The fact that Jesus left Tyre and Sidon and arrived at the Sea of Galilee by way of the Decapolis implies that he would have been in a great deal of danger had he gone to the Decapolis by way of the Sea of Galilee, which would have put him close to Capernaum in his travels. What he actually did, or so it seems, is that he left Phoenicia far to the north of Capernaum, entering and leaving Galilee closer to Caesarea Philippi than to Capernaum. Then, going south and east of the Sea of Galilee, he traveled through Herod Philip’s land to the Decapolis and from there to the Sea of Galilee. Why would he make such a roundabout journey, unless a more direct route would have put him in danger with the Jerusalem authorities (Mark 7:31; cp. Mark 7:1 and Matthew 15:12)?
Once in the Decapolis, the locals brought Jesus a deaf man with a speech impediment and asked him to lay hands upon him (Mark 7:32). What I find interesting is that Jesus was fleeing Jews who wished to destroy him (Mark 7:1, cp. Matthew 15:12 and Mark 3:6), and he fled to the same folks who at one time asked him to leave their territory (Mark 5:16-17). Although Jesus’ preaching in the land of the Jews was virtually outlawed by the Jewish authorities (cp. John 12:42-43), because his Gospel was incompatible with the tradition of the elders (Mark 7:9-13), the ignorant gentiles, once informed through the preaching of one of Jesus’ disciples (Mark 5:20), repented and received him back into their land (Mark 6:53-56; 7:31-32).
The Lord’s miracles cannot be compared with the hocus pocus of a magician or the court wizard. There simply aren’t any magic formulas attached to his healings. We are reminded of these things, because the locals expected Jesus to lay hands upon the deaf man (Mark 7:32; cp. Mark 5:23; 6:5). Nevertheless, instead of laying hands upon the man’s head, Jesus put his fingers in the man’s ears, touched his tongue and spat on the ground. When he had looked to heaven and groaned, Jesus whispered, “Ephphatha!” meaning be opened, and it was done. The man could both speak well and hear to the utter astonishment of the multitude who watched on (Mark 7:33-35, 37a). Moreover, although Jesus had asked the people to keep quiet about what he had done, the more they made him known. In fact, they published it, telling all who would listen what Jesus had done in making the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak (Mark 7:36-37).
What Mark does in his record is that he places Jesus’ miracle in the context of the events that had recently transpired. The Jewish authorities couldn’t / didn’t want to hear the Gospel, because it was incompatible with the doctrines of men, which they embraced as true. However, it would be wrong to say they alone were spiritually deaf. Everyone is born spiritually deaf (cp. Ephesians 2:1-3). The difference is how Jesus affected the folks in the different lands, where Mark places Jesus in his narrative. The Jewish authorities simply refused to permit Jesus to affect them in such a way that they would repent and receive him. The Syro-Phoenician woman had already heard of Jesus, but, unlike the Jewish authorities, she wouldn’t allow herself to be offended by his speech (Mark 7:27; cp. Matthew 15:12), so her ears were open, spiritually, and her speech was that of faith (Mark 7:28-29). As for the Jews and gentiles of the Decapolis, they had once rejected Jesus (Mark 5:15-17), but due to the preaching of one of Jesus disciples (Mark 5:20), their ears were open spiritually, and they not only received him (Mark 6:53-56), but they also praised the Lord for the effect the Gospel had upon them (Mark 7:36b-37).
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