1:1-8 | 1:9-15 | 1:16-20 | 1:21-45 | 2:1-12 | 2:13-17 | 2:18-22 | 2:23-28 | 3:1-6 | 3:7-19 | 3:20-35 | 4:1-20 | 4:21-34 | 4:35-41 | 5:1-20 | 5:21-43 | 6:1-6 | 6:7-32 | 6:33-44 | 6:45-56 | 7:1-23 | 7:24-37 | 8:1-26 | 8:27-33 | 8:34-38 | 9:1-13 | 9:14-29 | 9:30-50 | 10:1-12 | 10:13-16 | 10:17-31 | 10:32-52 | 11:1-11 | 11:12-26 | 11:27-12:12 | 12:13-17 | 12:18-27 | 12:28-34 | 12:35-40 | 12:41-44 | 13:1-13 | 13:14-23 | 13:24-37 | 14:1-11 | 14:12-25 | 14:27-52 | 14:53-15:15 | 15:16-47 | 16:1-14 | 16:15-20
Introduction
The Mountain And The Valley
Our episode today provides a major contrast with the glory of the mount of transfiguration.
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.
Life And Discipleship
But we are not called to live on the mountain, at least not right now.
- You see, Jesus was training his men.
So what did Jesus do in the valley? What was he teaching his men? How was he building them up?
1. He replaces chaos with flourishing.
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.”
- What did Jesus find?
- We've already alluded to it, but Jesus found a lot of pain down in this valley.
Fighting: The Disciples And The Scribes
- First, he saw the disciples and the scribes caught in a heated argument (14).
Desperation: The Father
But, 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 Jesus wasn't there, he instead asked Jesus' nine remaining disciples if they could 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.
Chaos: The Boy
- Which leads us to the third thing Jesus saw -- first, arguing, then desperation, but, in the boy, Jesus saw chaos.
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 the young.
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.
God created a good world, a well ordered place for us to enjoy him.
But Satan does not care about us, so he sows seeds of discord and confusion.
He loves nudging societies towards a godless and upside down morality (Romans 1:24-31).
Over the next few months, as you watch the news of the day unfold, remember Satan's desire to produce chaos.
Jesus Replaces Chaos With Flourishing
But notice what Jesus does in this story. He replaces the chaos with human flourishing.
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.
2. He uses imperfect faith to accomplish his perfect work.
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.” 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!”
The Faithless Generation
- Jesus' response to the scene was one of sorrow. He cried out asking, "O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you?" (19).
Bring Him To Me
But, notice, Jesus' grief did not paralyze him. So he said, "Bring him to me" (19).
Jesus stands out as a good example for us in this regard. He saw the big problems, but also did the little things that would help this man and his son. In that moment, he did what he could.
The Situation
- Jesus interviewed the father to discover the gravity of the situation.
If You Can Do Anything
Then the father blasted forth a request. He said, "If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us" (22). If you can do anything.
In the first chapter of Mark, a leper came to Jesus. He wondered if Jesus was willing to help him, saying, "If you will, you can make me clean" (Mark 1:40-45). The leper didn't doubt Jesus could, but wondered if he wanted to help. But this father thinks Jesus wants to help, but wonders if he can help. It's as if he says, "If you can, I know you would love to help my son."
People often feel this way about God. They believe he either cares but is powerless to help, or is powerful to help but doesn't care.
"If You Can"!
Jesus shot back to the man -- "'If you can'!" (23). Of course Jesus can.
Jesus told the man the problem did not lie in his inability, but in the quality of the man's faith. He said, "All things are possible to him who believes" (23).
This is Jesus putting the responsibiltiy squarely on the man's shoulders. This father needed to believe.
Real Faith
In response, the man said one of the most human things in all of the gospels: "I believe, help my unbelief" (24). This is real faith.
The man knew his faith was not perfect. Too often, believers think their faith needs to be of the superhuman quality.
Jesus Uses Imperfect Faith To Accomplish His Perfect Work
You see, Jesus uses imperfect faith to accomplish his perfect work. It isn't about the grandiosity of our faith, but about the grandiosity of the One we put our faith in.
It wasn't about the father's great faith that day, but about Jesus.
True faith is conscious of how smalness and inadequacy.
3. He rejects self-sufficiency while looking for dependence on God.
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.
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.”
First, Worse
I want you to first notice how the boy seems to have gotten worse before Jesus delivered him.
Jesus loves to save. And sometimes he will save us by allowing things to get worse before they get better.
The Disciples' Failure
- After delivering the boy, Jesus and the disciples entered the house (28). Privately, the disciples asked Jesus why they couldn't cast out the demon (28). As a reminder, Jesus had sent them out two-by-two earlier in Mark, and they had power then to cast out demons.
Prayer (And Fasting)
Jesus said this kind can only come out by prayer.
I don't think this was Jesus' way of saying there are just some demons -- or trials, individuals, or problems -- that require prayer and fasting, while others do not.
Instead, I think Jesus was pointing out their self-sufficiency.
Jesus Rejects Self-Sufficiency And Looks For Dependence On God.
Jesus was trying to show them the error of self-sufficiency. They should not have trusted in their own strength. They forgot they were dependent on God for power. If they had been dependent, they would have been praying.
In one sense, a prayerless life is a prideful life. It is a way of living that thinks God has no help to offer, and that you can get by without his power.
But Jesus rejects self-sufficiency and looks for dependence on God. He wants us to be a dependent people.