Series

Series:Mark,#24

November 18, 2007

“HELP MY UNBELIEF!”

Mark 9:14-29

Mark 9:14-29 NIV

When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. [15] As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.

[16] "What are you arguing with them about?" he asked.

[17] A man in the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. [18] 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 out the spirit, but they could not."

[19] "O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me."

[20] So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

[21] Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?"

"From childhood," he answered. [22] "It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us."

[23] " 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."

[24] Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"

[25] When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. "You deaf and mute spirit," he said, "I command you, come out of him and never enter him again."

[26] The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, "He's dead." [27] But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.

[28] After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"

[29] He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer."

Try to imagine what this man was feeling. We don’t know how old his son is at this point, but he told Jesus he had had this problem since childhood. At the very least, we get the impression it has been years. The description of his problem sounds to us a lot like epilepsy, but the cure was to cast out a demon, so that must have been it in this case. The boy was possessed by a spirit that made it impossible for him to speak, so he couldn’t even tell his parents how he felt, or what was happening to him. Periodically, and no doubt unpredictably, the spirit would throw the boy to the ground, where he would foam at the mouth, gnash his teeth, and become rigid. Sometimes, the spirit would even throw him into the fire, or into water to try to kill him.

Think how you would feel if that were your child! You’d be desperate for help. The father has no doubt tried everything he could think of, has asked for help from anyone and everyone he knew, and then he heard about Jesus. In desperation he went looking for Him, but when he got to the disciples, Jesus wasn’t there. When the other nine disciples heard what the man wanted, they offered to help. They had done this before; they knew how to do this. They probably addressed the demon as they had seen Jesus do many times before; they ordered it to leave the boy, as they had successfully done themselves; but nothing happened. They may have gotten louder, more intense, gotten in the boy’s face, trying to get the attention of the demon. They may have even used Jesus’ name in their attempt, but nothing. The boy can’t speak to tell them what is going on inside of him; he makes no outward sign that anything is different, or that the demon is even there, much less listening. He just stands there.

Then the teachers of the law get into the act. The Jews of the day believed in exorcism; in fact some of them practiced casting out demons. But the failure of the disciples no doubt gives the teachers some ammunition to accuse the disciples of following a false teacher. “Look, if Jesus were who you say He is, then you as his disciples should be able to cast out a demon. But you can’t even do that. Jesus is a fraud; He’s a fake; you should stop following Him. Our people can cast out demons—you’re on the wrong track.” You can imagine what kind of response that got from the disciples! So when Jesus arrives, they are going at it, and they are amazed that He showed up just when He did.

I. Life in the Valley

Let’s just pause for a minute and reflect on this experience for the three disciples who had been with Jesus on the mountain. They had been singled out for this special trip. We are not exactly sure which mountain they had gone to—Mt. Tabor and Mt. Hermon are the two choices. Mt. Tabor is in Galilee, and looks like a very symmetrical volcanic cone. Its sides are steep, but it is only 1,843 feet high. Mt. Hermon is quite a bit farther north, and more than a mile higher, at 7,336 feet. In either case, Peter, James, and John had to feel pretty special about having been asked by Jesus to accompany Him on a special outing; and then when they got there—wow! They saw Jesus shining in all His supernatural glory; they saw Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus; they heard the audible voice of God speaking from a cloud! You talk about a mountain-top experience! All the way down the mountain, they would have been talking among themselves, asking Jesus a hundred questions about what they had just experienced, trying to piece it all together, to make sense of what they had seen and heard.

And then they come to the rest of the disciples, and wham! They are thrown right back into the messiness of life: a demon possessed boy, a distraught father, a theological debate with the religious authorities, a curious crowd of onlookers, and a group of their friends who have just been embarrassed by their spiritual impotence.

Life is like that, isn’t it? I’m sure we have all been on retreats and conferences, or just personal times away with the Lord, when God met us in a powerful way. We heard or experienced something that really made an impact on us, and we are certain that we’ll be changed forever. But then we come down from the mountain, so to speak, and we have to re-enter the messiness of life. Yes we do. Life is not meant to be lived on the mountain top. We need those times, God graciously meets us in those times, but it is for the purpose of equipping us to live in the valley, in the confusion, and disappointment, and frustration, and hassle of everyday life. We don’t get to live in the bubble; we have to live in the world. So Jesus leads His three special friends right back into the fray.

He asks what the commotion is all about, and the father immediately speaks up. He sketches the situation for Jesus, describing the terrible plight his son is in, and concludes with the damning information that he asked the disciples to cast the demon out, but they couldn’t.

Jesus’ response is immediate and strong: Mark 9:19, "O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me." Who does Jesus mean by “unbelieving generation”? The apparent frustration that He expresses suggests it is the disciples, whom He has been trying for some time to convince who He is, and what He can do.

II. Spiritual Schizophrenia Mark 9:22-24

So they brought the boy to Jesus. When the spirit saw Jesus, it apparently recognized Him, as they all seemed to, because it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. In contrast to when the disciples tried to cast it out and there was no reaction at all, the boy fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. The father begged Jesus, Mark 9:22, "…if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." [23] 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." [24] Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"

A. How much faith is enough?

How much faith is enough? I’ve raised this question before in our study of Mark, but let’s just make sure we see the point here again. We hear Jesus say that if you have faith as big as a mustard seed, you can move mountains into the sea. That sounds like we don’t need to have much faith at all. We hear Him tell many that it was their faith that healed them, so it can’t be all that hard to have enough faith.

But on the other hand, we also read that He could do only a few miracles in His home town of Nazareth because of their lack of faith. Jesus tells the father in this situation that everything is possible for him who believes. And He castigates the disciples as an unbelieving generation. Those statements make it sound like the burden is on us to have enough faith. So how much is enough? What do we have to believe in order to release the power of God?

When I was a teenager and a young man, I thought that all my motives were pure—i.e. that they were either all good, or all bad; all white or all black. I have since come to discover that I have very few “pure” motives and thoughts like that. I am a composite of conflicting, often mutually exclusive feelings and attitudes and motives. Part of me feels this way; part of me feels that way. For example, I am really sad that we are losing Jim and Debbie in our youth ministry; at the same time, I am really happy to have Bill here, and I look forward with great anticipation to the good things God will do through him in our church. You know what I’m talking about: Mothers cry at their daughters’ weddings, but they are happy for them at the same time. It hurts to see a loved one die; but we are grateful that God has spared them further suffering. The word schizophrenia comes from two Greek roots that mean “divided mind”, and we are all a little schizophrenic in this sense.

This father is just like that with regards to his faith, and we are too, much of the time. He says, “I believe; help my unbelief.” Part of him believes Jesus can heal his son; part of him is not sure. He just said, Mark 9:22, "…if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." He is at his wit’s end, and can’t even bring himself to ask for healing. I know people who have gotten to that point. They have been disappointed so many times, they don’t even dare to ask for the help they really need, because they don’t want to be disappointed again. This father simply pleads with Jesus to have compassion, to take pity on him and his son, and do anything. Anything will be better than nothing. But he’s not even sure Jesus can do anything.

B. Everything Is Possible Mark 9:23; Jer 32:17-38; Luke 1:37; Mark 10:27

Jesus picks up on his doubt. [23] " 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." This is one of the central attributes of God: He is omnipotent; He can do anything and everything. Let’s just review the biblical evidence for this.

· Jeremiah prayed, 32:17, "Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” But he was confused. Because he was sure the Lord had told him that God was going to destroy Jerusalem for the sins of the people, and have them carried off to Babylon as slaves. But, Jeremiah said, 32:25, “you, O Sovereign Lord, say to me, 'Buy [a] field with silver and have the transaction witnessed.' " What’s the point of that, if we’re all going to be slaves in Babylon? Why would I buy a field here in Judah, and bother to have the deed witnessed? God replied, Jeremiah 32:27, "I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?...37I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. [38] They will be my people, and I will be their God.” I may banish them into exile, but nothing is too hard for me, and I am going to bring them back to live in their own land. And we know from history that God did that.

· When the angel announced to Mary that she was going to have a child, as a virgin, she questioned how that could possibly be. The angel responded by mentioning that Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth, who had been barren all her life and was now well past child bearing age, was already six months pregnant. Luke 1:37, “For nothing is impossible with God." And so it was; Elizabeth was pregnant, and so was Mary, shortly thereafter.

· When Jesus said that it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven, the disciples asked, “Then who can be saved?” That sounds like it’s impossible for anyone to get into heaven. Mark 10:27, “Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.’”

So the point simply is that what is impossible for us is more than possible for God. He is the Creator; He is the designer and the manufacturer of the entire universe, including us. He is intimately acquainted with how everything works, and should work, and can fix anything that is broken. Anything. Everything is possible for Him to do, and He makes that power available to those who believe.

But that brings us back to ourselves, and our lack of faith. It turns out there are two different ways to doubt God.

C. What’s your problem? Mark 1:40

Earlier, Jesus met a leper who said, “If you are willing, you can make me clean” (Mark 1:40). That man had faith that Jesus could heal him, but wasn’t sure if He would want to. After all, lepers were pretty much despised in that culture, and for all he knew, Jesus wouldn’t want to have anything to do with him. This is where I often find myself. I believe that God can do anything—absolutely anything. But I often don’t have much confidence that He wants to do this particular thing I am asking for. I know He is able; I don’t know if He is willing.

In the situation we are looking at today, this father believes that Jesus has compassion, that He probably wants to heal his son, but he isn’t sure that Jesus can heal him. This was the view of the rabbi who wrote Why Bad Things Happen to Good People. Harold S. Kushner believed that God was loving, and He wanted to help us and prevent bad things from happening to us, but He just didn’t have the ability to do it.

Where are you on this? Do you believe Jesus can meet your need, but doubt that He wants to? Or do you believe that He wants to, but doubt that He can?

Folks! I have good news for us! It doesn’t matter which you believe or don’t believe—Jesus healed them both! He healed the leper who wasn’t sure if Jesus wanted to, and He healed the son when the father wasn’t sure if He could. If it had been us, we would have taken offense that these poor people didn’t believe everything. We would have said, “Oh, you don’t believe I want to? You don’t think I’m a compassionate and merciful God? Then I won’t! What?—you don’t believe I can? You don’t think I have the power to do that? Then I won’t!” But Jesus is both compassionate and powerful, and His mercy and power make up for our unbelief, no matter what it is. Praise God! Praise God!

III. Amazing Grace

This father doesn’t deserve anything from Jesus, and he knows that. He can’t claim that his faith deserves it, or has reached a level where God has to respond or ought to respond. He just confesses His lack of faith, and asks for help anyway. It’s basically a request for grace. Grace is undeserved favor from God. We don’t deserve it in any way, but we may ask. And this is truly our position with God in every prayer, whether it is for salvation, or for a solution to a problem, or for success in some effort. There’s an old hymn that says, “Just as I am, without one plea, [except] that Thy blood was shed for me, and that Thou bidst me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come.” Another one says, “O to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be…” and that is exactly the case. Day by day, moment by moment, we are dependent on God giving us good things we do not deserve. What we deserve is condemnation, judgment, and hell; what we ask for and most often receive is blessing, goodness, provision, needs supplied, etc. We have no argument to make, no case to lobby, no leverage with God, no way to coerce Him into doing what we want. But we ask anyway—for His amazing grace. And the story of this man and his son encourage us to keep on asking.

IV. Prayerful Dependence Matt 17:19-20; Mark 6:13; John 15:4-5

So part of this story is about the faith of the father (or lack of it), and how Jesus responds to him. But another part of it is about the disciples and their faith, or lack of it. Mark 9:28, “After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, ‘Why couldn't we drive it out?’” [29] He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer."

Some older translations say, “by prayer and fasting,” but the best manuscripts do not include “fasting”. Besides, Jesus explicitly approved of His disciples not fasting while He was with them. There is no formula for spiritual power. You can’t get it by jumping through certain hoops, by performing certain religious activities like fasting. Power in the spiritual realm comes from God, and we get it simply through complete dependence on Him, which is most often expressed in prayer.

In v. 19, Jesus says, "O unbelieving generation, how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?" Matthew reports (17:19-20) that when the disciples asked why they couldn't drive it out, Jesus said, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

Earlier, when Jesus had sent the disciples out on their short term mission trip through Galilee, they had been successful in driving out demons. (Mark 6:13, “They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.”) But that may have been just the problem. Their earlier success may have led to a sense of complacency, of relying on their own strength. They may have mistakenly thought that the power to cast out demons had been given to them permanently, as though it were now “theirs” to use whenever they wanted. This is a common human tendency, as we see in the example of the Israelites who conquered Jericho. That was so easy, that they then assumed they could take the next city, Ai, with only 3,000 men. But God allowed them to be defeated to drive home the point that they constantly needed to be dependent on Him. Jesus says that the problem in this case was a lack of faith that manifested itself in a lack of prayer. They relied on themselves, rather than on God.

Have we ever done that? I think we have, because it is hard to be confident in our own abilities and dependent on God at the same time. God gives us certain aptitudes, He makes us good at certain things—we are all good at something; and He gives us opportunities to develop those abilities. In addition, He gives each of His children at least one spiritual gift, one special ability to be used for the common good of the Body. We need to discover what those abilities are, and look for ways to develop them and use them. But at the same time, we need to constantly remind ourselves that these abilities are not “ours” in the sense that we can just push a button and the power will be there every time.

I face this situation every week as I go to prepare a sermon. I can look back over the past 30+ years of my life, and see that God has often used me to bring a message from His Word that is helpful in the lives of His people. But I can’t rely on that, I can’t assume that this week, I can do it without His help. So I have at the very top of my word processing template, the reminder, “PRAY!” Before you start to read the passage for the next Sunday, Jim, before you open a commentary, before you type anything, pray. Remember that you are completely dependent on God to produce a sermon that will be worth anything.

What are you good at? Do you want to use it for God’s glory, for the benefit of His people? Then pray. Pray in dependence on God. Don’t assume you can do it without Him. Don’t fall into the trap the disciples did with this boy. As Jesus said in John 15:4-5, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. [5] I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” It’s that constant abiding in Jesus, depending on Him, drawing our strength from Him like the branch draws its life from the vine, that enables us to be a conduit for God’s power. Apart from Him, we can do nothing, as the disciples discovered.