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Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
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Matthew Henry |
M A R K.
CHAP. VII.
In this chapter we have,
I. Christ’s dispute with the scribes and Pharisees about eating meat
with unwashen hands
(ver. 1-13);
and the needful instructions he gave to the people on that occasion,
and further explained to his disciples,
II. His curing of the woman Canaan’s daughter that was possessed,
III. The relief of a man that was deaf, and had an impediment in his
speech,
| The Traditions of the Elders; The Worst Defilement from Within. |
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1 Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the
scribes, which came from Jerusalem.
2 And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with
defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault.
3 For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their
hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.
4 And when they come from the market, except they wash, they
eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received
to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and
of tables.
5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy
disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread
with unwashen hands?
6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied
of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me
with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines
the commandments of men.
8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the
tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many
other such like things ye do.
9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of
God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
10 For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso
curseth father or mother, let him die the death:
11 But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It
is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest
be profited by me; he shall be free.
12 And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his
mother;
13 Making the word of God of none effect through your
tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do
ye.
14 And when he had called all the people unto him, he said
unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand:
15 There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him
can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are
they that defile the man.
16 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
17 And when he was entered into the house from the people, his
disciples asked him concerning the parable.
18 And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding
also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without
entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;
19 Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly,
and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?
20 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth
the man.
21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil
thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an
evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
One great design of Christ’s coming, was, to set aside the ceremonial
law which God made, and to put an end to it; to make way for which he
begins with the ceremonial law which men had made, and added to the law
of God’s making, and discharges his disciples from the obligation of
that; which here he doth fully, upon occasion of the offence which the
Pharisees took at them for the violation of it. These Pharisees and
scribes with whom he had this argument, are said to come from
Jerusalem down to Galilee–fourscore or a hundred miles, to pick
quarrels with our Saviour there, where they supposed him to have the
greatest interest and reputation. Had they come so far to be taught by
him, their zeal had been commendable; but to come so far to oppose him,
and to check the progress of his gospel, was great wickedness. It
should seem that the scribes and Pharisees at Jerusalem pretended not
only to a pre-eminence above, but to an authority over, the country
clergy, and therefore kept up their visitations and sent inquisitors
among them, as they did to John when he appeared,
Now in this passage we may observe,
I. What the tradition of the elders was: by it all were enjoined to
wash their hands before meat; a cleanly custom, and no harm in
it; and yet as such to be over-nice in it discovers too great a care
about the body, which is of the earth; but they placed religion
in it, and would not leave it indifferent, as it was in its own nature;
people were at their liberty to do it or not to do it; but they
interposed their authority, and commanded all to do it upon pain of
excommunication; this they kept up as a tradition of the elders.
The Papists pretend to a zeal for the authority and antiquity of the
church and its canons, and talk much of councils and fathers, when
really it is nothing but a zeal for their own wealth, interest, and
dominion, that governs them; and so it was with the Pharisees.
We have here an account of the practice of the Pharisees and all the
Jews,
v. 3, 4.
1. They washed their hands oft; they washed them,
pygme; the critics find a great deal of work about that
word, some making it to denote the frequency of their washing (so we
render it); others think it signifies the pains they took in washing
their hands; they washed with great care, they washed their hands to
their wrists (so some); they lifted up their hands when they were
wet, that the water might run to their elbows.
2. They particularly washed before they ate bread; that is,
before they sat down to a solemn meal; for that was the rule; they must
be sure to wash before they ate the bread on which they begged a
blessing. “Whosoever eats the bread over which they recite the
benediction, Blessed be he that produceth bread, must wash his
hands before and after,” or else he was thought to be defiled.
3. They took special care, when they came in from the markets,
to wash their hands; from the judgment-halls, so some; it
signifies any place of concourse where there were people of all sorts,
and, it might be supposed, some heathen or Jews under a ceremonial
pollution, by coming near to whom they thought themselves polluted;
saying, Stand by thyself, come not near me, I am holier than
thou,
Isa. lxv. 5.
They say, The rule of the rabbies was–That, if they washed their hands
well in the morning, the first thing they did, it would serve for all
day, provided they kept alone; but, if they went into company, they
must not, at their return, either eat or pray till they had washed
their hands; thus the elders gained a reputation among the people for
sanctity, and thus they exercised and kept up an authority over their
consciences.
4. They added to this the washing of cups, and pots, and
brazen vessels, which they suspected had been made use of by
heathens, or persons polluted; nay, and the very tables on which
they ate their meat. There were many cases in which, by the law of
Moses, washings were appointed; but they added to them, and
enforced the observation of their own impositions as much as of God’s
institutions.
II. What the practice of Christ’s disciples was; they knew what the law
was, and the common usage; but they understood themselves so well that
they would not be bound up by it: they ate bread with defiled,
that is, with unwashen, hands,
v. 2.
Eating with unwashen hands they called eating with
defiled hands; thus men keep up their superstitious vanities by
putting every thing into an ill name that contradicts them. The
disciples knew (it is probable) that the Pharisees had their eye upon
them, and yet they would not humour them by a compliance with their
traditions, but took their liberty as at other times, and ate bread
with unwashen hands; and herein their righteousness,
however it might seem to come short, did really exceed, that of the
scribes and Pharisees,
Matt. v. 20.
III. The offence which the Pharisees took at this; They found
fault
(v. 2);
they censured them as profane, and men of a loose conversation, or
rather as men that would not submit to the power of the church, to
decree rites and ceremonies, and were therefore rebellious, factious,
and schismatical. They brought a complaint against them to their
Master, expecting that he should check them, and order them to conform;
for they that are fond of their own inventions and impositions, are
commonly ready to appeal to Christ, as if he should countenance them,
and as if his authority must interpose for the enforcing of them, and
the rebuking of those that do not comply with them. They do not ask,
Why do not thy disciples do as we do? (Though that was what they
meant, coveting to make themselves the standard.) But, Why do not they
walk according to the tradition of the elders?
v. 5.
To which it was easy to answer, that, by receiving the doctrine of
Christ, they had more understanding than all their teachers, yea
more than the ancients,
Ps. cxix. 99, 100.
IV. Christ’s vindication of them; in which,
1. He argues with the Pharisees concerning the authority by which this
ceremony was imposed; and they were the fittest to be discoursed
with concerning that, who were the great sticklers for it: but this he
did not speak of publicly to the multitude (as appears by his
calling the people to him,
lest he should have seemed to stir them up to faction and discontent at
their governors; but addressed it as a reproof to the persons
concerned: for the rule is, Suum cuique–Let every one have his
own.
(1.) He reproves them for their hypocrisy in pretending to honour God,
when really they had no such design in their religious observances
(v. 6, 7);
They honour me with their lips, they pretend it is for the glory
of God that they impose those things, to distinguish themselves from
the heathen; but really their heart is far from God, and is
governed by nothing but ambition and covetousness. They would be
thought hereby to appropriate themselves as a holy people to the Lord
their God, when really it is the furthest thing in their thought. They
rested in the outside of all their religious exercises, and their
hearts were not right with God in them, and this was worshipping God in
vain; for neither was he pleased with such sham-devotions, nor were
they profited by them.
(2.) He reproves them for placing religion in the inventions and
injunctions of their elders and rulers; They taught for doctrines
the traditions of men. When they should have been pressing upon
people the great principles of religion, they were enforcing the canons
of their church, and judged of people’s being Jews or no, according as
they did, or did not, conform to them, without any consideration had,
whether they lived in obedience to God’s laws or no. It was true, there
were divers washings imposed by the law of Moses
(Heb. ix. 10),
which were intended to signify that inward purification of the heart
from worldly fleshly lusts, which God requires as absolutely necessary
to our communion with him; but, instead of providing the substance,
they presumptuously added to the ceremony, and were very nice in
washing pots and cups; and observe, he adds, Many other such
like things ye do,
v. 8.
Note, Superstition is an endless thing. If one human invention and
institution be admitted, though seemingly ever so innocent, as this of
washing hands, behold, a troop comes, a door is opened for
many other such things.
(3.) He reproves them for laying aside the commandment of God,
and overlooking that, not urging that in their preaching, and in their
discipline conniving at the violation of that, as if that were no
longer of force,
v. 8.
Note, It is the mischief of impositions, that too often they who are
zealous for them, have little zeal for the essential duties of
religion, but can contentedly see them laid aside. Nay, they
rejected the commandment of God,
v. 9.
He do fairly disannul and abolish the commandment of God; and
even by your traditions make the word of God of no
effect,
v. 13.
God’s statutes shall not only lie forgotten, as antiquated
obsolete laws, but they shall, in effect, stand repealed, that
their traditions may take place. They were entrusted to expound the
law, and to enforce it; and, under pretence of using that power, they
violated the law, and dissolved the bonds of it; destroying the text
with the comment.
This he gives them a particular instance of, and a flagrant one–God
commanded children to honour their parents, not only by the law
of Moses, but, antecedent to that, by the law of nature; and whoso
revileth, or speaketh evil of, father or mother, let
him die the death,
v. 10.
Hence it is easy to infer, that it is the duty of children, if their
parents be poor, to relieve them, according to their ability; and if
those children are worthy to die, that curse their parents, much more
those that starve them. But if a man will but conform himself in all
points to the tradition of the elders, they will find him out an
expedient by which he may be discharged from this obligation,
If his parents be in want and he has wherewithal to help them, but has
no mind to do it, let him swear by the Corban, that is, by the
gold of the temple, and the gift upon the altar, that his
parents shall not be profited by him, that he will not relieve them;
and, if they ask any thing of him, let him tell them this, and it is
enough; as if by the obligation of this wicked vow he had discharged
himself from the obligation of God’s holy law; thus Dr. Hammond
understands it: and it is said to be an ancient canon of the rabbin,
That vows take place in things commanded by the law, as well as in
things indifferent; so that, if a man make a vow which cannot be
ratified without breaking a commandment, the vow must be ratified, and
the commandment violated; so Dr. Whitby. Such doctrine as this the
Papists teach, discharging children from all obligation to their
parents by their monastic vows, and their entrance into religion, as
they call it. He concludes, Any many such like things do ye.
Where will men stop, when once they have made the word of God give way
to their tradition? These eager imposers of such ceremonies, at first
only made light of God’s commandments in comparison with
their traditions, but afterward made void God’s commandments, if
they stood in competition with them. All this, in effect, Isaiah
prophesied of them; what he said of the hypocrites of his own day, was
applicable to the scribes and Pharisees,
v. 6.
Note, When we see, and complain of, the wickedness of the present
times, yet we do not enquire wisely of that matter, if we say
that all the former days were better than these,
Eccl. vii. 10.
The worst of hypocrites and evil doers have had their predecessors.
2. He instructs the people concerning the principles upon which this
ceremony was grounded. It was requisite that this part of his discourse
should be public, for it related to daily practice, and was designed to
rectify a great mistake which the people were led into by their elders;
he therefore called the people unto him
(v. 14),
and bid them hear and understand. Note, It is not enough for the
common people to hear, but they must understand what they
hear. When Christ would run down the tradition of the Pharisees about
washing before meat, he strikes at the opinion which was the root of
it. Note, Corrupt customs are best cured by rectifying corrupt
notions.
Now that which he goes about to set them right in, is, what the
pollution is, which we are in danger of being damaged by,
(1.) Not by the meat we eat, though it be eaten with unwashen
hands; that is but from without, and goes through a man. But,
(2.) It is by the breaking out of the corruption that is in our hearts;
the mind and conscience are defiled, guilt is contracted, and we become
odious in the sight of God by that which comes out of us; our
wicked thoughts and affections, words and actions, these defile us, and
these only. Our care must therefore be, to wash our heart from
wickedness.
3. He gives his disciples, in private, an explication of the
instructions he gave the people. They asked him, when they had
him by himself, concerning the parable
(v. 17);
for to them, it seems, it was a parable. Now, in answer to their
enquiry,
(1.) He reproves their dulness; “Are ye so without understanding
also? Are ye dull also, as dull as the people that
cannot understand, as dull as the Pharisees that will
not? Are ye so dull?” He doth not expect they should
understand every thing; “But are ye so weak as not to understand
this?”
(2.) He explains this truth to them, that they might perceive
it, and then they would believe it, for it carried its own
evidence along with it. Some truths prove themselves, if they be but
rightly explained and apprehended. If we understand the spiritual
nature of God and of his law, and what it is that is offensive to him,
and disfits us for communion with him, we shall soon perceive,
[1.] That that which we eat and drink cannot defile us, so as to call
for any religious washing; it goes into the stomach, and passes
the several digestions and secretions that nature has appointed, and
what there may be in it that is defiling is voided and gone; meats
for the belly, and the belly for meats, but God shall destroy
both it and them. But,
[2.] It is that which comes out from the heart, the corrupt
heart, that defiles us. As by the ceremonial law, whatsoever (almost)
comes out of a man, defiles him
(Lev. xv. 2; Deut. xxiii. 13),
so what comes out from the mind of a man is that which defiles
him before God, and calls for a religious washing
(v. 21);
From within, out of the heart of men, which they boast of the
goodness of, and think is the best part of them, thence that
which defiles proceeds, thence comes all the mischief. As a corrupt
fountain sends forth corrupt streams, so doth a corrupt heart send
forth corrupt reasonings, corrupt appetites and passions, and all those
wicked words and actions which are produced by them. Divers particulars
are specified, as in Matthew; we had one there, which is not here, and
that is, false witness-bearing; but seven are mentioned
here, to be added to those we had there. First, Covetousnesses,
for it is plural; pleonexiai—immoderate desires
of more of the wealth of the world, and the gratifications of sense,
and still more, still crying, Give, give. Hence we read of a
heart exercised with covetous practices,
2 Pet. ii. 14.
Secondly, Wickedness—poneriai; malice, hatred,
and ill-will, a desire to do mischief, and a delight in mischief done.
Thirdly, Deceit; which is wickedness covered and disguised, that
it may be the more securely and effectually committed. Fourthly,
Lasciviousness; that filthiness and foolish talking which the
apostle condemns; the eye full of adultery, and all wanton dalliances.
Fifthly, The evil eye; the envious eye, and the covetous
eye, grudging others the good we give them, or do for them
or grieving at the good they do or enjoy. Sixthly, Pride—
hyperephania; exalting ourselves in our own conceit above
others, and looking down with scorn and contempt upon others.
Seventhly, Foolishness—aphrosyne; imprudence,
inconsideration; some understand it especially of vainglorious
boasting, which St. Paul calls foolishness
because it is here joined with pride; I rather take it for that
rashness in speaking and acting, which is the cause of so much evil.
Ill-thinking is put first, as that which is the spring of all
our commissions, and unthinking put last, as that which
is the spring of all our omissions. Of all these he concludes
(v. 23),
1. That they come from within, from the corrupt nature, the
carnal mind, the evil treasure in the heart; justly is it said, that
the inward part is very wickedness, it must needs be so, when
all this comes from within.
2. That they defile the man; they render a man unfit for
communion with God, they bring a stain upon the conscience; and, if not
mortified and rooted out, will shut men out of the new Jerusalem, into
which no unclean thing shall enter.
| The Syrophenician Woman. |
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24 And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre
and Sidon, and entered into a house, and would have no man know
it: but he could not be hid.
25 For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean
spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:
26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she
besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her
daughter.
27 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled:
for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it
unto the dogs.
28 And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs
under the table eat of the children’s crumbs.
29 And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil
is gone out of thy daughter.
30 And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone
out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.
See here,
I. How humbly Christ was pleased to conceal himself.
Never man was so cried up as he was in Galilee, and therefore, to teach
us, though not to decline any opportunity of doing good, yet not to be
fond of popular applause, he arose from thence, and went into the
borders of Tyre and Sidon, where he was little known; and there he
entered, not into a synagogue, or place of concourse, but into a
private house, and he would have no man to know it;
because it was foretold concerning him, He shall not strive nor cry,
neither shall his voice be heard in the streets. Not but that he
was willing to preach and heal here as well as in other places, but for
this he would be sought unto. Note, As there is a time to
appear, so there is a time to retire. Or, he would not be
known, because he was upon the borders of Tyre and Sidon, among
Gentiles, to whom he would not be so forward to show himself as to the
tribes of Israel, whose glory he was to be.
II. How graciously he was pleased to manifest himself,
notwithstanding. Though he would not carry a harvest of miraculous
cures into those parts, yet, it should seem, he came on purpose to drop
a handful, to let fall this one which we have here an account of. He
could not be hid; for, though a candle may be put under a bushel,
the sun cannot. Christ was too well known to be long
incognito–hid, any where; the oil of gladness which he was
anointed with, like ointment of the right hand, would betray itself,
and fill the house with its odours. Those that had only heard his fame,
could not converse with him, but they would soon say, “This must be
Jesus.” Now observe,
1. The application made to him by a poor woman in distress and trouble.
She was a Gentile, a Greek, a stranger to the commonwealth of
Israel, an alien to the covenant of promise; she was by extraction
a Syrophenician, and not in any degree proselyted to the Jewish
religion; she had a daughter, a young daughter, that was
possessed with the devil. How many and grievous are the
calamities that young children are subject to! Her address was,
(1.) Very humble, pressing, and importunate; She heard of him,
and came, and fell at his feet. Note, Those that would obtain
mercy from Christ, must throw themselves at his feet; must refer
themselves to him, humble themselves before him, and give up themselves
to be ruled by him. Christ never put any from him, that fell at his
feet, which a poor trembling soul may do, that has not boldness and
confidence to throw itself into his arms.
(2.) It was very particular; she tells him what she wanted. Christ gave
poor supplicants leave to be thus free with him; she besought him that
he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter,
v. 26.
Note, The greatest blessing we can ask of Christ for our children is,
that he would break the power of Satan, that is, the power of sin, in
their souls; and particularly, that he would cast forth the unclean
spirit, that they may be temples of the Holy Ghost, and he may
dwell in them.
2. The discouragement he gave to this address
(v. 27);
He said unto her, “Let the children first be filled; let the
Jews have all the miracles wrought for them, that they have occasion
for, who are in a particular manner God’s chosen people; and let not
that which was intended for them, be thrown to those who are not of
God’s family, and who have not that knowledge of him, and interest in
him, which they have, and who are as dogs in comparison of them,
vile and profane, and who are as dogs to them, snarling at them,
spiteful toward them, and ready to worry them.” Note, Where Christ
knows the faith of poor supplicants to be strong, he sometimes delights
to try it, and put it to the stretch. But his saying, Let the
children first be filled, intimates that there was mercy in reserve
for the Gentiles, and not far off; for the Jews began already to be
surfeited with the gospel of Christ, and some of them had desired him
to depart out of their coasts. The children begin to play with
their meat, and their leavings, their loathings, would be a feast for
the Gentiles. The apostles went by this rule, Let the children first
be filled, let the Jews have the first offer; and if their full
souls loathe this honeycomb, Lo, we turn to the Gentiles!
3. The turn she gave to this word of Christ, which made against her,
and her improvement of it, to make for her,
She said, “Yes, Lord, I own it is true that the children’s
bread ought not to be cast to the dogs; but they were never denied
the crumbs of that bread, nay it belongs to them, and they are
allowed a place under the table, that they may be ready to
receive them. I ask not for a loaf, no, nor for a morsel,
only for a crumb; do not refuse me that.” This she speaks, not
as undervaluing the mercy, or making light of it in itself, but
magnifying the abundance or miraculous cures with which she heard the
Jews were feasted, in comparison with which a single cure was but as a
crumb. Gentiles do not come in crowds, as the Jews do; I come
alone. Perhaps she had heard of Christ’s feeding five thousand
lately at once, after which, even when they had gathered up the
fragments, there could not but be some crumbs left for the dogs.
4. The grant Christ thereupon made of her request. Is she thus humble,
thus earnest? For this saying, Go thy way, thou shalt have what
thou camest for, the devil is gone out of thy daughter,
v. 29.
This encourages us to pray and not to faint, to continue
instant in prayer, not doubting but to prevail at last; the vision at
the end shall speak, and not lie. Christ’s saying that is was
done, did it effectually, as at other times his saying, Let it
be done; for
(v. 30)
she came to her house, depending upon the word of Christ, that
her daughter was healed, and so she found it, the devil was
gone out. Note, Christ can conquer Satan at a distance; and it was
not only when the demoniacs saw him, that they yielded to his
power (as
but when they saw him not, for the Spirit of the Lord is not
bound, nor bounded. She found her daughter not in any
toss or agitation, but very quietly laid on the bed, and
reposing herself; waiting for her mother’s return, to rejoice with her,
that she was so finely well.
| The Cure of a Deaf and Dumb Person. |
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31 And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he
came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of
Decapolis.
32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an
impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand
upon him.
33 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his
fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue;
34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him,
Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.
35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his
tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.
36 And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the
more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they
published it;
37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all
things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to
speak.
Our Lord Jesus seldom staid long in a place, for he knew where his work lay, and attended the changes of it. When he had cured the woman of Canaan’s daughter, he had done what he had to do in that place, and therefore presently left those parts, and
returned to the sea of Galilee, whereabout his usual residence was; yet he did not come directly thither, but fetched a compass through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis, which lay mostly on the other side Jordan; such long walks did our
Lord Jesus take, when he went about doing
good.
Now here we have the story of a cure that Christ wrought, which is not
recorded by any other of the evangelists; it is of one that was
deaf and dumb.
I. His case was sad,
There were those that brought to him one that was deaf; some
think, born deaf, and then he must be dumb of course; others think that
by some distemper or disaster he was become deaf, or, at least, thick
of hearing; and he had an impediment in his speech. He was
mogilalos; some think that he was quite dumb; others,
that he could not speak but with great difficulty to himself, and so as
scarcely to be understood by those that heard him. He was
tongue-tied, so that he was perfectly unfit for conversation,
and deprived both of the pleasure and of the profit of it; he had not
the satisfaction either of hearing other people talk, or of telling his
own mind. Let us take occasion from hence to give thanks to God for
preserving to us the sense of hearing, especially that we may be
capable of hearing the word of God; and the faculty of speech,
especially that we may be capable of speaking God’s praises; and let us
look with compassion upon those that are deaf or dumb, and treat them
with great tenderness. They that brought this poor man to Christ,
besought him that he would put his hand upon him, as the
prophets did upon those whom they blessed in the name of the
Lord. It is not said, They besought him to cure him, but to
put his hand upon him, to take cognizance of his case, and put
forth his power to do to him as he pleased.
II. His cure was solemn, and some of the circumstances of it were
singular.
1. Christ took him aside from the multitude,
v. 33.
Ordinarily, he wrought his miracles publicly before all the people, to
show that they would bear the strictest scrutiny and inspection; but
this he did privately, to show that he did not seek his own glory, and
to teach us to avoid every thing that savours of ostentation. Let us
learn of Christ to be humble, and to do good where no eye sees, but his
that is all eye.
2. He used more significant actions, in the doing of this cure, than
usual.
(1.) He put his fingers into his ears, as if he would
syringe them, and fetch out that which stopped them up.
(2.) He spit upon his own finger, and then touched his tongue,
as if he would moisten his mouth, and so loosen that with which his
tongue was tied; these were no causes that could in the least
contribute to his cure, but only signs of the exerting of that power
which Christ had in himself to cure him, for the encouraging of his
faith, and theirs that brought him. The application was all from
himself, it was his own fingers that he put into his ears, and
his own spittle that he put upon his tongue; for he alone
heals.
3. He looked up to heaven, to give his Father the praise of what
he did; for he sought his praise, and did his will, and, as Mediator,
acted in dependence on him, and with an eye to him. Thus he signified
that it was by a divine power, a power her had as the Lord from heaven,
and brought with him thence, that he did this; for the hearing
ear and the seeing eye the Lord has made, and can
remake even both of them. He also hereby directed his patient
who could see, though he could not hear, to look up to
heaven for relief. Moses with his stammering tongue is directed to look
that way
(Exod. iv. 11);
Who hath made man’s mouth? Or who maketh the dumb or deaf, or the
seeing or the blind? Have not I the Lord?
4. He sighed; not as if he found any difficulty in working this
miracle, or obtaining power to do it from his father; but thus he
expressed his pity for the miseries of human life, and his sympathy
with the afflicted in their afflictions, as one that was himself
touched with the feeling of their infirmities. And as to this
man, he sighed, not because he was loth to do him this kindness,
or did it with reluctancy; but because of the many temptations which he
would be exposed to, and the sins he would be in danger of, the
tongue-sins, after the restoring of his speech to him, which before he
was free from. He had better be tongue-tied still, unless he
have grace to keep his mouth as with a bridle,
Ps. xxxix. 1.
5. He said, Ephphatha; that is, Be opened. This was
nothing that looked like spell or charm, such as they
used, who had familiar spirits, who peeped and muttered,
Isa. viii. 19.
Christ speaks as one having authority, and power went along with the
word. Be opened, served both parts of the cure; “Let the
ears be opened, let the lips be opened, let
him hear and speak freely, and let the restraint be taken off;” and the
effect was answerable
(v. 35);
Straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was
loosed, and all was well: and happy he who, as soon as he had his
hearing and speech, had the blessed Jesus so near him to converse
with.
Now this cure was,
(1.) A proof of Christ’s being the Messiah; for it was foretold that by
his power the ears of the deaf should be unstopped, and the
tongue of the dumb should be made to sing,
Isa. xxxv. 5, 6.
(2.) It was a specimen of the operations of his gospel upon the minds
of men. The great command of the gospel, and grace of Christ to poor
sinners, is Ephphatha-Be opened. Grotius applies it thus, that
the internal impediments of the mind are removed by the Spirit of
Christ, as those bodily impediments were by the word of his power. He
opens the heart, as he did Lydia’s, and thereby opens the ear to
receive the word of God, and opens the mouth in prayer and praises.
6. He ordered it to be kept very private, but it was made very public
(1.) It was his humility, that he charged them they should tell no
man,
v. 36.
Most men will proclaim their own goodness, or, at least, desire that
others should proclaim it; but Christ, though he was himself in no
danger of being puffed up with it, knowing that we are, would thus set
us an example of self-denial, as in other things, so especially in
praise and applause. We should take pleasure in doing good, but not in
its being known.
(2.) It was their zeal, that, though he charged them to say nothing of
it, yet they published it, before Christ would have had it published.
But they meant honestly, and therefore it is to be reckoned rather an
act of indiscretion than an act of disobedience,
But they that told it, and they that heard it, were beyond measure
astonished, hyperperissos—more than above
measure; they were exceedingly affected with it, and this was said
by every body, it was the common verdict, He hath done all things
well
(v. 37);
whereas there were those that hated and persecuted him as an
evil-doer, they are ready to witness for him, not only that he
has done no evil, but that he has done a great deal of good, and has
done it well, modestly and humbly, and very devoutly, and all gratis,
without money and without price, which added much to the lustre
of his good works. He maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to
speak; and that is well, it is well for them, it is well for
their relations, to whom they had been a burthen; and therefore
they are inexcusable who speak ill of him.
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