Lesson 5: The Deaf & Blind

In these two chapters we will see Jesus restore the hearing of a deaf man (Mark 7.31-37) and restore the sight of a blind man (Mark 8.22-26). The magnitude of what Jesus accomplished is summed up by the reaction of the people: “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak” (Mark 7.37). However, there was a different form of deafness and blindness that Jesus could heal only if the people were willing… and that is the focus of this lesson.

Notes from the text:

• 7.1: Jesus was in Galilee (6.53), so the fact that the Pharisees and scribes traveled from Jerusalem is in indication of how worried they were.
• 7.3-4: “After being in the marketplace and coming into contact with Gentiles or even nonobservant Jews, the Pharisees would wash themselves to ensure their ritual cleanness.” (Expositor Bible Commentary)
• 7.6-7: quoted from Isaiah 29.13.
• 7.10: quoted from Exodus 20.12; 21.17. Note that the first quotation is from the ten commandments. As Jesus was about to expose, their traditions led them to break one of the foundational commandments of the Law.
• 7.11: regarding the Jewish practice of Corban, “As a legal device, it only expresses an intention to give property to God and is not the actual disposal of it. The person could keep the property in his possession but say to his parents that he cannot offer them any help because he has dedicated it to God.” (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary)
• 7.13: note Jesus’ indictment that “many such things you do”. They had not inadvertently broken the law, but treated it with contempt.
• 7.18-21: note the emphasis on the heart in this passage. “The heart is the core of motivation, deliberation, and intention. Food does not enter the heart, and what does not enter the heart cannot make a person unclean. How one handles food is therefore morally irrelevant. Nothing from outside pollutes a person.” (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary)
• 7.21: recall that Jesus quoted from Isaiah 29.13 where God complained that “their hearts are far from me”. Defiled hearts will always be far from the Lord.
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• 7.27: “Jesus may be reacting to a member of the oppressive upper class. Economically, Tyre took bread away from Galilee. This region was well stocked with food produced in the Galilean hinterland while Galileans went hungry (see Acts 12:20). Galileans perceived Tyre as a bloated bully and had long despised it for amassing wealth at the expense of the poor. The probing of this woman’s faith occurs in the historical context of the animosity between Jews and heathens and Galilean resentment over Tyre’s socioeconomic domination.” (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary)
• 7.28: this is the only time in Mark that someone calls Jesus, “Lord” (Greek kurios).
• 7.33: Jesus taking these physical steps instead of just pronouncing the man healed was likely so that the man could understand that it was Jesus who was restoring his hearing.
• 7.37: “The statement ‘he has done everything well’ reminds us of Genesis 1:31: ‘God saw all that he made, and it was very good.’ The reminder is not unsuitable, for in a profound sense Jesus’ work is indeed ‘a new creation.’ And again we are reminded of the messianic significance of this miracle by words that reflect Isaiah 35:5–6.” (Expositors Bible Commentary)
• 8.1: This miraculous feeding may be differentiated from the previous (Mark 6.30-44) in that this may have occured in Gentile territory (see Mark 7.24,31).
• 8.2-3: Jesus’ words here are reminiscent of His telling the apostles to “give them something to eat” in Mark 6.37. Sadly, their response in vs. 4 shows that their faith had not increased.
• 8.11: “from heaven” likely means “from God”. The Pharisees request betrays the fact that they did not comprehend that Jesus’ teaching and work bore the stamp of Divine approval (see Mark 1.22,27).
• 8.12: “For Mark and Paul the answer to this wrongful instance is the same. There is no legitimating sign—save the ambiguity of the humiliated and crucified Lord; and to see in his cross the power and wisdom of God is to be shut up to the exercise of faith which by definition can never rest in proofs or signs, or else its character would be lost.” (Expositors Bible Commentary)
• 8.15: both the Pharisees and Herod wanted a sign from Jesus (see Luke 23.8). “He is appealing to them to understand that the authority he possesses cannot be proved by a sign. Only by faith can they recognize him as the bringer of God’s salvation.” (Expositors Bible Commentary)
• 8.17-18: compare with Mark 7.14, “Hear me, all of you, and understand.” The disciples had been with Jesus, but they had not been truly watching Him or listening to Him; they did not yet perceive the truth about Jesus. Their faith needed to grow.
• 8.25: “Jesus’ first attempt to heal the man meets with only partial success. This detail communicates two things. First, his blindness is stubborn and hard to cure but Jesus has power to heal even the most difficult cases. Second, on a literary level, curing the stubborn spiritual blindness of the disciples will also take a second touch.” (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary)
• 8.27: “Peter’s confession occurs in the area where Herod the Great built a grand marble temple to honor the emperor195 and where his heir enlarged the city and renamed it to honor Caesar.” (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary)
• 8.29: Christ literally means “anointed one” and most Jews looked forward to the coming of this promised king (see Psalm 2.2,7). Peter made the correct confession (Mark 1.1), but as we will see he did not fully comprehend Jesus’ role as the Messiah.
• 8.32: note that Jesus spoke “plainly” about this, rather than in parables (see Mark 4.33).
• 8:33: the proper place of a disciple is to “follow” (see Mark 1.17). Peter had fallen to a trap of Satan in presuming that he knew better than His master. He needed to “get behind” where he belonged.

Using the text in evangelism:

1. Spiritual blindness and deafness. As noted at the beginning of this lesson, Jesus was able to cure a deaf man (Mark 7.31-37) and a blind man (Mark 8.22-26). However, there was a different type of deafness and blindness that can only be cured by us. The Pharisees were spiritually deaf in that they had heard God’s law to “Honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20.12) but they had not let it’s truth sink into their hearts. So, they had developed traditions that made “void the word of God” (Mark 7.13). But it wasn’t just the enemies of Jesus who were suffering from spiritual sensory deprivation. The disciples of Jesus demonstrated spiritual blindness! They had seen Jesus feed 5000 on one occasion and 4000 on another, yet they were worried about bread (Mark 8.16)! They had seen Jesus’ wondrous works with their eyes, but they had not internalized the meaning: so long as Jesus was with them, they had all they needed. If we are not careful, the same will be true of us: we can hear Jesus’ words and see His works, but not be transformed by them. “Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear?” (Mark 8.18) Thankfully, if we will stay with Jesus we can begin to see clearly (see Mark 8.22-26).
2. What’s more important: our traditions or God’s will? The Pharisees were guilty of leaving “the commandment of God” to “hold to the tradition of men” (Mark 7.8). This is a point we need to help our friends see… and that we need to take to heart as well. “How we’ve always done it” or “my church teaches” don’t matter if they aren’t what we find in God’s word. His will is more important than our traditions.
3. Jesus is concerned with real purity. The Pharisees were concerned with outward defilement (Mark 7.1-4), but their hearts were the problem (Mark 7.6-7; Isaiah 29.13). Jesus fixes His attention on the real problem: “What comes out of a person is what defiles him” (Mark 7.20). Observance of a few commandments and worshipping on Sundays don’t make us pure; only when we allow Jesus to point out our heart issues can we hope to be pure.
4. Discipleship means we follow Jesus wherever He leads. Peter had made the right confession about Jesus (Mark 8.29), but didn’t understand the implications of Jesus being the Christ (Mark 8.31-33). For us to be disciples of Jesus one must “deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me” (Mark 8.34). Only then can we have eternal life (Mark 8.35-38).