31 And again, departing from the sighed, and said unto him, Epbpha- coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came tha, that is, Be opened.
unto the sea of Galilee, through the j 35 And straightway liis ears were midst of the coasts of Decapolis. j opened, and the string of his tongue
32 And they bring unto him one j was loosed, and lie spake plain. that was deaf, and had an impediment ! 36 And he charged them that they in his speech ; and they beseech him should tell no man : but the more lie to put his hand upon him.* charged them, so much the more a
83 And he took him aside from the greal deal they published $ ; multitude, and put bis Augers into 37 And were beyond measure aston- his ears, and he spit, and touched his j ished, saying, He hath done all things tongue; well: he maketh both the deaf to
34 And looking up to heaven, he | hear, and the dumb to speak.
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The first thing that demands our notice in these verses, is the mighty miracle that is here recorded. We read that they brought unto our Lord " one that was deaf and had an impediment in his speech/' and besought Him that He would " put His hand upon him." At once the pe- tition is granted, and the cure is wrought. Speech and hearing are instantaneously given to the man by a word and a touch. " Straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain."
We see but half the instruction of this passage, if we only regard it as an example of our Lord's divine power. It is such an example, beyond doubt, but it is something more than that. We must look further, deeper, and lower than the surface, and we shall find in the passage precious spiritual truths.
Here we are meant to see our Lord's power to heal the spiritually deaf. He can give the chief of sinners a hearing ear. He can make him delight in listening to the very Gospel which he once ridiculed and despised.
Here also we are meant to see our Lord's power to heal the spiritually dumb. He can teach the hardest of transgressors to call upon God. He can put a new song in the mouth of him whose talk was once only of this world. He can make the vilest of men speak of spirit- ual things, and testify the Gospel of the grace of God.
When Jesus pours forth His Spirit, nothing is impos- sible. We must never despair of others. We must never regard our own hearts as too bad to be changed. He that healed the deaf and dumb still lives. The cases which moral philosophy pronounces hopeless, are not in- curable if they are brought to Christ.