In a world of sounds and verbal communication, being unable to participate in that flow of communication can be crippling. This is one of the reasons that our deaf neighbors and friends tend to cluster together for support and understanding. There tend to be small pockets of the hearing impaired living in close proximity to each other. Deafness can be extremely isolating.
It can be difficult for someone who speaks a different language to communicate urgency effectively. We might be able to see the desperation in their eyes and in their voice tone, but be totally unaware of the content of their urgent cries.
One of the difficulties of travelling abroad is the language barrier, mine, not theirs. They understand each other perfectly. I am the outsider. That is why it is important to learn some of the basic emergency phrases in the language of the countries you will visit. Police. Doctor. Hospital. Help! Begging does no good unless they know what your begging is about.
Begging signals a desperation. Few people will beg unless they have no other choice. There are of course those who stand on the street corners and drive home in their Escalade. But real begging, the personal kind involving face to face conversation, not the hold out the bucket with the sign, is very difficult for most people. When it does happen it tends to involve a great deal of self-imposed shame and humiliation.
From out text we read of some people who bring a friend who has lost his ability to hear at some point in his life, probably early childhood. The fact that he could speak some indicates either he lost hearing after beginning to speak, or that he has severe hearing loss which occurred fairly early in his life. Of course it could be he simply used grunts with body language to communicate what he needed. The word used here in our text for this loss of ability to speak is only used once in the New Testament.
He is unable to hear, and has very limited ability to communicate verbally. Can you imagine life without sound? How about life without the ability to communicate effectively with those around you? It sounds like a life of frustration, isolation and depression.
No wonder these people were bringing this man to Jesus. No wonder these people were begging on this man’s behalf. They were desperate. Maybe we need to get desperate. Maybe we are too comfortable to get serious with the LORD.
The Arnold Journey 