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Weekly Message | January 18th, 2009
Passage: Mark 9:14-32
Key Verse(s): 29
We are continuing our Prayer Series Bible Study with this message. In this passage Jesus healed a boy of an evil spirit. We learn that Jesus was determined to teach faith to an unbelieving generation. Jesus was determined to follow through in the work of God that the disciples could not complete. Through prayer we should seek out possible solutions in Jesus. Only by prayer many we challenge this unbelieving generation to believe and put their faith in Jesus.
First, “O, unbelieving generation…Bring the boy to me” (14-19). Jesus, along with Peter, James and John, came down from the mountain. There, Jesus was transfigured and revealed his glory. Elijah and Moses appeared and talked to Jesus. When they reached the other nine disciples, they found them arguing with the teachers of the law. A large crowd gathered around them. When the crowd noticed that Jesus was coming, “they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to great him.”
Jesus asked, “What are you arguing with them about?” The disciples could not answer Jesus nor could the teachers of the law. Instead, a man from the crowd answered Jesus. He said, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 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” (18,19).
The father sought the help of Jesus to heal his son. The father did not find Jesus but his disciples. The nine remaining disciples tried to help the man but they could not. In the past, the disciples had successful healing experiences. Jesus sent them out on a mission journey. They preached that people should repent. They drove out demons, anointed the sick and healed them (Mk 6:7,12,13). Jesus had given them authority to do these things. But what happened this time? They could not help this possessed boy. They were powerless to anything at all.
The teachers of the law noticed that the disciples of Jesus could not cast out the demon. Perhaps they used this time to criticize Jesus publicly since the disciples could not do what Jesus had done. An argument erupted between the disciples who wanted to defend themselves and Jesus’ ministry and the teachers of the law who only wanted to discredit Jesus in front of all the people. The father watched the argument and his hope slowly melted away.
Jesus responded, “‘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.’ ” Jesus expressed his deep agony in regard to an unbelieving generation. He felt the dense barriers of unbelief. During the time of Jesus’ ministry, he worked tirelessly to teach faith and turn the hearts and minds of all people to God. Jesus’ message is, “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mk 1:15). Once, Jesus healed a paralytic who had been crippled all his life. Jesus declared that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins (Mk 2:9,10). Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead that we may understand that he is the resurrection and the life (Jn 11:25). Certainly Jesus was compassionate for those who were suffering. But he preached and healed so that people could put their faith in him and believe that he was the promised Messiah.
Jesus said, “O, unbelieving generation.” Jesus defined the pervasive condition of the generation of people as ‘unbelieving.’ The unbelieving included the father, the crowd, the teachers of the law and it included the disciples who, in this moment, were all caught up in an unbelieving atmosphere and arguing with each other. Jesus was determined to plant faith at this time and asked that the boy be brought to him. Jesus took control of this event to save the boy and to plant faith.
God’s work continues through Jesus in imperfect circumstances and even in unbelieving atmospheres. God’s work continues even through his servants are imperfect in their faith. We may have received power and authority from God through Jesus, but in some instances we may be a part of this unbelieving generation. The problems and challenges we are faced with can be complicated and vast. In helping others, we may find that we may not really know what to do. We may find that we simply are not well trained or equipped to deal with the problems that we are faced with. This is not an excuse for our lack of preparation. However, Jesus shows us that he is willing to follow through on our insufficient attempts to help others. As servants of God we may stumble through helping others. However, God will complete his good work that he has begun and carry it to completion (Php 1:6). We must grow in our faith and do our best but it is God who completes his work for us. By God’s grace to us, Jesus follows through doing his good work.
Second, “Everything is possible for him who believes” (20-24). Look at verse 20. They brought the boy to Jesus. When the spirit saw Jesus, it threw the boy onto the ground into a convulsion. The spirit made the boy roll around and foam at the mouth. Strangely, now that Jesus was actually involved, the situation appeared to be worse. The spirit still controlled the child. The spirit still influenced the unbelief of all who were standing there and continued to make everyone feel powerless.
Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” Jesus was certainly concerned about the boy’s urgent need. However, the greater problem to solve was the father’s unbelief. Jesus wanted to help the father have faith. The father answered, “From childhood. It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him.”
Here we see that the father had always lived in the fear that his son could seriously hurt himself and was always in danger of a fatal accident. We know that the boy had a caring father who kept the boy from serious injury. However, the boy had defined the father’s life through his need for constant care. The father said to Jesus, “But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us” (22b). The father revealed his doubt and was asking Jesus with a vague and uncertain hope just to do something if he could.
Jesus really wanted to help the father’s unbelief. “ ‘If you can’? said Jesus. ‘Everything is possible for him who believes.’ ” “Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” Perhaps the man’s statement may seem contradictive at first. But really it isn’t. The father did believe in Jesus. He believed in Jesus enough to bring his son to Jesus but in the greater issue of healing his son, he was unbelieving. Moreover, the real hope in Jesus sprang into his heart when Jesus said, “Everything is possible for him who believes.”
Do we have faith in Jesus? Yes we do. We believe that he died for our sins and he rose from the dead. We are certain of our salvation. We believe in Jesus and come to worship service faithfully. But we are unbelieving that God can make it possible to overcome hard class work. It is not uncommon for us to experience the feeling of being defeated and hopeless or have serious doubts. There may be areas in our life where we find ourselves failing over and over again. It is quite easy to be unbelieving and never get these issues resolved. It becomes easy to justify our unbelieving attitude based on the events and circumstances that in some instances are very tough to deal with. We do in fact believe but we need help to overcome our unbelief.
Jesus says, “Everything is possible for him who believes.” Jesus is challenging our unbelief so that we seek his help and find God’s solution for our problems. This is not a cook book approach to solve our problems in life. This verse cannot be applied to our problems with the expectation of resolving our issues quickly. We cannot use this verse to make a claim on material possessions, careers or personal fame. Seeking possibilities is not to demand from God or dictate to God a particular solution, but it is to seek God’s solution in our situations. In this we persevere that God may do his work.
On Friday night, nine students shared their testimonies. They all aspire to grow in a love relationship with Jesus. Why? Because they see possibilities in Jesus. Through God’s word each week, prayer and Narrow Gate fellowship the hope and love of Jesus comes alive. They are finding a new freedom that comes by faith. Jesus’ love never fails. His love always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always persevere (1Co:13:7,8). This is what they are embracing. This is what we all embrace. Therefore, we see possibilities in Jesus when we believe and we can pray for 24 world class leaders to be raised up among us.
Jesus said, “Everything is possible for him who believes.” We have every reason to learn to trust Jesus and pursue the possibilities that God can provide.
Third, “This kind can come out only by prayer” (25-32). Look at verses 25 and 26. I says, “ ‘You deaf and mute spirit,’ he said, ‘I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.’ The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, ‘He’s dead.’” Jesus then took the boy’s hand and lifted him to his feet. The boy was able to stand on his own. A wonderful miracle of God had taken place. A boy’s life was restored. A father now had the joy of a normal relation with his son. Perhaps the father cried out in joy, while hugging his son and thanking Jesus.
After Jesus and the disciples went in doors they asked Jesus, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” Jesus could have said to them, “O, unbelieving disciples!” Jesus could have repeated what he said to the man, “Everything is possible for him who believes.” Instead, Jesus said, “This kind can come out only by prayer.” Here, Jesus treats the disciples differently from the crowds and the father. Jesus taught the disciples that they should pray.
When Jesus spoke of “this kind” it represents the challenging problems, like the father’s, that we cannot solve quickly on our own. “Only by prayer” meant that the only way that disciples of Jesus could challenge and overcome an unbelieving generation is through prayer. Earlier, the disciples had taken for granted the power and authority Jesus had given them to preach, heal and drive out evil spirits. Now they understood that Jesus’ power and authority given to them to serve God is a gift. Without it they cannot serve God effectively. Jesus taught them that it is only through prayer that they may be able to continue to do God’s work as powerful disciples.
In the Book of Acts we find that the disciples did learn the importance of having a prayer life. They devoted themselves to prayer (Acts 1:14, 2:42). First of all, it served as the bases for much inspiration of God’s word. Peter had the power to preach to large crowds. Once, three thousand people were converted through the message that he spoke (Acts 2:41). Secondly, Peter healed a crippled beggar by commanding the man to walk (Acts 3:6,7). Together, through prayer, the Apostles and the other disciples challenged the unbelief of their generation. The united prayer of God’s people is powerful and effective.
After teaching his disciples about prayer, Jesus took his disciples through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know where he was so that he could spend time with his disciples teaching them. It was here that Jesus taught them for the second time what would befall the Son of Man. He said, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” He described the pain and suffering that he would endure. Jesus himself was willing to believe anything was possible for him who believes even through his suffering and death on the cross. Jesus believed and prayed.
Today is our fourth message in our Prayer Series Bible Study. In the key verse message from Luke 18:1 Jesus taught his disciples to pray and not give up. As the widow women looking for justice we must persevere in prayer. The second lesson is from Mark 11:17. Jesus taught us that his house is a house of prayer for all nations. We learned to pray for God’s work for all people and for all nations. Last week the third lesson from Matthew 6:9 Jesus taught us the Lord’s Prayer. We learned to pray quietly and humbly according to God’s will and our needs. Today we learn another aspect of prayer: “This kind can come out only by prayer.” Jesus teaches us that through prayer we may challenge the unbelief of this generation. We may not take for granted what power and authority we have to teach the Bible and to help others. Moreover, when we do feel powerless we seek out God’s possibilities and persevere in prayer. May we all learn the prayer that sustains the work of God and challenges this unbelieving generation.
January 18, 2009. Toledo UBF
(Adapted message written by Paul Hong)
Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
