Mark 7:31 – “Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis.”

“The region of the Decapolis,” Gk. Δεκάπολις (Dekapolis), “Ten cities”
δεκά: “ten”
πολις: “city”

Triumvirate: Pompey, Crassus, Julius Caesar

Mark 5: “the land of the Gerasenes,” likely either Gerasa or Gadara
Mark 5:20 – “He went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.”

Mark 7:32 – “And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him.”

ESV: “…had a speech impediment”
NIV: “…he could hardly talk”
NASB: “…he spoke with difficulty”

Hapax legomenon: A word only used one time in the body of a text

“Speech impediment,” Gk. μογιλάλος (mogilalos), “to speak with difficulty”
μόγις (mogis), “with great difficulty”
λαλέω (laleo), “to speak”

Mark 7:33-34 – “And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, ‘Ephphatha,’ that is, ‘Be opened.’”

Ephphatha=Aramaic (see also Mk. 15:34)

“Sighed,” Gk. στενάζω (stenazō), “sighing or groaning”
Exodus 2:24 – “And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.”
Exodus 6:5 – “Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.”
Romans 8:22 – “…creation has been groaning together”
Romans 8:23 – “And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”

Mark 7:35 – “And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.”

Mark 7:36-37 – “And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Isaiah 35:5-6 – “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.”

1. People that are changed by Jesus, proclaim Jesus.
“Proclaim,” Gk. κηρύσσω (kēryssō), “preach”

2. Physical disabilities are a result of the fall.

3. His power is perfected in your weakness.
2 Cor. 12:9-10 – “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”