31 And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. 32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. 33 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. 35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. 36 And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it; 37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.
Jesus Returns to Healing People
We find that Jesus has left one Gentile area for another, traveling from Tyre and Sidon in the Province of Syria down south through the region dominated by the ten hellenized cities known as the Decapolis. Located primarily along the eastern edge of the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan river, these cities appear to have been populated by a large and educated audience â€" was Jesus trying to reach them?
Where exactly Jesus is depends upon how one reads “midst of the coasts of Decapolis.†Does it refer to the fact that the cities were on the eastern coasts of the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan river, or is it trying to say that Jesus was along the border between the Decapolis and Jewish areas? Some translate this passage as “within the region of Decapolis†(NASB) and in “the midst of the region of Decapolis†(NKJV). This has important implications in the next chapter when Jesus feeds the four thousand.
The course taken by the travelers here is also a problem for the authorship of Mark. In New Testament Story, David L. Barr writes that the language of the trip is “a little like going from New York City to Washington D.C. by way of Boston.†It is because of passages like this that some scholars argue that the author of Mark wasn’t familiar with Galilee and couldn’t have lived in the region.
Out of the seven chapters of Mark so far, four of them have ended with Jesus healing someone â€" are we noticing a trend? In Mark at least, one of the dominant themes is Jesus’ activity as a healer â€" whether healing disabilities like lameness or blindness, healing psychological conditions by casting out unclean sprits, or just raising people from the dead if he doesn’t get to them in time before the chapter ends.
There were a lot of people around when he came back to the Sea of Galilee (“multitudeâ€), but he only heals one person. Was there no one else around to heal anymore, or was he only interested in healing this one person? The healing itself is curious â€" at no prior healing is Jesus described as sticking his fingers in orifices or spitting in people’s mouths. These are ritualistic acts which may have been common to healers of the time, but they don’t seem to be common to Jesus â€" especially given how he is often depicted as opposing rituals.
And why does Jesus sigh? Is he getting tired of all the healings he is expected to do? Is he getting tired of being bothered every place he goes, never being allowed a moment of peace for rest and self-reflection? If so, I can’t say that I would blame him. It’s not an especially divine reaction to events and circumstances, but it’s an undeniably human reaction.
As he normally does, Jesus admonishes the healed man not to breathe a word about this to anyone â€" a strange request, considering the fact that a man who was deaf and mute can suddenly speak again! Why would he, of all people, agree to keep quiet? How could he not tell people about the miracle that has restored his speech and hearing?
Perhaps we should stop to consider why Jesus keeps telling people this nearly every time he performs a healing. It’s obvious that his entreaties aren’t having any effect because everywhere he goes, he finds more people waiting and hoping to receive healing for themselves or their relatives. It’s doubtful that any one of his requests for silence has been heeded, so why does he keep trying?
Indeed, why did he ever try to begin with? It just isn’t reasonable to expect people to keep quiet about this sort of thing. That’s an important reason why many have regarded such tales as more legend than history. The story about a miraculous healer who wants to remain anonymous makes sense in the context of particular narrative goals, but not in the context of the real world.
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