Passage Overview · Free · Mark 7:31–37
Jesus Opens Deaf Ears and a Bound Tongue
People bring Jesus a man who is deaf and has a speech impediment. Jesus takes him aside, touches his ears and tongue, looks to heaven, sighs, and says the Aramaic command “Ephphatha”—“Be opened.” The man immediately hears and speaks plainly, and the crowd says that Jesus has done all things well: he makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.
Where this fits in the story: Isaiah’s restoration promises include deaf ears being opened and mute tongues singing. Mark does not introduce Isaiah with a quotation formula, but the wording and act fit that prophetic restoration horizon remarkably well.