Jesus Does All Things Well

March 19

Jesus never did a miracle the same way twice. On this occasion, he took the deaf and speech-impaired man away from the crowd for privacy. This is the first time I’ve noticed this detail. How ‘bout you? (Tomorrow, we’ll see the only other place where Jesus performs a private miracle in Mark 8:22–26.)

Next, Jesus put His fingers in the deaf man’s ears, then spat (in His hand, I guess), and touched the man’s tongue. To our modern-day, western sensibilities this may sound gross, but it was believed in the ancient world that spittle had healing properties. (In John 9:6, we’ll see Jesus spit on the ground, make mud, and rub it on the eyes of a blind man.) Since this man could not hear, however, the big takeaway is that the Lord seems to have been working with the man in a visual capacity to encourage his faith.

Mark also tells us that Jesus sighed deeply and said, “Be opened,” in Aramaic—His own local dialect. His sigh tells us that Jesus was deeply moved by this situation. This miracle, like every other one He performed, wasn’t just transactional. The Lord’s deep sigh may have erupted from a heart yearning for the ultimate redemption of the natural realm from the weight of sin’s great curse. As Romans 8:22 declares, “All of creation groans, awaiting ultimate redemption.” The Lord was not/is not only concerned with the redemption of people, but His entire creation.

Once again, Mark uses the word “immediately” to describe how quickly the man was healed. Not only was he able to hear, but to also speak clearly. If you’ve spent any time with a deaf person, you know that, oftentimes, his/her speech is difficult to understand. This is because that person has never heard how words actually sound. A deaf person may mimic the movements of another person’s lips and tongue, but a myriad of things from vowels sounds to placement and beyond are far more difficult to replicate.

Think of how radically then this man’s entire life changed in an instant: No longer would people struggle to understand what he was trying to say. No longer would he not know what people around him were saying. This was a double miracle! The man had never heard anyone’s voice, nor anything they’d said. Yet, no one had to teach him how to put sounds together to speak understandable words. He just did—immediately! Isaiah prophesied of Jesus’ healing ministry, specifically addressing miracles of hearing, speaking, singing, and even the lame leaping. (Isaiah 29:18; 35:5–6) Certainly this miracle makes the list!

In verse 36, Jesus tells the witnesses (who’d apparently found Him by now) to tell no one about this healing. The more He ordered them to keep their mouths shut, however, the more they spread the news. Undoubtedly, Jesus ordered the observers to keep quiet because it was not yet time for His identity to be widely proclaimed. (John 2:4) There are other instances also where He told observers to keep quiet about a miracle He’d performed.

The Son of God understood that He was on mission with the Father and the Holy Spirit, unfolding of a Masterful Plan of the Ages. There was a time for all things to be revealed and, as Solomon once noted: “a time to be silent and a time to speak.” (Ecclesiastes 3:7) The time to speak of His miracles had not yet come, and Jesus wanted no one creating a wrinkle in His plans. He even rebuked His own disciple Peter for focusing on human concerns, rather than God’s. (Matthew 16:23)

Application

In verse 37, Mark utters the understatement of the ages: “He has done everything well.” Anything anyone ever needed, Jesus did exceedingly well, and—because He did—we know that He can now.

What is one thing you can see, whether looking at your past or present, that the Lord has done well for you? Take a moment and give Him thanks for it!

© Copyright 2026 Craig Beaman