Jesus Heals the Deaf and Blind

After leaving the region of Tyre and Sidon, Jesus went southeast toward Decapolis and the Sea of Galilee. This journey could have taken up to a week or two. This time away from the crowds would have provided Jesus valuable private teaching time with “the twelve.” 

Because of His previous miracles in Decapolis, a large multitude gathered to meet Him. 

That crowd included many with various disabilities—“the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others”—who were presented to Jesus and healed (Matthew 15:30).

Healing the deaf and mute man 

In his account, Mark chose to focus on just two of those healings.

Mark tells us of a deaf man who had difficulty speaking being brought to Jesus for healing (Mark 7:32). Those with hearing impairments often struggle with speech because they can’t clearly hear proper pronunciation or the sound of their own voice. 

Instead of healing him there, Jesus led him away to a private place. Mark describes what Jesus did next: He “put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue” (Mark 7:33). 

This can sound very odd to 21st-century ears. But Jesus wasn’t claiming to be using His saliva as medicine. Perhaps His actions were more like sign language telling the man about the healing He was about to do. After this, Jesus looked up to heaven—to make it clear He was asking the Father for healing—and spoke the Aramaic word Ephphatha, meaning “be opened” (verse 34). 

Perhaps Jesus used this three-syllable word so that the man could read His lips and understand His command the moment before His hearing was restored. 

Instantaneously, the man’s “ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly” (verse 35). Even in modern times, when a person’s hearing is restored or improved through a cochlear implant or surgery, it takes months and years of speech therapy and practice to help a person learn proper pronunciation. 

But, in this instance, Jesus performed a double miracle—restoring full hearing and normal speech simultaneously. 

News of this miracle spread rapidly and intensified discussion about His identity as the Messiah (verse 37).

Healing the blind man

Later, Jesus returned north to Bethsaida, on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. There, a man who was completely blind was brought to Him. 

Jesus took a similar approach to what He had done with the deaf man earlier. 

For many Jews, these two healings immediately called to remembrance a familiar prophecy: “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped” (Isaiah 35:5).  After leading the man away from the crowds, Jesus “spit on his eyes and put His hands on him” (Mark 8:23). Again, Jesus’ works weren’t dependent on His saliva, so we can’t say for certain why He did it this way.

What was unique about this healing was that it wasn’t instantaneous. Instead, after Jesus laid hands on him, the man’s vision was partially restored. 

He exclaimed, “I see men like trees, walking” (verse 24). 

He could perceive light and color, but not with enough clarity to distinguish detail and form. (Those with very poor vision can likely relate to his description of people appearing like trees.) 

Jesus then touched his eyes a second time. This time, when the man looked up, “he was restored and saw everyone clearly” (verse 25). 

Why did Jesus restore this man’s sight in two stages, when His healings were almost always instantaneous and complete? 

If this man had been blind from birth, God may have done this out of mercy. Restoring his vision gradually would have prevented him from being overwhelmed by full color, depth and detail all at once, giving his brain time to adjust to the new sensory input. 

But, perhaps more likely, this was intended as a spiritual lesson for the disciples. 

Jesus knew that after His departure, the disciples would anoint and lay hands on many people. However, that act of faith would not guarantee that God would choose to heal fully and instantaneously every time. 

Some would experience immediate healing; others, gradual or partial healing; and still others would not be fully healed in this life.

Recognizing that God does not always heal in the same way would help them not become overly discouraged when healing was not instantaneous. It would also give them an example they could use to encourage others: 

Even if God doesn’t heal you right away, it does not mean He has abandoned you—it may simply mean His answer is, “Not yet.” 

If you’re struggling with a long-term health challenge, you can gain the same encouragement from this account today.

An additional lesson we can draw from this is how God grants spiritual sight. 

Spiritual understanding often comes gradually, little by little. Like this man, we first “see” God’s truth dimly, but with time, experience, guidance and study, our understanding grows and becomes clearer. 

The disciples were experiencing this themselves, as around this time they were finally beginning to “see” who Jesus actually was (Mark 8:27-30). 

Confusion about Jesus’ first coming

For many Jews, these two healings immediately called to remembrance a familiar prophecy: “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing” (Isaiah 35:5-6). 

Connecting His healings with this verse probably caused a few to accept His messianic identity. But it may have simultaneously caused some to be confused about the purpose and timing of His coming. 

As noted in past articles, many Jews, including His own disciples, expected Jesus to establish the messianic Kingdom at that time by overthrowing Rome and restoring the kingdom of Israel.

In a sense, this expectation is understandable, since Isaiah 35 clearly describes events associated with the millennial Kingdom—including the restoration of deserts (Isaiah 35:1, 6-7), God’s return with vengeance (verse 4) and the establishment of a “Highway of Holiness” (verse 8). 

So how should we understand this? Did Jesus fulfill the Isaiah 35:5-6 prophecy when He restored sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf? 

The answer is . . . yes and no. 

Duality and Jesus’ first coming

In order to understand this properly, we have to understand duality in biblical prophecy.

Duality describes how God often fulfills prophecy in two phases—first through an initial, partial fulfillment, and later through a final, complete one. 

The two major activities of His first coming—teaching and healing (Matthew 4:23)—were small-scale previews of the far greater work He will carry out during His second coming. 

His teaching ministry was a limited fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy that “all your children shall be taught by the LORD” (Isaiah 54:13; see also John 6:45). During His first coming, Jesus primarily taught throughout Galilee and Judea; at His second coming, He will lead an effort to educate the entire world about God’s way (Isaiah 2:3; 11:9). 

His healing ministry was a limited fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy that “the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings” (Malachi 4:2). During His first coming, Jesus healed many, but only within a relatively tiny region. Most of the world’s sick and disabled were never anywhere near Him. 

Furthermore, His authority over the demonic realm during His first coming foreshadowed His complete defeat of Satan and the demons at His second coming (Genesis 3:15; Matthew 12:28; Revelation 20:1-3). 

In a sense, we could think of His first coming as a trailer—a limited sneak preview of the activities He will lead on a global scale after He establishes the Kingdom of God on earth. 

This helps explain why Jesus said, “The kingdom of God has come upon you” (Luke 11:20) and “the kingdom of God is in your midst” (Luke 17:21, New American Standard Bible). His earthly ministry provided a foretaste of what His Kingdom will accomplish for the entire world at His return. 

He didn’t establish the Kingdom on earth during His ministry, but as its King, He provided a small and limited preview of what it will be like. 

You can also model God’s Kingdom today

None of us have the power to restore sight to the blind or hearing to the deaf. We rely on God for healing and fervently pray for Christ to return and bring the healing only He can provide. 

Though we cannot model the coming Kingdom in the exact same ways Jesus did, Christians can still offer a small glimpse of it by living according to its standards today. 

Just as God’s Kingdom will be characterized by righteousness, peace and joy throughout the earth (Isaiah 9:6; 32:17; 35:10; Romans 14:17)—Christians can live lives characterized by righteousness, peace and joy today. 

The best way to give this dark world a taste of what God’s Kingdom will be like is to simply . . .

Walk as He walked.