“After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue.”
Mark 7:33
When we hold a baby in our arms, we coo and make baby sounds to them. We’re trying to communicate at their level, to “speak their language.” You could say that all of Scripture is God speaking “baby talk” to us, reaching out to us in ways that we can understand. Aren’t you glad He did?
When Jesus encountered a man who was deaf and mute, He accommodated His “speech” so that the man would understand. How would you tell someone who is deaf that you are going to give him hearing? How would you communicate that you are going to give him speech? In touching the man’s ears and then his tongue, Jesus draws near. The touch, the sigh, the look up to heaven all told without a word what was going on.
Don’t be afraid to communicate with someone just because of their disability. Knowing what God has done for us, we can take steps towards our friends by adapting our communication fittingly. I recently met a man who had never spoken with his aunt who is cognitively disabled. But he thought he’d begin by saying, “Hello, I’m so glad you’re here.”
When Jesus encountered a man who was deaf and mute, He accommodated His “speech” so that the man would understand. How would you tell someone who is deaf that you are going to give him hearing? How would you communicate that you are going to give him speech? In touching the man’s ears and then his tongue, Jesus draws near. The touch, the sigh, the look up to heaven all told without a word what was going on.
Don’t be afraid to communicate with someone just because of their disability. Knowing what God has done for us, we can take steps towards our friends by adapting our communication fittingly. I recently met a man who had never spoken with his aunt who is cognitively disabled. But he thought he’d begin by saying, “Hello, I’m so glad you’re here.”
Scripture Focus
Mark 7:31-36
Insight
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets …, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.” (Hebrews 1:1-2)
Bible In A Year
- Job 19-20
- Psalm 52
- Luke 15
