Looked up to heaven - To lift up the eyes to heaven is an act imploring aid from God, and is an attitude of prayer, Psalms 121:1-2; Mark 6:41; John 11:41.He sighed - Pitying the sufferings of the man who stood before him.Ephphatha - This word is “Syriac,” the language which our Lord used in addressing the man, and means “Be opened.” read more
Mark 7:31-36 . He came unto the sea of Galilee, &c. See note on Matthew 15:29-31. They bring unto him one that was deaf and had an impediment, &c. Greek, Μογιλαλον : “He was not absolutely dumb, but stammered to such a degree, that few understood his speech, Mark 7:35. However, the circumstance of his being able to speak in any manner, shows that his deafness was not natural, but accidental. He had heard formerly, and had learned to speak, but was now deprived of hearing, perhaps,... read more
71. Ministry in the Decapolis (Matthew 15:29-39; Mark 7:31-8:10)From the Mediterranean towns of Phoenicia, Jesus returned to the region around the Sea of Galilee, then continued on into the Decapolis, where the population was largely Gentile. It seems that for a period his ministry was mainly among Gentiles, and many became believers in the God of Israel (Matthew 15:29-31; Mark 7:31). One of the people he healed was a deaf and dumb man. Because of the man’s deafness, Jesus used actions rather... read more
heaven = the heaven. Singular. See note on Matthew 6:9 , Matthew 6:10 sighs = groaned. Ephphatha . An Aramaic word. See App-94 . read more
Mark 7:34. And looking up to heaven,— Our Lord did this, that the deaf man, whom he could not instruct by language, might consider whence all benefits proceed. After this, he sighed. Perhaps the circumstances mentioned in the former note, or some others unknown to us, made this man a peculiar object of pity: or by the example of bodily deafness and dumbness, our Lord might be led to reflect on the spiritual deafness and dumbness of men; but whatever was the cause, Christ's sighing on this... read more
34. And looking up to heaven—ever acknowledging His Father, even while the healing was seen to flow from Himself (see on :-). he sighed—"over the wreck," says TRENCH, "which sin had brought about, and the malice of the devil in deforming the fair features of God's original creation." But, we take it, there was a yet more painful impression of that "evil thing and bitter" whence all our ills have sprung, and which, when "Himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses" (Matthew 8:17),... read more
5. The healing of a deaf man with a speech impediment 7:31-36Mark was the only evangelist to record this miracle. He apparently included it in his Gospel because it is another instance of Jesus healing a Gentile. This particular miracle is also significant because it prefigured Jesus opening the spiritual ears of His disciples. From Mark 6:31, the beginning of the second withdrawal and return, to Mark 7:37, Jesus had been revealing Himself with increasing clarity to the disciples but with... read more
B. The first cycle of self-revelation to the disciples 6:31-7:37Mark arranged selected events in Jesus’ training of His disciples to show how He brought them to a deeper understanding of who He was and to a deeper commitment to Himself. Jesus led them through two similar series of experiences to teach them these lessons. He had to do it twice because the disciples where slow to learn. read more
Looking up to heaven and sighing were also acts intended to communicate with the man. By looking up Jesus associated the coming healing with God. By sighing or groaning He conveyed His compassion for the man and the fact that the healing involved spiritual warfare. [Note: Cranfield, p. 252.] Jesus spoke in Aramaic since this was the language that was common in Palestine (cf. Mark 5:41). Probably the man could read Jesus’ lips. Jesus’ healing was again instantaneous. Not only could the man now... read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 7:34-35
And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened . He looked up to heaven, because from thence come all good things—words for the dumb, hearing for the deaf, healing for all infirmities; and thus he would teach the infirm man by a manifest sign to what quarter he was to look for the true source of his cure. he sighed ( ἐστέναξε ); literally, he groaned. Why did our Lord sigh at such a moment? We know indeed that he was "a man of sorrows, and... read more