Mark 7:34 (AV)
And looking up to heaven¹,
he sighed², and saith unto him,
Ephphatha³, that is, Be opened.
¹) The aerial heavens or sky, the region where the clouds and the tempests gather, and where thunder and lightning are produced.
²) Can also be translated as He groaned.
³) Greek: ἐφφαθά (ephphatha). This word is of Aramaic origin: חתַפְּ (pethach) meaning “be opened” in the sense of receive the power of hearing, the ears of the deaf and the eyes of the blind are being considered as closed.
Other translations:
And looking up to heaven, He sighed as He said, Ephphatha, which means, Be opened! [AMP] And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." [ESV] And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. [KJV] He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, "Ephphatha!" (which means, "Be opened!" ). [NIV] And looking up to heaven, he sighed and commanded, "Be opened!" [NLT] Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." [NKJV]
Now let us reflect on this
Again there are people who bring someone to Jesus, now not a paralyzed man, but someone who is ‘deaf and mute’.
Markus writes: a deaf person who spoke with difficulty.
Does this bother the man himself, or is his disability more the problem of the bystanders?
It seems that the patient himself is passively present.
But the need is great: they prayed, they begged Jesus to heal him. Jesus takes the man aside and does what was asked.
Perhaps the actions should serve to make clear to the man what is going to happen?
Jesus commands: Ephphatha, be opened! Thus the man is released from his isolation; he hears and speaks well.
These are signs of the Age of Salvation, already prophesied by Isaiah and recognized by the bystanders.
Are we not often hearing deaf (especially when there is something in the sermon that we would rather not hear)?
▪︎ Let’s heed God’s word
▪︎ And let’s use our tongue to sing praises to God.
Twitter: @SchoemakerHarry
Website: https://devotionals.harryschoemaker.nl
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