CHAP. 7:31-37 (continued)
Ears and Tongue in Divine Service
It may be of some help and interest to bring together a few remarks by way of suggestion on the subject of the connection between dumbness and deafness, and of the general analogy in spiritual things presented by them. The subject of service, too, has a direct bearing upon the special feature of the Second Gospel.
Deafness and dumbness are frequently associated as disorders in the same person, and, except in cases where there is malformation in the organs of speech, inability to speak is the direct result of an inability to hear. So that, generally speaking, the deaf man is also dumb. And, in consulting the various occurrences in the New Testament of the word κωφός, usually in the A.V. rendered “deaf,” we find that in some instances it is translated “dumb.”
Thus, in the case of a certain demoniac brought to Jesus for healing, we read, “They brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil. And when the devil was cast out the dumb spake” (Matt. 9:32, 33; Lu. 11:14). Literally, in these instances the word “dumb” might be translated “deaf,” the fact being that the man was both deaf and dumb.
Take the case of another demoniac. A father came to Jesus with his lad, saying to Him, “I have brought unto thee my son which hath a dumb (ἄλαλον) spirit.” But the boy appears to have been deaf as well as dumb, and presumably he was dumb because he was deaf. At any rate, the Lord, in ejecting the demon, addressed him as, “Thou dumb and deaf spirit (τὸ ἄλαλον καὶ κωφὺν)” (Mark 9:17, 25). It will be noticed that in the narrative of this incident a distinct Greek word (ᾶλαλος) is translated “dumb.”
Further, the dumb persons in the Decapolitan region who were made to speak by the Lord's power were, according to the literal translation of the description, deaf (Matt. 15:30, 31). Also, Zacharias became speechless (κωφός), but it is clear from Luke's account that he was deaf at the same time (cp. Luke 1:22 with 62).
In connection with these foregoing examples of Scriptural usage, it may be useful to quote from modern encyclopedias the following extracts, which present the intimate relation of deafness and dumbness from a physiological standpoint. One authority states: “It is not an uncommon supposition that deaf mutes are dumb on account of some vocal or organic defect, whereas the dumbness arises, with very rare exception, from the deprivation of hearing caused by some natural or accidental disease.” Another says: “Dumbness is the consequence of deafness. Children ordinarily hear sounds, and then learn to imitate them, i.e., they learn to repeat what they hear other persons say. It is thus that every one of us has learned to speak. But the deaf child hears nothing; it cannot therefore imitate, and remains dumb.... The ear is the guide and directress of the tongue; and when the ear is doomed to perpetual silence, the tongue is included in the ban: though if we could by any means give to the ear the faculty of hearing, the tongue would soon learn for itself to fulfill its proper office. To correct the error involved in this apparent misnomer, some authorities use the term deaf simply, others speak of the deaf-dumb and deaf-mute. The latter term is common in America, as in France is its equivalent Sourds-muets. In the Holy Scriptures the same original word is translated ‘deaf ' in some places (as in Mark 7:32) and ‘dumb' or 'speechless' in others (see Matt. 9:33 and Luke 1:22).”
It is therefore well-established that the function of speech is dependent upon the function of hearing, and in order to communicate rightly to others it is necessary to hear well. The two faculties are indispensable to a person who acts as a medium between one and another.
Applying this principle in the spiritual plane, the faithful and useful servant would be the one whose ear and voice are so accurately attuned that he transmits without failure the exact message he receives. Accordingly, Jehovah, in commissioning Jeremiah to be His prophet, said to him, “Whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak” (Jer. 1:7). Also, the Lord, when sending forth the twelve Apostles, said to them, “What ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops” (Matt. 10:27; Lu. 12:3). The Apostle Paul writes in one of his epistles, “I received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you” (1 Cor. 11:23). And again, John writes similarly, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard ... of the word of life... that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you” (1 John 1:1-3). In the Apocalypse the Lord's “servant John” (as he terms himself in the first verse) on about thirty different occasions states his record to be what he “heard.”
THE SON AS HEARER AND SPEAKER
The Incarnate Son of God in the exercise of His office of Mediator between God and man was pleased to exhibit an absolute dependence upon God in the presentation of the grace and truth that came by Him. His ear and His tongue were ever in perfect accord with the divine will with respect to His service.
This obedient attitude was fore-determined in the eternal counsels when the Son voluntarily elected to take the place of the coming Servant to do the will of God with great delight. The Holy Spirit revealed this secret planning in one of the Psalms: “Mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come, in the volume of the book it is written of me: I delight to do thy will, O my God” (Psa. 40:6-8). This great purpose, originating in eternity, was fulfilled by the incarnation of the Son and by His sacrifice, as the apostle expressly declared (Heb. 10:5-10).
The marvelous spirit of meek submission assumed by the Creator Son is also the subject of one of the prophecies of Isaiah. Looking forward in the power of the inspiring Spirit, he saw that the ear of the Servant of Jehovah would be opened continually to receive directions from the Lord God, and His tongue guided from on high to speak the words of divine comfort. The beautiful passage runs thus: “The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary; he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back” (Isa. 50:4, 5).
The New Testament records the fulfillment of these predictions, for in the Gospels the acts of the Lord Jesus all testify how He “emptied Himself,” and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. And in the Fourth Gospel especially, where the Son of God stands most revealed of the four, there are written many of His own verbal testimonies to this subjection of His own will to that of the Father.
Thus, surveying at its close the execution of His earthly mission, the Son, in the outpouring of His heart to the Father, declared, “The sayings which thou gavest me I have given them” (John 17:8). Similarly, the Lord instructed His disciples concerning the true source of that stream of heavenly wisdom which had come down to them: “All things that I heard from my Father, I have made known unto you": “The word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's who sent me” (John 15:5; 14:24).
To the Jews the Lord testified that God was then speaking to them in a manner different from the days of old, for they were, in His teaching, listening to the Son (Heb. 1:1), who had assumed a relation of obedience for this purpose. On one occasion He said to them, “My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me” (John 7:16). Again, “the things which I have heard of him [the Father], these speak I unto the world": “For I speak not from myself; but the Father which sent me he hath given me a commandment what I should say and what I should speak” (John 8:26; 12:49).
These passages all combine to show that the Servant-Prophet in His work as Jehovah's Spokesman to the nation was Himself first of all the Hearer of God, illustrating thereby for all time the essential nature of true and approved service.
So absolutely was this attribute true of the Lord, that even when speaking of the exercise of the divine prerogative of judging which the Father had committed to Him as Son of man, He said, “As I hear, I judge.” The whole passage reads, “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just: because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which sent me” (John 5:30).
ISRAEL A DEAF SERVANT
The term “servant” is frequently used in Scripture with reference to persons commissioned by God for the performance of some special duties for Him. Amongst others it is applied to Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, Job, and even to the first great head of Gentile dominion, Nebuchadnezzar (Gen. 26:24; Num. 12:7; Judg. 2:8; 2 Sam. 7:8; Job 1:8; Jer. 25:9; 43:10). Each of these men was called of God to serve Him in some particular capacity.
The same term is employed in a national sense with reference to the chosen people of God. As Adam was set in the world to be the representative of his Creator, and to rule for Him over the works of His hands, so Israel was elected from among all other nations to be the accredited representative of Jehovah in the earth. They were formally appointed as a people to execute certain important functions of direct service to the Lord.
This high purpose with regard to the seed of Abraham was clearly enunciated by Jehovah to Moses in mount Sinai, when He said, “For unto me the children of Israel are servants: they are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt” (Lev. 25:42, 55). This national relationship was recalled by Isaiah in words which Jehovah spoke to the people through him: “But thou Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend; thou whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the corners thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant” (Isa. 41:8, 9; cp. also 44:1,2). Accordingly, this favored people, in their capacity as God's agents, were made the recipients and custodians of His holy oracles, the exponents of the worship of the One and Only Deity, and the seat of Jehovah's earthly government among the nations of mankind. In consequence of the service due from them in these and in other respects, it was necessary that Israel should be faithful to this trust and obedient to all the precepts of Him who dwelled between the cherubim in their Holy of holies.
The people, however, did not possess a circumcised ear for the messages which came to them from on high. Their attention was continually claimed by Jehovah, and the great declarations by Him when they became the repository of the divine law were prefaced by that significant formula which they vainly made their boast: “Hear, O Israel” (Deut. 5:1; 6:3,4; 9:1; 20:3). But Israel was deaf to all the revelations made. Their condition of irresponsiveness to the divine communications is the charge brought against them by the prophet Isaiah, who said to the Servant-nation, “Thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from of old thine ear was not opened” (Isa. 48:8). Again, deploring their spiritual deadness, the same prophetic messenger said, “Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see. Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I send? his ears are open, but he heareth not” (Isa. 42:18-20). They had a separate and favoured position given them as a nation, and they are accordingly described as the “blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears” (Isa. 43:8), inasmuch as they utterly failed to utilize the privileges and opportunities afforded them.
Clearly then, the Jews were spiritually incapable of hearing the voice of God, even as the Lord said to them, “Why do ye not understand my speech? Even because ye cannot hear my word” (John 8:43). Still mere inability to hear was not a condition without remedy. There was a Great Physician for those who were not obdurate. He had come to make such as were not willfully deaf “hear joy and gladness.” Did not the prophetic Spirit of Christ invite the nation to listen to the voice of mercy? saying “Incline your ear, and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall live” (Isa. 55:3). And when Messiah was present in Jerusalem, He said, “The hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live” (John 5:25).
But in addition to those who were so incapable of hearing that they are even described as “dead,” there were those who would not hear. They were deaf also, but willfully so. Like the deaf adder, they deliberately stopped their ears (Psa. 58:4; Isa. 33:15; Zech. 7:11), lest they should hear the words of wisdom and truth and life spoken unto them by the Great Prophet of God. They were the rebellious people who had ears to hear but heard not (Jer. 17:23; Ezek. 12:2). This obstinate refusal on the part of the Jews to hear their Messiah aggravated their guilt to the utmost, as the Lord declared, “If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin” (John 15:22).
The stage of willful deafness is followed by serious results. For Scripture speaks of a third category which consists of those who, having refused to hear the word of God, become subject to the terrible infliction of a judicial deafness. Having exceeded the limits of the divine forbearance by closing their ears in the day of their visitation, they are no longer permitted to hear.
Isaiah warned the people of Israel that such a judgment would come upon them if they failed to receive the messages of Jehovah. The sentence pronounced upon them would be, “Make the heart of this people fat and make their ears heavy... lest they hear with their ears... and be healed” (Isa. 6:10). This solemn prophecy is cited by each of the four Evangelists in connection with the stubborn unbelief of the Jews in the face of the Lord's teaching and miraculous signs (Matt. 13:13-15; Mark 4:11, 12; Luke 8:10; John 12:37-40).
A comparison of these passages shows that the quotations from this prophecy made in the Synoptical Gospels, as well as that by the apostle Paul in his address to the Jews at Rome, refer to the willful closing of the ears on the part of the nation. “Their ears are dull of hearing and their eyes have they closed” (Acts 28:27); this wording being taken from the Greek version of the Old Testament which gives this turn to the passage. Their sin therefore was due to their own deliberate action, for which the nation is accordingly held responsible.
John, however, views their conduct in a stage subsequent, as it were, to their willfulness. Having hardened their own hearts, their hearts are thereupon hardened penally. They would not believe, therefore they could not believe. John's words are emphatic that a judicial infliction from God had fallen upon the people. He says, “For this cause they could not believe, for that Isaiah said, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart, lest they should see with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and should turn, and I should heal them” (John 12:39, 40). This quotation is made from the Hebrew text of Isaiah, where the ultimate result of unbelief upon the nation is the prominent theme.
It will be observed that only a part of the original prophecy is quoted in the Fourth Gospel, and that the clause relating to their hearing is not included. From the context we see that the Evangelist is speaking of the signs of Jesus rather than of His teaching (ver. 37), and His miracles were for the eyes of the people while His doctrine was for their ears. John brings forward therefore only the clauses referring to their eyes and heart, which God had blinded and hardened because of their stubborn opposition to the gospel of the kingdom. But the principle of judicial penalty is equally applicable to the ear, as the actual form of the prophecy of Isaiah shows.
THE SEA OF GALILEE.
As this occasion is the last one in which the Sea of Galilee is mentioned in this Gospel, it may be of interest and help for further study to bring together the various passages where the name occurs. They serve at any rate to skew how large a portion of the recorded ministry of Jesus was exercised in the northern province.
1:16, walking on its shores, Jesus called Simon, Andrew, James, and John;
2:13, Jesus taught the crowds gathered by the seaside;
3:7, Jesus withdrew to the sea from the plottings of the Pharisees and Herodians;
4:1, from a boat Jesus taught the people who were assembled on the shore;
4:39, Jesus stilled the storm upon the sea;
5:1, Jesus crossed the sea to the country of the Gerasenes;
5:13, the herd of swine under the impulse of the demons stampeded into the sea;
5:21, Jesus re-crossed the sea;
6:47, Jesus walked upon the sea to His disciples during a storm, and stilled it;
7:31, Jesus returned to the sea of Galilee after His journey to the vicinity of Tire and Sidon.
This beautiful lake, which is a striking natural feature of the North of Palestine, is only mentioned three times in the Old Testament, where it is referred to as the Sea of Chinnereth in connection with the division of the land of Israel among the several tribes (Num. 34:11; Josh. 12:3; 1327).