◄ Mark 7:36 ►
Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more He ordered them, the more widely they proclaimed it.
Study Bible
Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone.

After healing the deaf man who also struggled to speak, Jesus commanded the witnesses to keep the miracle private. In Mark, such commands often guard against a false understanding of His identity. Many hoped for a Messiah who would bring immediate political deliverance, but Jesus came first to suffer, die, and rise again for sinners. His works revealed His divine authority and compassion, yet their full meaning could not be understood apart from the cross and resurrection. Jesus carried out the Father’s mission according to God’s appointed time rather than public pressure or popular expectation.

Luk 8:56 Her parents were astounded, but Jesus ordered them…
Mat 8:4 Then Jesus instructed him, “See that you don’t tell anyone.”…
Mrk 5:43 Then Jesus gave strict orders that no one should know…

But the more He ordered them,

Jesus’ repeated command shows that He was not indifferent to obedience, even when people were stirred by joy and amazement. The miracle had taken place in the Decapolis, a largely Gentile region, where Jesus’ compassion was already reaching beyond Israel’s borders. Those present had seen a man’s hearing restored and his speech made clear by Christ’s direct power. Such a work made silence difficult, but amazement did not remove their responsibility to obey the Lord’s word.

Luk 9:21 Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone.
Mrk 9:9 As they were coming down the mountain, …
Mat 12:16 warning them not to make Him known.

the more widely they proclaimed it.

News of Jesus spread because His works could not be dismissed as ordinary acts of kindness or skill. He did what only God could do, fulfilling the hope that the deaf would hear and the mute would sing for joy. Their proclamation increased public attention and contributed to the growing response to His ministry, while also drawing the notice of those who opposed Him. After His death and resurrection, the command would change: His disciples would be sent openly to proclaim the gospel to all nations.

Mrk 1:45 But the man went out and openly began to proclaim…
Mat 9:31 But they went out and spread the news about Him…
Luk 5:15 But the news about Jesus spread all the more,…

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jesus
The central figure in this passage, Jesus is performing miracles and teaching, demonstrating His divine authority and compassion.

2. The Crowd
Those who witnessed Jesus' miracles and were instructed by Him not to spread the news, yet they did so with increasing fervor.

3. Decapolis
The region where this event takes place, a group of ten cities with a significant Gentile population, highlighting the spread of Jesus' ministry beyond Jewish territories.
Teaching Points
The Paradox of Silence and Proclamation
Jesus often instructed silence to avoid premature fame or misunderstanding of His mission. Yet, the natural response to His miraculous works was to proclaim them. This tension invites us to consider the balance between discretion and testimony in our own lives.

Understanding Jesus' Mission
Jesus' command for silence was not to suppress the truth but to control the timing and understanding of His mission. We should seek to understand God's timing and purpose in our own witness.

Human Nature and Divine Instruction
The crowd's disobedience highlights human nature's tendency to act on emotion rather than instruction. This challenges us to align our actions with God's guidance, even when our instincts differ.

The Spread of the Gospel
Despite Jesus' command for silence, the news of His works spread, foreshadowing the unstoppable spread of the Gospel. We are reminded of the power of testimony and the importance of sharing our faith.
Bible Study Questions
1. Why do you think Jesus often instructed those He healed to remain silent, and what does this reveal about His understanding of His mission?

2. How can we discern when to share our experiences of God's work in our lives and when to practice discretion?

3. In what ways does the spread of Jesus' fame despite His instructions reflect the nature of the Gospel message?

4. How does the reaction of the crowd in Mark 7:36 challenge us to consider our own responses to Jesus' instructions in our lives?

5. What lessons can we learn from the tension between Jesus' command for silence and the crowd's eagerness to proclaim His works, especially in the context of evangelism today?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Mark 1:44-45
Similar to Mark 7:36, Jesus instructs a healed leper to remain silent, yet the news spreads, showing a pattern of Jesus' desire for discretion and the people's eagerness to share His works.

Matthew 9:30-31
After healing two blind men, Jesus warns them to keep silent, but they spread the news, illustrating the tension between Jesus' instructions and human nature.

Isaiah 42:1-4
This prophecy about the Messiah's quiet and humble approach connects to Jesus' desire for discretion in His ministry.
Sermons
A Miracle of RestorationJ.J. Given Mark 7:31-37
Alone with JesusW. Forsyth, M. A.Mark 7:31-37
Bringing Men to JesusH. J. Wilmot Buxton, M. A.Mark 7:31-37
Christ the Opener of Locked DoorsBishop Boyd Carpenter.Mark 7:31-37
Christ's SighH. J. Wilmot Buxton, M. A.Mark 7:31-37
Deaf MutesR. Glover.Mark 7:31-37
EphphathaT. D. Bernard.Mark 7:31-37
EphphathaA.F. Muir Mark 7:31-37
Glimpses of JesusW. Forsyth, M. A.Mark 7:31-37
He Took Him AsideF. R. Wynne, M. A.Mark 7:31-37
He Took Him AsideW. Denton, M. A.Mark 7:31-37
Healing the Deaf and Dumb ManT. M. Lindsay, D. D.Mark 7:31-37
His Ears Were OpenedPontanus.Mark 7:31-37
Impediment in SpeechH. J. Wilmot Buxton, M. A.Mark 7:31-37
Leading Our Friends to JesusDr. Arndt.Mark 7:31-37
Leading Our Friends to JesusAnon.Mark 7:31-37
Love and SorrowJ. P. Barnett.Mark 7:31-37
Meaning of Christ's ActionH. Melvill, B. D.Mark 7:31-37
SighsQuesnel.Mark 7:31-37
Sorrow in HealingC. J. Vaughan, D. D.Mark 7:31-37
The Abuses and Uses of SpeechCanon S. R. Hole.Mark 7:31-37
The Deaf and DumbE. Johnson Mark 7:31-37
The Deaf Man CuredD. Moore, M. A.Mark 7:31-37
The Healing of the Deaf and Dumb ManR. Green Mark 7:31-37
The Heavy Ear and Speech of FaithDean Bramston.Mark 7:31-37
The Pattern of ServiceA. Maclaren, D. D.Mark 7:31-37
The Saviour's SighT. R. Stevenson.Mark 7:31-37
The Sigh of ApprehensionH. J. Wilmot Buxton, M. A.Mark 7:31-37
The Sigh of Disappointed DesireH. Melvill, B. D.Mark 7:31-37
The Sigh of JesusJ. Vaughan, M. A.Mark 7:31-37
The Sigh of JesusC. S. Robinson, D. D.Mark 7:31-37
The Successive Steps in the Conversion of the SinnerW. Denton, M. A.Mark 7:31-37
The Touch of ChristThe Quiver.Mark 7:31-37
Why Jesus SighedCanon F. W. Farrar, D. D., J. A. Seiss, D. D.Mark 7:31-37
Words not Necessary to PrayerG. Hunt Jackson.Mark 7:31-37
People
Esaias, Isaiah, Jesus
Places
Decapolis, Galilee, Jerusalem, Sea of Galilee, Sidon, Tyre
Topics
Abundantly, Anyone, Charged, Charging, Commanded, Continued, Deal, Kept, News, Ordered, Orders, Proclaim, Proclaimed, Proclaiming, Public, Published, Request, Speak, Spread, Talking, Wide, Widely, Zealously
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Mark 7:36

     2060   Christ, patience of

Mark 7:31-37

     5168   muteness

Mark 7:32-37

     5147   deafness

Mark 7:35-37

     5159   hearing

Library
The Pattern of Service
'He touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven, He sighed, and saith Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.'--Mark vii 33, 34. For what reason was there this unwonted slowness in Christ's healing works? For what reason was there this unusual emotion ere He spoke the word which cleansed? As to the former question, a partial answer may perhaps be that our Lord is here on half-heathen ground, where aids to faith were much needed, and His power had to be veiled that it might be beheld. Hence the miracle is …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Children and Little Dogs
'And from thence He arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered Into an house, and would have no man know it: but He could not be hid. 25. For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of Him, and came and fell at His feet: 26. The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought Him that He would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. 87. But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Influence of Tradition.
"Making the word of God of none effect through your traditions: and many such like things ye do."--ST. MARK vii. 13. Such was our Lord's word to the Pharisees; and if we turn to our own life it is difficult if not impossible for us fully to estimate the influence which traditions exercise upon it. They are so woven into the web of thought and opinion, and daily habits and practices, that none of us can claim to escape them. Moreover, as any institution or society grows older, this influence of the …
John Percival—Sermons at Rugby

Second Sermon for the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity
(From the Gospel for the day) This sermon tells us how a man who truly loves God, whose ears have been opened to receive the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit, is neither lifted up in joy nor cast down in sorrow. Mark vii. 37.--"He hath done all things well: He maketh both the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak." WE read in the Gospel for this day, that as our blessed Lord was going from one place to another, they brought unto Him a man who was born deaf and dumb; as must needs be; for he who is …
Susannah Winkworth—The History and Life of the Reverend Doctor John Tauler

Deaf Ears and Stammering Tongues.
(Twelfth Sunday after Trinity.) S. MARK vii. 37. "He hath done all things well. He maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak." Such was the verdict of the people who saw one of our Lord's miracles. How far more strongly may we say the same, having seen the work of Christ in the life of the Church at large, and in each of our individual souls! We cannot look on the world of nature without echoing the words of the text. No thoughtful man can mark the spring-time coming to the woods and …
H. J. Wilmot-Buxton—The Life of Duty, a Year's Plain Sermons, v. 2

Perfection to be Sought.
12th Sunday after Trinity. S. Mark vii., 37. "He hath done all things well." INTRODUCTION.--It was said by an old heathen writer that God cares for Adverbs rather than for Substantives. That is to say, God had rather have things done well, than that the things should be merely done. He had rather have you pray earnestly than pray, communicate piously than merely communicate, forgive your enemies heartily than say you forgive, work diligently than spend so many hours at work, do your duty thoroughly …
S. Baring-Gould—The Village Pulpit, Volume II. Trinity to Advent

The Sighs of Christ
(Twelfth Sunday after Trinity.) Mark vii. 34, 35. And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. Why did the Lord Jesus look up to heaven? And why, too, did he sigh? He looked up to heaven, we may believe, because he looked to God the Father; to God, of whom the glorious collect tells us, that he is more ready to hear than we to pray, and is wont to give more …
Charles Kingsley—Town and Country Sermons

The Deaf and Dumb.
ST MARK VII. 32-37. And they bring unto Jesus one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech Him to put His hand upon him. And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers into his ears, and He spit, and touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. . . . And they were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath …
Charles Kingsley—Westminster Sermons

Things which Defile
"And He called to Him the multitude again, and said unto them, Hear Me all of you, and understand: there is nothing from without the man, that going into him can defile him: but the things which proceed out of the man are those that defile the man. And when He was entered into the house from the multitude, His disciples asked of Him the parable. And He saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Perceive ye not, that whatsoever from without goeth into the man, it cannot defile him; because …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

The Children and the Dogs
"And from thence He arose, and went away into the borders of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered into a house, and would have no man know it; and He could not be hid. But straightway a woman, whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, having heard of Him, came and fell down at His feet. Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by race. And she besought Him that He would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. And He said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

The Deaf and Dumb Man
"And again He went out from the borders of Tyre, and came through Sidon unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the borders of Decapolis. And they bring unto Him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech Him to lay His hand upon him. And He took him aside from the multitude privately, and put His fingers into his ears, and He spat, and touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven, He sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. And his ears were …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

The Law.
ITS NATURE AND EFFECTS. THE law is the chief and most pure resemblance of the justice and holiness of the heavenly Majesty, and doth hold forth to all men the sharpness and keenness of his wrath. This is the rule and line and plummet whereby every act of every man shall be measured; and he whose righteousness is not found every way answerable to this law, which all will fall short of but they that have the righteousness of God by faith in Jesus Christ, he must perish. The law is spiritual, I am carnal. …
John Bunyan—The Riches of Bunyan

Protesting Our Innocence?
We have all become so used to condemning the proud self-righteous attitude of the Pharisee in the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican,[footnote1:Luke 18:9-14] that we can hardly believe that the picture of him there is meant to apply to us--which only shows how much like him we really are. The Sunday School teacher was never so much a Pharisee, as when she finished her lesson on this parable with the words, "And now, children, we can thank God that we are not as this Pharisee!" In particular …
Roy Hession and Revel Hession—The Calvary Road

Second Withdrawal from Herod's Territory.
^A Matt. XV. 21; ^B Mark VII. 24. ^b 24 And from thence ^a Jesus ^b arose, and went ^a out ^b away ^a and withdrew into the parts { ^b borders} of Tyre and Sidon. [The journey here is indicated in marked terms because it differs from any previously recorded, for it was the first time that Jesus ever entered a foreign or heathen country. Some commentators contend from the use of the word "borders" by Mark that Jesus did not cross over the boundary, but the point is not well taken, for Mark vii. 31 …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Another Avoiding of Herod's Territory.
^A Matt. XV. 29; ^B Mark VII. 31. ^b 31 And ^a Jesus ^b again went out. ^a And departed thence, ^b from the borders of Tyre, and came through Sidon, ^a and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; ^b through the midst of the borders of Decapolis. ^a and he went up into a mountain, and sat down there. [From Tyre Jesus proceeded northward to Sidon and thence eastward across the mountains and the headwaters of the Jordan to the neighborhood of Damascus. Here he turned southward and approached the Sea of Galilee …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Jesus Fails to Attend the Third Passover.
Scribes Reproach Him for Disregarding Tradition. (Galilee, Probably Capernaum, Spring a.d. 29.) ^A Matt. XV. 1-20; ^B Mark VII. 1-23; ^D John VII. 1. ^d 1 And after these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Judæa, because the Jews sought to kill him. [John told us in his last chapter that the passover was near at hand. He here makes a general statement which shows that Jesus did not attend this passover. The reason for his absence is given at John v. 18.] ^a 1 Then there …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Healing a Phoenician Woman's Daughter.
(Region of Tyre and Sidon.) ^A Matt. XV. 22-28; ^B Mark VII. 24-30. ^b And he entered into a house, and would have no man know it [Jesus sought concealment for the purposes noted in the last section. He also, no doubt, desired an opportunity to impact private instruction to the twelve]; and he could not be hid. [The fame of Jesus had spread far and wide, and he and his disciples were too well known to escape the notice of any who had seen them or heard them described.] 25 But { ^a 22 And} behold, …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Deaf Stammerer Healed and Four Thousand Fed.
^A Matt. XV. 30-39; ^B Mark VII. 32-VIII. 9. ^b 32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech [The man had evidently learned to speak before he lost his hearing. Some think that defective hearing had caused the impediment in his speech, but verse 35 suggests that he was tongue-tied]; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. 33 And he took him aside from the multitude privately, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat, and touched his tongue [He separated …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Cavils of the Pharisees Concerning Purification, and the Teaching of the Lord Concerning Purity - the Traditions Concerning Hand-Washing' and Vows. '
As we follow the narrative, confirmatory evidence of what had preceded springs up at almost every step. It is quite in accordance with the abrupt departure of Jesus from Capernaum, and its motives, that when, so far from finding rest and privacy at Bethsaida (east of the Jordan), a greater multitude than ever had there gathered around Him, which would fain have proclaimed Him King, He resolved on immediate return to the western shore, with the view of seeking a quieter retreat, even though it were …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Jesus and the Syro-Phoenician Woman
THE purpose of Christ to withdraw His disciples from the excitement of Galilee, and from what might follow the execution of the Baptist, had been interrupted by the events at Bethsaida-Julias, but it was not changed. On the contrary, it must have been intensified. That wild, popular outburst, which had almost forced upon Him a Jewish Messiah-Kingship; the discussion with the Jerusalem Scribes about the washing of hands on the following day; the Discourses of the Sabbath, and the spreading disaffection, …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

A Group of Miracles among a Semi-Heathen Population
If even the brief stay of Jesus in that friendly Jewish home by the borders of Tyre could not remain unknown, the fame of the healing of the Syro-Phoenician maiden would soon have rendered impossible that privacy and retirement, which had been the chief object of His leaving Capernaum. Accordingly, when the two Paschal days were ended, He resumed His journey, extending it far beyond any previously undertaken, perhaps beyond what had been originally intended. The borders of Palestine proper, though …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

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