Mark 9:14-29
Introduction
When Jesus comes down from the mount of transfiguration with the three inner circle disciples, He comes across an issue involving a possessed boy. How he deals with it has some important lessons for us.
The key verse in this passage is verse 23.
Bear all of this in mind as we examine today’s passage.
Verses 14 to 16
When Jesus comes back to the other nine disciples, he finds them involved in an argument with some scribes. A scribe is a religious leader who is an expert in the Law of Moses. The Law of Moses is found in the Pentateuch; the first five books of the Old Testament. In verse 16 Jesus asks them what they are arguing about.
Verses 17 to 18
In verse 17 someone in the crowd answers Jesus. It was the father of a boy who was possessed by a spirit which makes him mute. We know it was the father of the boy by looking at verse 21.
In some translations it says that the boy has a mute spirit. The Greek word translated as ‘has’ is ‘echo’. Echo means to have hold of. The mute spirit has taken hold of or possessed the boy. It is controlling him. As we have seen before in Marks Gospel, a spirit is another name for a demon.
In verse 18 the father explains to Jesus what happens to the boy. He has epileptic fits. These are the symptoms of a Grand Mal seizure. However, we are told that the boy is demon possessed. The boy has epilepsy and the demon is using this weakness to torment the boy. This is how demons work. They take advantage of someone’s weakness in order to possess and torment them.
At the end of Verse 18 we see that the father has brought a complaint to Jesus. His complaint is that the disciples were unable to cast the demon out. Remember that the disciples have been able to cast demons out before. See Mark 6:13.
Take note that Jesus was absent when they failed to deliver the boy. Jesus was on the top of a high mountain. Without the presence of Jesus, they were powerless. Today we too are powerless without the presence of Jesus in our lives.
After His resurrection, Jesus departed from the earth and ascended into heaven, and the disciples once again found that He was absent. Jesus dealt with the problems caused by His absence after He ascended into heaven. He sent the Holy Spirit otherwise known as the Helper. See John 16:5-7.
Jesus also dealt with the issue of power in His absence by baptising the disciples with the Holy Spirit. See Acts 1:4-8.
Although Jesus is in heaven, He is still present with us through the Holy Spirit. And through the baptism with the Holy Spirit, we have the power to heal and perform miracles.
Verse 19
This verse tells us how Jesus felt about the failure of the disciples to deliver the boy. Jesus was lamenting, not the lack of power of His disciples, but their lack of faith. The issue of faith is the main theme of this story.
At the end of verse 19 Jesus asks them to bring the boy to Him.
Verses 20 to 22
When the boy is brought to Jesus, the demon forces him to have an epileptic fit. Jesus asked the father how long this had been happening to the boy because of the compassion He had towards the boy. He was concerned about how much the boy had suffered.
Then at the end of Verse 22 comes the key request from the father. “But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” Notice how the father is not sure if Jesus can help the boy.
Verses 23 to 24
Now we come to the heart of this passage. In Verse 23 Jesus makes a remarkable statement. “All things are possible to him who believes.”
Bear in mind that this is one of the most abused verses in the Bible. Some people think that Jesus is saying that if you believe something can happen it will happen. They see it as a form of positive thinking. If you believe that you can be wealthy, you will be.
In some parts of the Church this verse is used to support the false practice of faith healing. In faith healing the idea is that, if you believe strongly enough, you will be healed. This can be very damaging for sick people. If the sick person is not healed, they are blamed for not having enough faith.
This verse is not a blanket, universal promise that says, “Anything that you believe will happen, will happen.” As Christians we cannot generate faith through our own will. Faith comes by hearing. Faith comes by the word of God. It is God who creates faith in the doubting heart.
In Verse 23 Jesus is inviting the boy’s father to believe in Him. He has some faith but, in some areas, he is lacking in faith. This is true of all of us as believers. Are there things in your life where you lack faith? If there are weaknesses in your faith then you need help from Jesus in order to believe. When you have doubts, go to the word of God. Listen to the promises of Jesus, look to Jesus and He will give you the faith that you need.
Verses 25 to 27
In response to the father’s plea, Jesus commands the demon to come out of the boy and the demon obeys. But then in Verse 26 the boy seems dead after the demon has left him. But he wasn’t dead and Jesus helps him up.
The healing of the boy was Jesus’ answer to the father’s lack of faith. The healing would have increased the father’s faith. When we see Jesus keeping His word it creates faith in us. And the more it happens, the stronger our faith becomes.
Verses 28 to 29
In Verse 28 the disciples ask Jesus why they could not cast the demon out. And in Verse 29 Jesus is in effect telling them that it was a difficult type of deliverance to carry out.
There is a lesson for us in this. When we are dealing with something really difficult or deeply wicked, we need to pray earnestly for the situation.