Mark 7:37 — Community Reflections

MARK 7:37 — KING JAMES VERSION 0

“And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.”

People were overwhelmed with amazement. He has done everything well, they said. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak — the amazement is expressed in Gentile territory — these are Decapolis crowds, not Jewish crowds. He has done everything well (kalos panta pepoieken) echoes the Genesis 1 refrain (God saw that it was good/well) — the Gentile crowds perceive in Jesus' ministry the re-creative work of God. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak fulfills Isaiah 35:5 (then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped) — the Gentiles are witnessing the messianic age Isaiah promised, even without the theological framework to name it fully.

Church Fathers on Mark 7:37

The Lord did not wish to stay in the parts of the Gentiles, lest He should give the Jews occasion to say, that they esteemed Him a transgressor of the law, because He held communion with the Gentiles, and therefore He immediately returns.
Theophylact · 11th century

Decapolis is a region of ten cities, across the Jordan, to the east, over against Galilee [ed. note: It appears, however, from Reland, Pales. v.1, p198, that a portion of Decapolis, including its metropolis, Scythopolis, was on this side Jordan, and therefore this text of St. Mark may be taken literally.] When therefore it is said that the Lord came to the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the borders of Decapolis, it does not mean that He entered the confines of Decapolis…
Bede · 8th century · in Marc., 2, 31

A city, however, placed on a hill cannot be hid, and lowliness always comes before glory.
Pseudo-Jerome · 5th century

Read all 12 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain

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