The Healing of the deaf and Mute Man.

The Healing of the Deaf and Mute Man

Life before the day I am speaking of had always been very difficult. Have you ever attempted to tell somebody something important without the ability to use words? Some of the children of Decapolis played a game where they tried to do just that, but for me, this had been no game.

I had to live all my life up until this point doing just that trying very hard to help them to understand what it was I was trying to say. They also had difficulty, they did want to understand me and make me a part of the group and conversation, but they so often struggled to make out what it was I was trying to convey to them.

I could not hear, I could not speak and I had a head full of ideas that I so desperately wanted to share with others.

How often I felt so alone because others had given up on me or they were too embarrassed to be seen in my company. Then there were those times when somebody had given me time and shown a great deal of patience, yet I ended up frustrated, unable to convey to the person those inner thoughts. Then came the anger; this was by far the worst. It was also self-defeating, the angrier I got, the worse it became.

To be really honest it was amazing I had any friends at all. Yet I did. Friends who in spite of all things continued to show me patience, even when I least deserved it; friends who tolerated the anger and time after time made allowances for my behaviour. Friends who once they managed to understand what it was I was trying to convey became very understanding and helpful. How grateful I was that they had stayed around all those years.

A few days ago they came to me and spoke to me about a man, a man by the name of Jesus. He was going to be in the region not far from where we lived. They felt that he could possibly help me and my situation. They were trying very hard to convince me that it might be worth my time going and trying to meet him. After all, what had I to lose?

My first reaction was to say no, something I never found any problem conveying, a simple shake of the head was all it took. I was aware that such a reaction would result in a long and difficult attempt to explain my reasons for not wishing to give it a try. They seemed enthusiastic about this idea and I became aware that saying no to could lose me the only friends I had. They seemed so certain that this man, Jesus, would be able to help me.

It seemed a shame to disappoint them with a simple shake of the head, to take away a very genuine desire to help me. It could indeed do no harm. What else was I going to do anyway? There was very little I could do, except beg on the street corner.

So we set off to go and try to meet with this man Jesus, the man from Nazareth. As we travelled the road it became very obvious that we were not the only ones with the idea of meeting and listening to him. Everybody seemed to be heading in the same direction as us. There seemed to be only one thing on the minds of the many, to meet with Jesus. He really was a crowd puller.

When, after travelling in the hot sun, we eventually arrived, he was surrounded by a great many people. There was a real feeling of excitement in the air, even though I could not hear it I could sense it.

My friends were not the sort of people to be deterred in any way. They began to push their way through the crowd pulling me along behind them. I could not hear what was being said to them but I could see in their eyes that there was much anger in the air, I was familiar with this.

Eventually, we stood in front of him, the man Jesus,; he was looking at me and I at him.  It became very obvious to me very quickly that this was no ordinary man. being unable to hear or speak I had learned to develop the use of the other senses I had. I had learned to read what people were like, I was able to see beyond the outer person and discern the quality of the inner being. What I saw when I looked at this man intrigued me.

I saw my friends take hold of his arm and pull them closer so that they would be heard above the crowd. Of course, I could not hear what was being said, I could almost lip read the odd little bit, but I would be lying if I said I fully understood. What they were saying was something about putting hands on me. I was not sure what they meant by that.

The next thing I knew was that his hand was on my shoulder and he was taking me away from my friends and the crowd. His followers stepped between us and the crowd instructing them to stand still and wait. He gently led me to a side street, I wondered what this was all about.

Once we were far enough away I felt his finger touching my ears, those useless organs. My first thought was, please do not hurt me, my second almost instant thought was to wonder if I had cleaned my ears that morning? It is strange what goes through the mind when you feel unsure of just what is happening to you.

Then I watched as he spat on his fingers, so much for me wondering about cleanliness. He reached towards my mouth, which I am sure was wide open in awe. "What was all this about?"

I watched as he put his fingers towards my mouth and then I felt the touch of his finger on my tongue. He looked skywards and sighed, he said, "Ephphatha." I knew that this meant, be opened. 

Then it dawned on me, I had just heard him say that word, I had heard him say it. No doubt about it I had heard the word, Ephphatha.

I had heard, I could hear. I said, "Thank you."  it did not for one-second express what I wanted to say but I could not find any other words. Then the reality hit me, I had thanked him, the words, only two of them but they had been spoken by me. I was ecstatic.

Then I became aware of the sounds of all the people not far from us. How thoughtful Jesus had been, he had taken me aside from the crowd to protect me from a terrible inrush of sound. Such would have been far too much for one who had never before heard a sound, never mind a noise like I was hearing faintly.

Then my friends were there beside me. I spoke to them, "Shalom."  I saw the amazement in their eyes and on their faces. They began jumping up and down holding each other almost dancing with excitement. They were excited, I was excited.

Once more I felt that strong yet gentle hand on my shoulder; it was the hand of Jesus. He asked us to leave, but in an insistent way told us to say nothing to anybody. Speak to nobody about what had happened down that side street. I could speak. I could hear. Tears were flowing done my face, how could I possibly not tell everybody about what had just happened? Never! I want to shout from the rooftops of every home between here and my own house. I wanted the world to know.

When Jesus opens the ears of the deaf they hear of his love. When the mouths of the dumb are opened they only wish to sing praise.  Those who do not wish to hear good news or sing for joy have not begun to understand the joy of the Word. For once you begin to understand the Word even the stones would shout praise.