Why did Jesus use spittle mud to heal a deaf and mute man?

Evidence for the resurrection of Jesus
December 26, 2021
Prophecy and its value
December 31, 2021

 
 
 
 

Why did Jesus use spittle mud to heal a deaf and mute man?

 
 

The potter fixing His clay comes to mind:

Mark 7:31-37
Jesus Heals a Deaf and Mute Man
“Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him. 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. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly. Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

When we break down this Bible verse and the healing act Jesus did, it may seem strange if not repulsive to others. Laws for spitting in modern times may have got Jesus arrested today. Every one of us starts off spiritually deaf and spiritually speechless. Sign language at the time would have been virtually non-existent.

Imagine Jesus touching this man’s ear clearing any resistance and hear love?
His touch on the tongue gave the man speech, his ears were open to the gospel message, and with speech, He could ask questions and take in the power of Jesus Words deep into his heart. This man may have been aware of God’s majesty through sight. The Bible teaches;

Romans 1:20
“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.”

Now with sight, hearing and speech, he must have looked Jesus in the face and saw the illustrious of God in His eyes. The area this man was in was a gentile area and where Jesus had once cast out a legion of demons into pigs, which ran into the water and died. The crowd had marvelled at Jesus’s miracles before. The deaf and mute man could have come to Jesus himself but he came with a group. They could have been trying to strengthen his faith by doing this act. The deaf man was formerly afflicted and in darkness, now he was light in the Lord and able to walk as children of the light, spreading the fruit of the gospel.

Jesus took this man aside by himself. This would explain why He said to him to not tell anyone. Jesus used more natural common signs, known to and understood by the deaf man, to indicate what could be achieved by faith and a believing heart. Spitting was a means or sign of healing accepted by both Jews and Gentiles, and the use of saliva in cures is reported in rabbinic writings. Jesus may have spit simply to convey to the man that he was about to be healed.

Modern science agrees that oral mucosa heals faster than the skin, suggesting that saliva may have properties that aid wound healing. Saliva contains cell-derived tissue factors and many compounds that are antibacterial or promote healing in the vessel. The Bible states “And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.”

The deaf man would be seeing all visible signs of what Jesus was doing. Jesus looked up to the Father after sighing and spoke the word “Ephphatha“ which was Aramaic for to be opened. This is quite an intimate gesture ears, and the mouth by Jesus. This is infirmities meeting perfection, and the potter curing imperfection. This is a picture of the cross, of Jesus taking our weaknesses, infirmities, taking them to the cross and burying them. Isaiah says: “Blind eyes will be opened, deaf ears unstopped, Lame men and women will leap like deer, and the voiceless break into song.” Jesus wasn’t afraid to touch what the Jews thought was unclean under Leviticus laws.

If you put yourself in the mindset of a first-century Jew, Jesus knew very well what He was doing. Jesus did have a conflict with the Pharisees about their elevation of the Torah and His identity as the Son of God. There is a pattern in the scripture with a deeper meaning of other events where Jesus uses spittle. Jesus shows them you have questioned my Father and I am His firstborn Son.

The Dead Sea scrolls are ancient Jewish manuscripts and contain extra-biblical thoughts in Jesus times. The rule of community is mentioned in a poem. It contemplates human nature saying:
“What shall one born of a woman be considered in your presence?
Shaped from dust has he been. What shall humankind be considered in your presence?
Shaped from dust he has been. He is spat saliva, moulded clay and for dust is his longing.”

The human body is considered in their time to be made up of the dust of the earth, moulded clay and spat saliva. The human body is made up of elements found in the earth, and the genetic code is found in our saliva hence DNA tests today. What better way for Jesus to show the Pharisees He was the law and not a lawbreaker, He didn’t break the Sabbath when He healed on that day, and His identity was the begotten Son of God. Jesus shows that He is the Lord of the Sabbath and the mercy of God is greater than the traditions of men.

Jesus is the Great Physician, the Great I AM, and the three elements humanity was formed from was fashioned to make an incomplete body whole, to become wholesome in Him.

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