I Believe… Help My Unbelief!
Mark 9:14-29
Introduction: Have
you ever had the experience of coming down from a “mountain top” experience,
and then immediately been confronted by the reminder of the struggles of life
in a fallen world? Elijah certainly had one after contending with the prophets
of Baal on Mount Carmel (I Kings 18). After seeing God send fire down from
heaven before the people, he heard Jezebel had sworn to put him to death, and
in despair he prayed for God to take him (I Kings 19:2-4)! Moses spoke with God
on Mount Sinai, he entered the cloud that covered the mountain and received
from God the Law (Ex 31). When he delayed in returning the people had Aaron
make a Golden Calf, and they set it in the center of the camp and were having a
party!
What about you? You return from a
Christian conference or a retreat and you are feeling on top of the world. And
then you get home, and the bills are still waiting to be paid, your spouse has
a “honey do” list that won’t quit, and you have to go to work on Monday morning
and deal with your boss! Think of this experience for the disciples. On the mountain,
“meeting” two Old Testament heroes of the faith, Moses and Elijah. They see
Jesus transfigured, His glory shining through, hearing the voice of the Father,
“THIS ONE is my Son, hear Him!” That
is where our passage starts…
The Setting:
Jesus descends from the mountain with
the three disciples… and they find the scribes arguing with the remaining
disciples! (14-16). Do you ever
think (or wish!) that a mountaintop experience with the Lord may never end? Someday,
but for now He has left us on assignment in a fallen world! Why do you think we
see so many imperatives in the NT telling us how to live as His disciples? In
fact, sometimes the “highest highs” are followed by our greatest challenges! God
is present on the mountain and in the valley! Jesus and the three come down the
mountain…
14 And when they
came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing
with them. 15 And immediately
all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and
greeted him. 16 And he asked
them, "What are you arguing about with them?"
Once
again, the scribes appear, and are apparently arguing with the nine disciples
who had stayed behind while Jesus was up on the mountain with the three. We are
immediately reminded of the antipathy that existed between the religious
establishment and Jesus (and His followers). As the Pharisees had been waiting
when he crossed from Decapolis to Dalmanutha (Mk 8:11), so now the scribes are
there, arguing with His disciples, when Jesus descends the mountain. The three
are probably bursting at the seams, wanting to say something about what they had just experienced on the mountain! But
they had been instructed to not say anything until the Son of Man is raised
from the dead… whatever that meant (we know better that the disciples did at
that moment!). Jesus asks, “What are you
arguing about…?” Question: Do you think He needed to ask? After what just
happened on the mountain, is there any doubt? He is the Son of God! He asks, as
a teacher, giving an opportunity for someone’s faith to be deepened. Another
teaching moment!
Why were
the people “greatly amazed” when they
saw Jesus? It is a very strong expression. It seems to say more that they were
glad to see Him, or that they were excited by His return. It seems to evoke
again the setting on another mountain, 1500 years earlier, when Moses came down
the second time from being in the presence of the Lord. We read about that in Exodus 34…
30 Aaron and all
the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they
were afraid to come near him. 31
But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation
returned to him, and Moses talked with them.
32 Afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he
commanded them all that the LORD had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. 33 And when Moses had finished
speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. 34 Whenever Moses went in before
the LORD to speak with him, he would remove the veil, until he came out. And
when he came out and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, 35 the people of Israel would see
the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face was shining. And Moses would
put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him… (Exod 34:30-35).
In our context Mark doesn’t say anything about Jesus’
face shining (that was mentioned by Luke and Matthew) but it seems likely he
wants us to think back to that story. Here, without any explanation, he tells
us that the people were “greatly amazed”
when they saw Jesus. Rather than being afraid to come near him, as happened at
first with Moses, the crowd “ran up to
Him, and greeted Him.” (Remember the three were terrified at first when
they saw Jesus transfigured before them [Mk 9:6]). Are we to see a contrast here between the
Law, represented by Moses, which exposes our sin and our unworthiness, and
Grace, represented by Jesus, which offers forgiveness and hope? It seems Mark
is inviting us to see that One greater than Moses, the one of whom Moses wrote and
to whom he pointed, was present. Because of who He is, because of what He has
done, we need to look to Him and trust Him as we carry out His mission in the
world. It is not about us, we are in a spiritual battle, and the battle is the
Lord’s! We need to trust Him…
The Maine*
Idea: Faith and prayer are necessary
to compassionately carry out God’s mission in the world. First we see…
I.
Compassion: Jesus shows His
compassion by inviting a father to bring his needy son before Him (17-22).
17 And someone from the crowd answered him,
"Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him
mute. 18 And whenever it
seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes
rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not
able." 19 And he
answered them, "O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How
long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me." 20 And they brought the boy to
him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell
on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. 21 And Jesus asked his father,
"How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From
childhood. 22 And it has
often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do
anything, have compassion on us and help us."
Jesus asked
what they were arguing about. Again, Jesus is showing compassion, teaching,
leading those with ears to hear closer and deeper. And it is not the disciples
or the scribes that speak up, but a man steps forward from the crowd. He had
brought his son to Jesus – and in the Master’s absence, the disciples could not
help. It seems this was at the heart of the argument, possibly the scribes
using their inability to cast out the demon as evidence against their Teacher. Or,
it may be that they were challenging the legitimacy of the disciples themselves
in their ministry of healing. Mark says there was a sharp dispute. At the heart
of the matter was an inadequate understanding of who Jesus is.
Just as He
had with the Pharisees at Dalmanutha, Jesus laments the unbelief of “this generation” (Mk 8:12). The scribes
and the Pharisees represented the unbelief of the leaders of the Jews. The
challenge to the ministry of the disciples was at it’s heart a challenge to the
authority of Jesus himself. Unlike the refusal of Jesus to grant the request of
the Pharisees for “a sign from heaven,”
Jesus compassionately addresses the plea of this father on behalf of his demonized
son. He is not looking for a sign, he is looking for grace!
Jesus
calls for the boy to be brought to Him. Was it necessary for Jesus to be near
the boy in order to cast out the demon? Remember the Syrophoenician woman in
Mark 7? She came to Jesus pleading with Him on behalf of her demon-possessed
daughter. And though she was a gentile, in response to her humility and faith, without
going near the girl or speaking to the demon, seemingly by a mere act of His
will, He told her to go home, her daughter was free from the demon. And she
was! It may be that Jesus wants this
father, along with the disciples, the scribes, and the crowd that was
gathering, to hear His words and see his authority.
Jesus again compassionately engages the father,
leading him to express his need. The demon, seemingly senses who it is that he
is near, and convulses the boy violently. Jesus asks the father how long the
boy has been like this (21). This is not a doctor taking a medical history, it
is the compassionate Lord of history allowing the man to express his need, his
helplessness as he has seen his son, since he was young, in the grasp of this
demon apparently bent on his destruction. The father pleads with Jesus on behalf
of his son, “…if you can do anything,
have compassion on us and help us.” We see the man’s limited understanding
and his struggle to believe as he pleads with Jesus for help. As we see Jesus compassionately
interact with him, we need to be reminded that faith and prayer are necessary
to compassionately carry out God’s mission in the world.
II.
Discerning needs: Jesus leads the
boy’s father to deeper faith (23-24).
23 And Jesus said to him, "If you can! All things
are possible for one who believes."
24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said,
"I believe; help my unbelief!”
IF?
Faith means trusting God, believing God is bigger than the challenges of life.
Some of you may have noticed the little plaque in our kitchen, “Don’t tell God
you have a big problem, tell your problem you have a big God!” There is a
second, smaller plaque by the door, it says, “The Battle is the Lord’s!” Jesus discerns
where this man is, and His words and actions lead the man deeper, closer to
Him.
Remember the Peanuts cartoon with Linus and
Lucy looking out the window while the rain was falling. Lucy asks, “Boy, look
at all that rain! What if it floods the whole world?” Linus replies, “It will
never do that. In the ninth chapter of Genesis God promised Noah it would never
happen again, and the sign of the promise is the rainbow.” Lucy sighs, “You’ve
taken a great load off my mind.” Linus agrees, “Sound theology has a way of
doing that.” This father, came to the right person, to Jesus, but he needed
some sound theology! He needed to know that Jesus is God, and the nothing is
impossible for God!
Immediately the father cries out to
Jesus. In response to Jesus’ statement that “all things are possible for one who believes” the man confesses
both his mustard-seed faith, and his need for more. “…I believe; help my unbelief!” Is this a contradiction? Not at all! It
is honesty, transparency before the Lord. In fact, in crying out to the Lord to
help his unbelief, the man is both expressing humility and showing faith! It is
not the greatness of our faith, but the greatness of the One who is the object
of our faith! So we trust Him, we look
to Him. Faith and prayer are necessary to compassionately carry out God’s
mission in the world.
III.
Authority: Jesus showed his authority
in casting out the demon and raising up the boy (25-27). I am reminded of the words of Jesus in the Great
Commission: “All authority is given unto
me in heaven and on earth…”
25 And when
Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit,
saying to it, "You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him
and never enter him again." 26
And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was
like a corpse, so that most of them said, "He is dead." 27 But Jesus took him by the hand
and lifted him up, and he arose.
The outcome was not in doubt: Jesus has all
authority in heaven and on earth. He spoke, rebuked the demon, and it was
gone. The language that Mark uses here is
pointing us ahead to another deliverance that will be effected for all who believe.
First, the words he uses to describe the boy’s state after the exorcism is
strong: 1) he was like a corpse; so much so that, 2) Most of them said “He is
dead.” The repetition draws us in, Mark is painting a picture, giving an
illustration of the resurrection power of the Lord. Not that the boy literally
died, but he appeared so to those present. He was “like” a corpse, and some thought
he had actually died. Jesus of course truly died and was buried. Since
the fall “…it is appointed unto man once
to die...” And then Jesus took his hand, and 1) “lifted him up,” and 2) He
arose.
We see
both terms used to describe the resurrection of Jesus and our future
resurrection. For example, the term translated “lifted up” is used in I Corinthians 6:14 – “And
God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.”
We also see the word in 1 Thessalonians
1:10, “…and to wait for his Son
from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from
the wrath to come.” So, the term can
refer to both the resurrection of Jesus, and the future resurrection of
believers. The term second term, “he arose,” can also be used to refer to
the resurrection, as in 1 Thess 4:14,
“For since we believe that Jesus died and
rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who
have fallen asleep.”
Now
remember that Jesus had begun teaching the disciples about his coming death
and resurrection, but they didn’t have “ears to hear,” they could not understand. Even as they came down
the mountain, he repeated the teaching, and the three did not understand what
He meant (Mk 9:9-10). It seems likely Mark used these terms to describe the
actions of Jesus to prod the reader to think ahead to His resurrection, and
perhaps to consider that He will likewise “raise up” all who have put their
trust in Him. Paul said the same thing to the Corinthians when he wrote,
“But in fact Christ has been raised
from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by
a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also
in Christ shall all be made alive. 23
But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who
belong to Christ… (I Cor 15:20-23).
In setting
the boy free from the demon, Jesus is
giving a picture, an illustration, of the future, final deliverance He will provide
to all who believe. In the meantime, we trust Him, because faith and prayer are
necessary to compassionately carry out God’s mission in the world.
IV. Praying:
The disciples needed to understand
their dependence on the Lord to carry out His mission in the world (28-29).
28 And when he
had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, "Why could we
not cast it out?" 29 And
he said to them, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but
prayer."
One
obvious deduction from what Jesus says: If the disciples had prayed,
they hadn’t prayed enough! Prayer is a
cry for help. It is an expression of humility and faith. It is an
acknowledgement of our dependence on Him. We are engaged in a spiritual battle,
and prayer reminds us that “the battle is the Lord’s!”
We pray because we trust Him, we believe Him, and as we pray we draw nearer to
Him and He grows our faith. We believe, and He helps our unbelief!
Does
prayer really accomplish anything, does it make a difference? James said “The effective prayer of a righteous man can
accomplish much…” (James 5:16). One preacher told the story of George Mueller,
a great man of faith, who began to pray for five of his friends who did not
know the Lord…
…It was not until five years later that the first one
of them came to Christ. After five more years, two more of them became
Christians, and after twenty-five years the fourth man was saved. He prayed for
the fifth friend until the time of his death, a few months after which the last
friend came to salvation. For that friend Mueller had prayed more than fifty
years! (MacArthur, Matthew, 3:81).
That is persistent, believing, persevering, prayer! Have you felt discouraged that some in your oikos, your friends and family, continue
to resist the Truth? If God has put them on your heart, keep praying! Perhaps
the delay is to grow your faith!
What is God saying to me in this passage? Faith and prayer are necessary to compassionately
carry out God’s mission in the world.
What would God have me to do
in response to this passage? I don’t know if you are on a mountain-top right now, glowing in the
presence of the Lord, or in a valley, struggling to believe God to help you
through this present darkness. Know this: Mountain-top or valley, God is real,
and He is good, His steadfast love never wavers. Furthermore, we have a
high-priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses, who experienced life in this
fallen world and was tempted in all
points like as we are, yet without sin! He works in the valleys and on the
mountain tops to grow our faith, to lead us deeper, to draw us closer. For myself
I enjoy the mountaintops more than the valleys, but I have to say that it is sometimes
in the valleys that I have learned the most, and grown the most. Could it be
that those are the moments when we pray, like the man in this story, Lord I believe, help my unbelief! AMEN.
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