Ephphatha

The term "ephphatha" is Aramaic. Mark gives us five more Aramaic terms. In 3:17 he calls James and John Boanerges which means sons of thunder. In 5:41 he says to the little girl, "talitha kum," little girl, I say to you arise. In 7:11 he records the term "Corban" to describe a gift designated to God. In 14:36 Mark records Jesus' words on the cross, "Eloi, Eloi. Lama Sabachthani" meaning "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?" These exact quotes in Jesus' original language may indicate an eyewitness account, or merely a desire to give us a little more precise insight into the language of Jesus. (BTW, remember the rest of the New Testament was written in Greek.)

The word "Ephphatha" means "Be Opened!" and was spoken to deaf ears (Mark 7:34) as Jesus sighed. Oh, how Jesus wanted what was closed to be opened! Jesus didn't like closed doors. He did not like closed ears. And, he surely did not like closed hearts. In this case closed ears had the added consequence of closed mouths, or at least stammering mouths. How can the mouth form sounds it cannot hear? Not very well, of course. If you want someone to be able to open their mouths, then you must help them have open ears. Understanding should always precede speaking. This is good communication. Isaiah 35:5 prophesies that the Messiah will do this. But, he does so with such drama and intensity. I cannot think of this story without thinking of 2 Cor.6:11-13 when Paul was contending with the brothers and sisters in this local church over the matter of open hearts. Their hearts had been closed to him, and he pleaded (as did Jesus) for their hearts to be opened, and for them to extend again their affection for him. How being closed off from people you love hurts and causes a longing for a return to those times when it seemed things were more open! In 2 Cor.7:2 Paul pleads with them to "make room in their hearts for him." For some, there is no room in the Inn.

In our present story of the deaf and stammering man the Greek literally says that Jesus loosed the bond of his tongue. I like that. Loosing the bonds is what Jesus is about. To the attendants at the tomb of Lazarus Jesus commanded them to "Loose him" from the grave clothes he wore. Jesus too was loosed from the bonds of death itself as he came out of the tomb. We are all bound by something. We are all closed off in some way and need loosing. We all need to be set free. We all long to hear the words "Ephphatha" from Jesus' lips. BE OPENED! Our hearts and spirits can get closed off from God and others. We "shut down" in many ways because of the hurts we experience. If this fits you, stop right now and pray the Ephphatha prayer and receive the healing you need.