Impediment
The Healing in Mark 7
The word "impediment" appears in Mark 7:32, where people brought to Jesus a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment. The Greek term describes someone who speaks with great difficulty rather than being completely mute. Jesus took the man aside privately, put his fingers in the man's ears, spat, and touched his tongue. Looking up to heaven, he sighed and said, "Be opened" (Mark 7:33-34). Immediately the man's ears were opened and his speech impediment was removed, and he began to speak clearly.
Connection to Isaiah's Prophecy
The healing of the man with the speech impediment connects directly to Isaiah 35:5-6, which prophesied: "Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy." The Greek word used for the man's condition in Mark 7:32 is the same word used in the Greek translation of Isaiah 35:6 for "mute." Mark is signaling to his readers that in Jesus, Isaiah's messianic prophecies were being fulfilled.
Jesus's Healing Method
The physical gestures Jesus used in this healing are distinctive. He put his fingers in the man's ears and touched his tongue, using tangible actions that the deaf man could perceive since he could not hear verbal instructions. The act of looking to heaven and sighing revealed Jesus's deep emotional engagement with human suffering. These details present Jesus not as a distant miracle worker but as one who met people in their specific conditions with compassion and personal attention.
The Crowd's Response
After the healing, the witnesses were overwhelmed with amazement, declaring, "He has done everything well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak" (Mark 7:37). This response echoes the language of Genesis 1, where God looked at creation and declared it "very good." The crowd recognized in Jesus's healing work the same creative power that originally formed human speech and hearing.
Speech as a Gift from God
The Bible consistently presents the ability to speak as a divine gift. When Moses protested his calling by citing his lack of eloquence, God responded, "Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Is it not I, the LORD?" (Exodus 4:11). The healing of the man's speech impediment demonstrated Jesus's authority over the very faculties that God created, affirming his divine identity.
Biblical Context
The word 'impediment' appears in Mark 7:32 describing a man with a speech difficulty whom Jesus healed. The Greek term connects to Isaiah 35:6, where the same word describes the mute who will speak when God brings restoration. The healing narrative is part of Mark's broader presentation of Jesus as the fulfillment of Old Testament messianic prophecies.
Theological Significance
The healing of the speech impediment demonstrates Jesus's divine authority over human bodies and his fulfillment of Isaiah's messianic prophecies. It reveals that the kingdom of God brings restoration to every aspect of human life, including physical disabilities. The miracle also affirms that speech is a gift from God, and Jesus's ability to restore it confirms his identity as the Creator come in the flesh.
Historical Background
In the ancient world, speech impediments were often viewed as signs of divine disfavor or demonic oppression. The region of the Decapolis, where this healing took place (Mark 7:31), was a predominantly Gentile area, making the miracle significant for its demonstration of Jesus's ministry reaching beyond Israel. Ancient medical practice had no effective treatment for congenital speech disorders, making the instantaneous nature of Jesus's healing all the more remarkable to the witnesses.