Healing the deaf mute of Decapolis is one of the miracles of Jesus in the Gospels, namely Mark 7:31-37. Its narration offers many parallels with the healing of the blind man of Bethsaida in Mark 8:22-26.

Biblical accounts

According to the

Gospel of Mark The Gospel of Mark), or simply Mark (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). is the second of the four canonical gospels and of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells of the ministry of Jesus from his baptism by John the Baptist to h ...

, when Jesus entered the region of the

Decapolis The Decapolis (Greek: grc, Δεκάπολις, Dekápolis, Ten Cities, label=none) was a group of ten Hellenistic cities on the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire in the Southern Levant in the first centuries BCE and CE. They formed a group ...

after passing through Sidon and down the

Sea of Galilee The Sea of Galilee ( he, יָם כִּנֶּרֶת, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ar, بحيرة طبريا), also called Lake Tiberias, Kinneret or Kinnereth, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest ...

, some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him. This account follows the

healing With physical trauma or disease suffered by an organism, healing involves the repairing of damaged tissue(s), organs and the biological system as a whole and resumption of (normal) functioning. Medicine includes the process by which the cells ...

of the daughter of a Syro-Phoenician woman who speaks with Jesus about whether his mission extends to the

gentile Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jew". Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is generally used as a synonym fo ...

s (Mark 7:24-30). The deaf-mute man lives in the gentile Decapolis region, although the text does not specify that he is a gentile. The Gospel of Mark states:

Analysis

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...

commentator Lamar Williamson writes that this is the last unit in a series of miracles concerned with the identity of Jesus, as subsequently confirmed by the

Apostle Peter An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sendin ...

christological In Christianity, Christology (from the Greek grc, Χριστός, Khristós, label=none and grc, -λογία, -logia, label=none), translated literally from Greek as "the study of Christ", is a branch of theology that concerns Jesus. Di ...

affirmation in Mark 8:29, where Peter exclaimed: "You are the Messiah".

Roger Baxter Roger Baxter (1784–1827) was an English Jesuit, a Catholic missionary in the United States, and Prefect of Studies at Georgetown College. Life Baxter was a native of Walton-le-Dale, near Preston, in Lancashire and studied at Stonyhurst Coll ...

in his ''meditations'', reflects on the question, ''What is spiritual dumbness?'', writing, "He is spiritually dumb, who does not correct his brother, when by doing so, he can prevent him from sinning. He also is spiritually dumb, who does not preach the Word of God, when it is his duty, or make open profession of his faith, when the honor of God, his own or neighbor's good requires it. Lastly, he labors under this spiritual complaint, whose tongue is not employed in the praises of God, in the exercises of devotion and pious conversations. "Wo is me," says the prophet, "because I held my peace." (Isa 6:6.) And, " you that are mindful of the Lord hold not your peace."" (Isa 62:6.)

References

{{Miracles of Jesus, state=expanded Miracles of Jesus Deafness Communication disorders Supernatural healing Muteness

Biblical accounts

Analysis

See also

References