People brought to Jesus a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment. Why could the man not hear? And why could he not speak properly? The man is suffering from the consequences of the fall into sin.
It’s no different today. Why are some people deaf or mute? Why are some people blind? Why are there disabilities? Why is there diabetes and cancer? Why is there sickness, suffering, pain and death? It is because of the fall into sin. We live in a broken world. Creation is no longer in the perfect condition in which God originally made it. Even our world groans looking for its redemption.
Yet, God is still in control. He hears our prayer and He helps us to persevere in the midst of our troubles. He gives us patience. He gives us faith to trust in His many promises.
Jesus gave this deaf and mute man the ability to hear and to speak. It was a wonderful miracle. But this miracle is about more than one man’s ears and tongue. It is also a picture of what Jesus has come to do for every one of us. There is a spiritual dimension to the deaf man’s condition.
By nature, all of us are spiritually deaf and mute. Deep down, we do not want to hear God’s Word. Instead, our ears are often eager to listen to false teaching, gossip, slander, lies, and strange ideologies. And what enters our ears often comes out of our mouths. We use our tongues to complain, curse, lie, gossip, slander, and speak words that dishonor God and our neighbor. At times, we are even afraid to confess our faith in Christ. We do not naturally pray or give thanks to Him.
We need Jesus to do for us spiritually what He did physically for the deaf man. We need Jesus to open our ears to His Word and to loosen our tongues. We were created in God’s image to hear His Word. Jesus once said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” We were created to know Him, to love Him, and to speak to Him. We need Jesus to restore what we lost in the fall into sin.
Notice how Jesus deals with the deaf man. He takes him away from the crowd. Jesus deals with him personally and individually. The deaf man’s attention is directed toward Jesus alone. This teaches us that we should look to Jesus alone. He cares for us. He knows us. He sees our pain. He deals with us individually through His Word and Gospel.
Jesus then does something unusual. He puts His fingers into the man’s ears and touches the man’s tongue. Jesus could have healed him from a distance. He could have healed him by speaking a simple word. But Jesus chooses to use physical actions. Jesus is a hands-on Savior. He touches the man’s ears and mouth—the very places where this man is suffering. Jesus is saying, “I am going to do something to your ears and mouth.”
This is fitting, because Jesus entered our broken world. He took upon Himself our humanity. He was willing to come in contact with our uncleanness and the brokenness of our fallen humanity. He did this in order to save us.
Then Jesus looks toward heaven and sighs. Why does He sigh? He sighs because He sees the suffering caused by sin and death. His sigh reveals His compassion for this man. Jesus is moved by what this man is going through.
But more importantly, Jesus sighs because He knows what it will cost to provide ultimate healing. The sigh of Jesus points beyond this miracle to His own suffering and death on the cross. There on the cross, He groans and suffers for us. He bears our sins. He carries our burdens.
At the cross, the hands that touched the deaf man’s ears were pierced with nails. The mouth that spoke healing words became parched and dry. The One who had come to restore us gave Himself into suffering and death. Jesus became our substitute.
Every lie we have believed, and every gossip we have listened to were placed upon Jesus. Every curse and complaint we have spoken were placed upon Jesus. Every sinful word that has come from our mouths was laid upon Jesus. He bore it all in His body upon the cross. He suffered and died in our place.
But His death was not a defeat. He rose from the dead. The resurrection is God’s declaration that Christ’s work is finished. Sin is paid for. Satan and death are defeated.
When Jesus said to the man, “Ephphatha” which means “Be opened,” His Word accomplished exactly what it said. The man’s ears were opened and his tongue was released. He could now hear, and he could now speak. This miracle shows Jesus’ authority over our broken world. This miracle shows the power of God’s Word.
Jesus continues to speaks His “Ephphatha” today. God’s Word is not merely information about what God has done. It is a powerful Word through which God continues to work among us.
In Holy Baptism, Christ speaks His Word and joins it to water. The words are spoken, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Through Baptism, Christ gives you a new identity. You belong to Him. His Word delivers what it promises.
In Holy Absolution, the pastor speaks Christ’s Word into our ears: “I forgive you all your sins.” These are not empty words. Christ uses them to deliver His forgiveness to you.
In preaching, Christ opens our ears to hear His Word. The Holy Spirit works through the Word to create faith in us who are spiritually deaf. As Romans 10:17 teaches, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” Faith does not come from within us. It comes from outside of us as a gift through the Word of Christ. When the Gospel is preached, Christ is speaking to us.
Christ also continues His hands-on work through the Lord’s Supper. Here He places His true body and blood upon our tongues. The Savior who touched the deaf man’s tongue still deals with us in a physical and tangible way.
Stanza three of our opening hymn puts it this way:
Lord, Your words are waters living
When my thirsting spirit pleads.
Lord Your words are bread life giving;
On Your words my spirit feeds,
Lord, Your words will be my light
Through death’s cold and deary night;
Yes, they are my sword prevailing
And my cup of joy unfailing! (LSB 589)
Therefore, look at what Jesus has promised in His Word. Remember your Baptism. Listen to His Absolution. Hear His Word. Receive His body and blood.
Christ opens your ears so that you may hear His Word. He opens your heart so that you may believe. He loosens your tongue so that you may confess Him as your Lord and Savior. With your tongue you also confess the Creed. You sing the hymns. You pray with your family. You teach your children the Small Catechism. You speak God’s Word to your friends and neighbors. These are all fruits of the work Christ has done in you.
Parents, speak about Jesus in your homes. Read the Bible together. Pray together. Sing hymns together. Bring your children to the Divine Service. Bring them to Sunday School. The Christian faith is not merely something children learn at church. The Word of God should also be heard and lived out in the home.
The comfort of the Gospel is that Jesus does not abandon us. Perhaps you have physical problems. Perhaps your body is aging. Perhaps you are carrying grief, loneliness, financial difficulties, family problems, or some other burden. Jesus understands. He groaned over the suffering of the deaf man. He wept at the grave of Lazarus. And He suffered on the cross for you. Again, He understands.
However, Jesus does not promise that all suffering will disappear in this life. But He promises to be with you always. He promises to carry you through your trials and tribulations. He promises to be your refuge and strength.
One day Jesus will speak another “Ephphatha.” On the Last Day, He will open our graves. He will raise our bodies from the dead. He will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body. Our ears will hear perfectly. Our tongues will speak perfectly. Our bodies will no longer suffer from disease, aging, or death. Christ will make all things new. Creation will be restored again. The healing of the deaf man is a picture of what will come to us in the resurrection of the body and to all who believe in Christ.
Until that day, we live by faith. We hear His Word. We receive His gifts. We pray. We endure the trials and tribulations that come to us. And we confess Christ as our one and only Savior.
The people said of Jesus, “He has done all things well” and we can say the same thing. Jesus has done all things well. He created you. He took on your flesh. He carried your sins to the cross. He rose from the dead. He speaks His Gospel into your ears. He forgives your sins. He feeds you with His body and blood. And He will raise your body from the grave.
King David says in Psalm 51:15, “O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise.” Christ has opened your ears. He has loosed your tongue. He has forgiven your sins. He has defeated Satan. He has conquered death. Therefore, hear His Word. Believe His promises. Confess His name. And when suffering comes, and when your faith in weak, listen to the voice of God’s Word. It reminds you that God loves you and that He cares for you. Jesus has died and risen for you. Thanks be to God. Amen.
