Mark 9

 This is just a reminder that these are my rough sermon notes.

Mark 9:14-29

When they returned to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were filled with awe and ran to greet Him.

“What are you disputing with them?” He asked.

Someone in the crowd replied, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a spirit that makes him mute. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked Your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable.”

“O unbelieving generation!” Jesus replied. “How long must I remain with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to Me.”

So they brought him, and seeing Jesus, the spirit immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has this been with him?”

“From childhood,” he said. “It often throws him into the fire or into the water, trying to kill him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

“If You can?” echoed Jesus. “All things are possible to him who believes!” Immediately the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe; help my unbelief!”

When Jesus saw that a crowd had come running, He rebuked the unclean spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” He said, “I command you to come out and never enter him again.”

After shrieking and convulsing him violently, the spirit came out. The boy became like a corpse, so that many said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up.

After Jesus had gone into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

Jesus answered, “This kind cannot come out, except by prayer.”

 

Help My Unbelief

Chapter 9 of Mark begins with a promise that some of those gathered would not see death until they had seen the Kingdom of God in power.

 

6 days later they saw transfiguration of Christ.

 

An interesting note that it came 6 days later. The sixth day of creation was when God created man and now God is showing the disciples what he plans to do in the restoration of man.

 

Jesus becomes something more. His clothes become whiter than any bleaching agent in this world the fulfilment of Daniel 7.

 

1 Corinthians 15:20 “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

 

In this story it says that Peter didn’t know what to say so said something – how human.

 

Jesus had been trying to teach them that his ministry was going to lead to the cross and here Peter is trying to set up a place where Jesus, Elijah, and Moses could meet with people.

 

Why Moses and Elijah? One because the represented the Law and the Prophets but also it could be they too lead ministries where people did a bad job at listening.

 

God tells them what they should have already know, Listen to Jesus.

 

They focused on Elijah from the prophecies but Jesus wants them to also see the prophecies speak of the Messiah suffering.

 

And now, we come to the scripture reading, Jesus comes down from the mountain with Peter, James, and John and there is an argument.

The disciples, the crowd, and the teachers of the Law.

 

We aren’t told what each was saying but we learn that everything is about a father who brought his demon possessed son to Jesus.

 

Jesus isn’t there and the disciples are unsuccessful.

 

Jesus says what the problem is: Unbelief.

 

Before this time they had been able to do this. Something seems to have changed in the disciples we aren’t told exactly but unbelief had settled into their hearts.

 

They no longer had the faith they did.

 

So how does faith come?

 

Romans 10:17 “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”

 

From all that we are seeing it seems the disciples weren’t listening. There are times in our lives when it seems that our faith is weak

 

So, Jesus addresses the father.

 

The Father sees a mute spirit seeking to kill him. This has been going on since childhood. It is possible that the father has been trying to keep his son alive for years.

 

Then comes one of my favorite exchanges in the Bible:

But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

“If You can?” echoed Jesus. “All things are possible to him who believes!” Immediately the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe; help my unbelief!”

 

The father is desperate for any help.

 

Jesus responds, “If you can?”  It’s like Jesus is saying do you know who you’re talking to?

 

Then he points out that faith/belief can make all things possible.

 

This isn’t a carte blanche statement that you can get anything you want but it is a promise that if your faith is in God that God can work in you life in ways that are impossible any other way.

 

The father says the truth: “I do believe; help my unbelief!”- I need help

 

Jesus doesn’t send him away he intervenes.

 

Jesus cast out a Deaf and Mute Spirit.

 

The father thought the problem was that the boy couldn’t speak, the problem was far deeper he couldn’t hear.

 

Side note: This is also the problem of the disciples they didn’t hear. Their problem was as you can see in 30-33 is that when they didn’t understand and they didn’t ask for help.

 

The father here asks and if we need answers we too need to ask. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

If you lack faith, pray and I would also add, do what God instructed, get into the Word.

 

However something interesting happens when Jesus intervenes. The child falls down and looks like a corpse.  It seems Jesus has killed the boy.

 

We aren’t told how the father responds but how would you respond if you go to someone for help and they kill your child?

 

Jesus goes over and raises the boy up and he is well.

 

There are times if we are going to have life or see a miracle we have to go through death and loss.

 

This is the way of the cross. This is in some way teach the disciples what Jesus was telling them earlier and preparing them for what is to come.

 

The sad thing is they at least they don’t yet, get that message.

 

They want to know why it didn’t work.

Jesus said that these come out by prayer.

 

But didn’t Jesus kind of say it was unbelief in verse 19?

Yes, but St. Augustine explains it well  in his New Testament Lessons, “Where faith fails, prayer perishes. For who prays for that in which he does not believe?... So then in order that we may pray let us believe, and let us pray that in this same faith by which we pray may not falter.”

 

If you aren’t praying then maybe you need to look at your faith?

Are you faithfully engaging the Word of God?  

Are you willing to die?