Few stories capture the tragedy of lost hearing like that of Beethoven. The great composer gave the world breathtaking music, yet could not hear his own creations. But the man we meet in Mark 7 faced an even deeper tragedy—he was both deaf and mute, cut off from the sounds and voices around him. His story, however, is not just about physical silence; it reveals a deeper spiritual reality about all of us. Sin has made us deaf to God’s voice and mute to His praise. The question that arises from this story is both personal and profound: Who can open what sin has closed?

When Jesus enters the region of the Decapolis—Gentile territory once hostile to His presence—He is met by friends who bring this deaf and mute man to Him. Their faith is simple yet bold: they beg Jesus to lay His hands on the man. In a beautiful display of compassion, Jesus pulls the man aside, touches his ears and tongue, looks up to heaven, and sighs deeply before speaking a single Aramaic word: “Ephphatha,” meaning “Be opened.” Instantly, the man’s ears are unstopped, his tongue released, and he speaks plainly. This miracle fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy that when God comes to save, “the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped and the tongue of the mute shall sing for joy.”

Beneath this physical healing lies a spiritual truth. Just as Jesus opened the man’s ears and loosened his tongue, He alone can open our spiritually deaf hearts and free our tongues to speak His praise. We cannot hear or understand the gospel unless grace first breaks through our deafness. And when Christ opens our ears by His Word and Spirit, our natural response should be to proclaim what He has done—just as the once-mute man and the people of the Decapolis could not keep silent about His mercy.

The crowd’s response says it all: “He has done all things well.” Their words echo God’s declaration in Genesis 1, affirming Jesus as the divine Creator who restores what sin has shattered. This same Savior still does all things well today. Even in suffering, disappointment, or silence, He is working all things for our good and His glory. The miracle in Mark 7 points beyond itself to the cross, where Jesus became silent for our sake so that our tongues could be loosed to sing of His redemption. Whatever you face today, you can trust this truth—Jesus does all things well.