{Took him aside} (apolabomenos auton). The secrecy here
observed was partly to avoid excitement and partly to get the
attention of the deaf and dumb demoniac. He could not hear what
Jesus said. So Jesus put his fingers into his ears, spat, and
touched his tongue. There was, of course, no virtue in the
spittle and it is not clear why Jesus used it. Saliva was by some
regarded as remedial and was used by exorcists in their
incantations. Whether this was a concession to the man's
denseness one does not know. But it all showed the poor man that
Jesus healed him in his own way.