(from Isaiah 35:6-8)--Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Then the lame shall leap like a deer,
And the tongue of the dumb sing [this is where that word mogilalos is used again, where the “tongue of the dumb” will sing].
For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness,
And streams in the desert.
The parched ground shall become a pool,
And the thirsty land springs of water;
In the habitation of jackals, where each lay,
There shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
A highway shall be there, and a road,
And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.
The Day of the Lord will be a wild, hilarious day of seeing and hearing, of leaping and dancing and shouting and singing. No staid, inhibited praises there. The earth too, will open its mouth with joy and drink and become a garden like the first morning of earth. Come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Centuries before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, God gave this message to His people, looking past the destruction, past the desolation, to the Messianic age when the kingdom of God would break through, the Messiah would come, and He would give sight to the blind. He would give hearing to the deaf, He would loosen the tongue of the mute and of the dumb, and the lame would leap for joy. Surely Mark has this in mind as he pens of Jesus’ encounter with the deaf mute.