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Sunday School
Powerful Faith (Mark 9:14–29)
ther and boy. Even the father admitted, “I asked your dis- ciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”
The nine disciples seemed dumbfounded that they failed to drive out the demon. After all, they had done this before (Mark 6:13). Jesus connected the dots between the disciples’ lack of faith and their lack of prayer. Maybe they had begun to do min- istry in the power of the flesh. Maybe their depend- ence on God had gone on au- topilot. Their faith (or lack thereof) had failed.
The boy was in a desperate situation. He had an impure (“unclean”) spirit (Mark’s way of talking about demon possession), mentioned four times in our text. This de- monic force caused havoc in self-destructive behavior. The boy gave evidence of se- vere seizures (foaming at the mouth, rigid posture, and convulsions). The boy also was robbed of speech (Jesus addressed the spirit as a deaf and mute spirit) and found
himself helpless in near- death experiences (burning and drowning). This text shows our enemy’s attitude toward little children.
The father might have been in an even more des- perate situation. He strug- gled with faith. But he did the right thing by taking his son to Jesus. He pleaded for pity (compassion). Jesus asked, “How long has he been like this? The father re- sponded, “From childhood.” Then the father spilled out his true feelings: “If you can.” Jesus picked up on that faltering faith and rebuked the father with a question (“If you can?”) and a state- ment (“Everything is possi- ble for one who believes”).
In one of the most honest statements in the Bible, the father said, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbe- lief.” This is honest doubt. In faith there is room for doubt. Mark 9:21-24
When Jesus has to place his power over the demonic forces against our little faith,
he gets frustrated. Jesus seemed exasperated when he said, “You unbelieving gen- eration . . . how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?” Jesus was underwhelmed by people’s lack of faith (Mark 6:5).
However, be careful of overinterpreting a supposed harshness of spirit in Jesus. Notice that he said, “Bring the boy to me.” Mark 9:19- 20, 25-27 Demon possessed people were to be pitied, not judged. The young boy was not to be blamed for the dis- ciples’ failed faith or the fa- ther’s doubt. The boy was helpless against the on- slaught of Hell.
Jesus wanted no hoopla, so when he saw the crowd running to the scene, he commanded the spirit to come out of the boy and never enter him again. For a brief moment Jesus let us look into a world without the influence of the devil. In the end, Jesus is the one who shows powerful faith.
The apostles said, “In- crease our faith” (Luke 17:5).
The narratives of the mid- dle portion of Mark’s Gospel can be divided into three parts. There are boat stories (Mark 4:35–6:13), bread stories 6:14–8:21), and blind stories (8:22–10:52). Our lesson text comes from discipleship passages that are bracketed by the healing of blind men (8:22-26; 10:46-52). Faith helps us see well.
When Moses came down from the mountain with the law, he found apostasy (Ex- odus 32:1-35). When Jesus
came down from the moun- tain with glory (the transfig- uration had just taken place), he faced disappointed disci- ples, a desperate father, and the demons of Hell in a help- less boy.
Jesus, Peter, James, and John rejoined the other nine disciples. Mark 9:14-18, 28, 29. The crowd was over- whelmed with wonder (one of Mark’s favorite expres- sions) to see Jesus, but the teachers of the law were ar- guing (“to have zeal with”) with the nine disciples. Per- haps the religious elite were poking fun at the nine disci- ples’ inability to help the fa-
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