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?" 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." (Mark 9:14-18)
The Mountain and the Valley
Our episode today provides a significant contrast with the glory of the mount of transfiguration. All the gospel writers are careful to record the stories together. They wanted us to note the differences between the two scenes.
On the mountain, the power of the kingdom of God was on display. In this valley, the power of the kingdom of Satan was on display.
On the mountain, the Son of God radiated with God's glory. In this valley, the son of a father is on the brink of Satan's destruction.
On the mountain, Father God speaks highly of his Son. In this valley, a father speaks with horror about his demon-possessed son.
On the mountain, Moses and Elijah encouraged Jesus. In this valley, the religious leaders argued with the disciples.
On the mountain, the disciples caught a glimpse into the glory of eternity. In this valley, they interacted again with the pain of the real world.
Life and Discipleship
Brothers and sisters, we are not called to live on the mountain, at least not right now. One day, after our final resurrection with Christ, all those who have trusted him for rightness with God will enjoy glory, heaven, and the kingdom to the fullest. But, right now, we are meant for this world. We are meant for the brokenness and pain this planet swims in. As ministers of reconciliation, believers are meant to bring Jesus and his kingdom to bear in their everyday environments (2 Corinthians 5:18-20).
You see, Jesus was training his men. This whole scene was real life. As much as they needed mountaintop moments to inspire and refocus them, real life is spent in the valley. So Jesus brought them down the mountain and plunged them into the brokenness. He needed them to learn from him there because they would have to run into plenty of valleys in the years to come. Us too.
So what did Jesus do in the valley? What was he teaching his men? How was he building them up? What did Jesus find after the mount of transfiguration?
We've already alluded to it, but Jesus found a lot of pain down in this valley. In various forms, he saw a despairing scene.
Fighting: The Disciples and the Scribes
First, he saw the disciples and the scribes caught in a heated argument (14). We don't know what the scribes argued with the disciples about, but we can assume it had something to do with Jesus and something to do with their powerlessness over the demons that day.
The crowd was surprised that Jesus arrived right at that moment -- it was perfect timing (15)! Perhaps Jesus could settle the argument and help the man.
But, before Jesus delivered the boy from his demonic possession, Jesus interceded for his disciples. Jesus loved his men, so he stood up for them when he asked the scribes, "What are you arguing about with them?" (16).
Desperation: The Father
Before the scribes had a chance to respond, someone from the crowd answered him, telling Jesus he had brought his demon-influenced child to him, hoping Jesus could cast it out (17-18). Since he wasn't there, he instead asked Jesus' nine remaining disciples to do the job. His report was sad: "They were not able" (18).
If the first thing Jesus saw was fighting and arguing, the second thing he saw was desperation. This father loved his son. No parent wants this kind of fate to befall their child. They say parents are only as happy as their least happy child, and this man's son was in despair, so he grieved as he told Jesus the effects of his son's demons.
Chaos: The Boy
This leads us to the third thing Jesus saw -- first, arguing, then desperation, but, in the boy, Jesus saw chaos. His life had been torn in two by the devil's minions. They had done their worst, and Jesus could not help but be moved.
The Devil Loves Chaos and Confusion
Before moving on in the passage, we must note the results of Satan's reign. Chaos. Bickering. Brokenhearted parents. The destruction of the boy.
This is how Satan operates. The Bible says he lies to people, stealing the truth about God from their hearts (Mark 4:15). He binds people in sickness and disease (Luke 13:16). He steals, kills, and destroys (John 10:10). He disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). He hinders the expansion of the gospel in our world (1 Thessalonians 2:18). He is the great deceiver who blinds the nations, stirring people to war against God (Revelation 20:7). He is the god of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33).
The devil loves to foster chaos and confusion. In the Garden of Eden, he planted seeds of doubt in Eve's mind. In the book of Job, he tried everything to get God's man to curse God. In the life of ancient Israel, he fought to bring idolatry and division into the kingdom. In the gospels, he motivated Herod to kill the babies in Bethlehem, tried to stop Jesus through temptation, and was the insidious force behind the cross. And after Jesus' death ended up being Jesus' great victory, Satan worked hard to create persecution and pandemonium in every place the early church preached the gospel. Riots, rumors, and temptation awaited them at every turn, all brought by the wicked hand of Satan.
God created a good world, a well-ordered place for us to enjoy him. And we were meant to take the raw material God gave us and subdue and develop it. We were supposed to build God-fearing societies as we lived out his image on earth.
But Satan does not care about us, so he sows seeds of discord and confusion. He does everything he can to create chaos. He loves it. He does not need to produce consistent worldviews but is happy to generate competing ones that put human beings at odds with each other. He loves chaos.
He loves nudging societies towards a godless and upside-down morality (Romans 1:24-31). He loves redefining and devaluing the family, making us believe we can make it up as we go along (Romans 1:24-31). He loves lying to our young, confusing them about gender, sexuality, good, and evil. He loves to generate chaos.
Jesus Replaces Chaos With Flourishing
But notice what Jesus does in this story. He replaces the chaos with human flourishing. The boy is delivered. The father is overjoyed. The scribes are silenced. And a bit of the glory of the mount of transfiguration is brought into the valley.
This is what Jesus wants to do -- in us and through us. He saved you so he could keep saving you. He wants to take the chaotic and upside-down parts of you and restore them to his original intention. He wants you to become an ambassador of his kingdom, bringing his order and straightforward truth to bear in your circle.
When your coworkers gossip and complain, Jesus wants you to work for the good of your workplace. When your children are told lies about human sexuality, he wants to use you to show them the truth. When your friends and family strangle themselves with greed-induced debt, he wants you to live a life of hard work, generosity, and contentment. When others overrun and overcomplicate their lives with impossibly full schedules, he wants your life to be an example of Sabbath living in the midst of chaos. Jesus replaces chaos with flourishing, and he wants to do this in your life.
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For the entire Mark series, go here. Thank you.
