NASB: And Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers in his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva;

CSB: So he took him away from the crowd in private. After putting his fingers in the man's ears and spitting, he touched his tongue.

NLT: Jesus led him away from the crowd so they could be alone. He put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then, spitting on his own fingers, he touched the man’s tongue.

KJV: And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue;

NKJV: And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue.

We can't know what the deaf man thinks of all this, but Jesus shows particular gentleness with him. The man seems to be in a vulnerable state; Jesus doesn't use him as a public object lesson, like He does the woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5:25–34) and the Canaanite woman (Mark 7:24–30). Instead, Jesus pulls him away, perhaps so he won't be overwhelmed when his hearing returns.

Then, Jesus lets the man know what is going to happen. Spit is thought to have healing powers in Jewish and Greek tradition. By going through the process of touching his ears and tongue, Jesus invites the understanding of the man who can't hear what was going on.

This is very similar to how Jesus heals the blind man in Mark 8:22–26. People bring the man to Jesus, but Jesus leads the man out of the village, spits on his eyes, and heals him. It's important to remember that we can "bring" our friends to Jesus in prayer, but His work is an intimate experience between Himself and the one who needs healing. We cannot heal others; we need to trust Christ.

Many people are healed by touching Jesus' robe (Mark 6:56), and, on our side, we often ask for healing or help in a similar kind of immediate but anonymous way. We need to remember that God wants our relationship more than our comfort. We grow closer to Him when He pulls us aside and interacts with us, showing us where He is working and not just relieving our inconvenience or pain and letting us go on our merry way.

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.