prayer
intro:
in this middle section of mark (on the road), there are only three miracles.
the section starts and stops with jesus restoring sight to the blind, which seems to rather clearly indicate that we are dealing with questions
of vision and understanding here.
this is where jesus indicates his true mission - to suffer and die.
and then...there's this miracle.
mark 9:14-29
14. When they came back to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them.
15. Immediately, when the entire crowd saw Him, they were amazed and began running up to greet Him.
16. And He asked them, "What are you discussing with them?"
17. And one of the crowd answered Him, "Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute;
18. and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and
stiffens out. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it."
19. And He *answered them and *said, "O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I
put up with you? Bring him to Me!"
20. They brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling
to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth.
21. And He asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood.
22. "It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything,
take pity on us and help us!"
23. And Jesus said to him, " `If You can?' All things are possible to him who believes."
24. Immediately the boy's father cried out and said, "I do believe; help my unbelief."
25. When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You deaf and
mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again."
26. After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like
a corpse that most of them said, "He is dead!"
27. But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up.
28. When He came into the house, His disciples began questioning Him privately, "Why could we not drive it out?"
29. And He said to them, "This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer."
1. coming down from the mountain (mark 9:14-19)
(tell the story)
- mountain top experience
jesus was just talking with moses and elijah; god the father spoke from heaven, the whole deal.
we should expect a bit of trouble then, yes?
kind of always this way. moses on sinai, jesus' baptism/temptation, etc
- they come down from the mtn, and trouble
- the bad guys are here
the scribes, religious folks, are, like the other religious leaders, haters.
there's some guesswork that they've been sent as investigators by the jewish ruling council to procure evidence against
jesus.
- the disciples are looking like chumps; probably doesn't reflect that well on jesus
a guy asked the disciples for help...they gave it a shot.
and totally failed.
- public failure, in front of the crowd, and in front of the scribes; now they're arguing.
at this point, there's open argument.
are the disciples trying to argue that no, really, it's worked for them before? they can't really be doing well...
- the source of the conflict is revealed
- someone from the crowd reveals the story
his kid is demon possessed, he asked for an exorcism, and the disciples couldn't pull it off.
reread the text
14. When they came back to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them.
15. Immediately, when the entire crowd saw Him, they were amazed and began running up to greet Him.
16. And He asked them, "What are you discussing with them?"
17. And one of the crowd answered Him, "Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute;
18. and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and
stiffens out. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it."
19. And He *answered them and *said, "O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I
put up with you? Bring him to Me!"
things you should have noticed so far in the story.
a) satan and demons exist, and they are not good.
an aside... supernatural enemies exist.
you may not ever encounter demon posession, but your theology should not cut out spiritual adversaries.
also, this may be obvious, but it should be noted that satan and the demons universally seek the destruction of humans
in scripture.
b) our problem is a question of belief
jesus seems a bit bothered by the lack of belief ("o unbelieving generation...how long shall i put up with you?")
we don't know whose lack of faith he's talking about, but we do know that the problem with the demon seems related.
2. it's not me, it's you (mark 9:20-23)
(tell the story)
the guy brings his son over, and jesus asks some diagnostic questions.
- as soon as the kid gets near jesus, the demon throws him into a fit (the demon doesn't question who jesus is)
- jesus asks how long it's been going on, the guy says since he was a child (does it matter?).
- the demon often throws the kid into fire and or water, and someone has to go save him.
the explanation finishes with a plea from the dad, "if you can help us, please do so!"
- "if you can? all things are possible to him who believes." this turns things around a bit...
reread the text
20. They brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling
to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth.
21. And He asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood.
22. "It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything,
take pity on us and help us!"
23. And Jesus said to him, " `If You can?' All things are possible to him who believes."
things you should have noticed so far: our story is about faith
so...we know now that our story is about faith
early in the story, v19 - "O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you?"
now, the man indicates that he's not sure if jesus can help, and jesus is like "??? the problem is you."
so...
our problem is a lack of faith
faith definition: true thoughts about god, held actively.
imperfect, but hopefully good enough for today.
also: the problem is "if you can" not "if you will"
compare this story of "if you can" with earlier miracles where people ask jesus "if he will"
thus, the syrophonecian woman asks jesus to choose to heal her daughter in mark 7.
jairus asks jesus to heal his daughter...
shadrach etc declare god's ability, and say that if he wants them to be saved, he will save them.
1. people don't have faith in jesus.
in the story: the father (and the unbelieving generation) aren't sure if jesus can beat the demon.
that means they probably don't believe he is god.
or, they have such bad beliefs about god that god no longer is god...if that makes sense.
in the book: the disciples, the crowds, and the pharisees all are a bit off on "who is jesus"
this has been somewhat central to the book yes?
outside of scripture: this is obviously something we deal with.
from "is there a god" ...
to "does god care about me?"
2. god wants people to have faith
1. god wants our faith; here, it's also clear that his action is given where there is faith.
jesus straight up tells the guy, your son can be healed if you have faith.
this is weird, but get over it. god works where
2. think about the areas in which we lack faith...
want to see your own lack faith (or our lack "true thoughts about god held actively")?
look at the father here; very understandable, yes?
check out your worries.
i'm hoping to convince you all to think about the areas in which you struggle to believe truth about god...
and to see our lacks of faith as serious problems.
does god love me?
will god care for me?
can god help my marriage, cover my sin, heal my pain?
indicators of beliefs that god can not do what he says he will, or that our problems are bigger.
3. god requires faith to receive salvation.
a final remark on how important it is for us to have true beliefs.
how are we saved? by grace through faith.
the question of who is god and what should we do as a result is the most important question we have.
check the response...
3. take a sad song, and make it better (mark 9:20-23)
(back to the story)
so - god wants faith, people don't have it.
jesus says this is a condition for god's work.
what does the boys father say/do?
ahh!!! i want to believe, help me.
jesus, seeing a gathering crowd (who doesn't believe) and the desire for belief from the father, heals the kid.
a bit of drama about that...the kid goes into convulsions, the demon leaves, and the boy lies there like he's dead
until jesus takes him by the hand and gets him up.
reread the text
24. Immediately the boy's father cried out and said, "I do believe; help my unbelief."
25. When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You deaf and
mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again."
26. After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like
a corpse that most of them said, "He is dead!"
27. But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up.
things you should have noticed: the desire for belief is good enough.
the desire for faith is part of faith
yeah, really. i think that this is idea is at the heart of christianity.
what is repentance? a type of desire - to turn away from sin and to turn towards god.
so it is with faith; faith is true ideas held actively...
think about becoming a christian - what is needed?
well, desire is one of the things you need.
you have to have true beliefs (god exists, you are sinful, you are under god's judgement)
but the demons have that. see james 2:19,20
You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?
god works on our desire
this story is a fantastic moment where god shows his action based on desire.
mark carefully records this bit on "help my unbelief, and we get to see it.
so... what does god want? he wants us to want the right things.
we learn elsewhere in scripture that god ensures our security himself, but this is a nice
narrative point about seeing god act on want.
let's check how the story ends.
4. what's wrong with our skillz? (mark 9:28,29)
(back to the story)
so - after jesus has kicked out the demon and helped the kid, and they've gotten away from the crowd...
the disciples are like, "why couldn't we kick out the demon?"
jesus says that that kind only come out through prayer.
??? options to intepret.
- they hadn't prayed and should have.
i don't like that because they've been kicking demons out already (see their being sent out 2x2 in mark 6)
also jesus makes a point about "this kind".
- some situations won't work out neatly and immediately
i like this option, because it fits biblical patterns of no neat, universal solution
some people don't like this because it introduces a different category of demon, and people get all
sensitive about that. that doesn't bother me.
things you have to say though:
- the story reminds everyone that the power we're looking for is god's alone.
- the decision to heal depended on god's will, not anyone elses.
reread the text
28. When He came into the house, His disciples began questioning Him privately, "Why could we not drive it out?"
29. And He said to them, "This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer."
things you should have noticed: prayer is huge
good faith is related to prayer by remembering that god is able to accomplish his will
the demon comes out through: prayer, and faith ("if you can? you mean if you can believe".)
- believe that god has power over to do what he wants/needs
- prayer
prayer is not an expression of doubt in god's ability
- if god has the ability, do we need to pray?
yes.
but why?
it doesn't say.
possibly to include us in the work?
possibly just because god wants to do so?
so...this story stands as a reminder that god has the ability to do all things, and shows that we must believe his words and ability.
- our section is transitioning away from power demonstration to statements about jesus's plan and will.
- this story emphasizes our need to believe...
- it's almost another angle on belief to peter's confession/rebuke.