Mark 9:14 And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them.
15 And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him.
16 And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them?
17 And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;
18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.
19 He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.
20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.
22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.
23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.
26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.
27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.
28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?
29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
Previous to this event, Jesus had been up in the mountain with three of His disciples. There God had revealed further truths to the three regarding Jesus Christ. God chose Peter, James and John for that particular time. They were commanded not to speak of that event until after Jesus’ resurrection.
Now we read that Jesus came to His disciples and He saw a great multitude of people around them. Jesus cared about His disciples. He knew they were not yet equipped to handle the attacks of the scribes.
We see here that this was not a physically hostile event, but rather a spiritual one. We are not told what these scribes were discussing with the disciples. We are told that the focus of the event changed when the people saw Jesus. We are reminded here again that Jesus did not walk around with a radiant glow about Him. He stood apart from others because of His teaching and His power to do miracles. The people wanted to be near Him.
Jesus asked the scribes what they were questioning with the disciples. There was some serious discussion taking place here. As Jesus was dealing with that issue, one of the people in the crowd brought his son before Jesus. Once again we are told of the busyness of the devil during that time. We have noted before that the devil is still very busy today. We have grown accustomed to his work and not recognized it for what it truly is. We have allowed ungodly people to convince us that there is just an increase in mental problems with people. We have allowed the medical profession to label them in different ways and we have poured millions of dollars into ruining the minds and bodies of many people with drugs that cannot help.
I just recently came out of the hospital. I was not there for mental problems. I was there due to heart issues. I was quite surprised to be offered fentanyl during that stay to deal with the pain I was experiencing while waiting to have surgery. Fentanyl is a drug that is being pedalled in the streets. It is a deadly killer. Yet, they were offering that to me in the hospital. I questioned them on that and they said the dosage was controlled so that I would not become addicted to it. I allowed them to give me one injection of that drug. They offered it to me again and I refused it. I told them I did not want my symptoms masked. I wanted them fixed and would put up with the discomfort until they would be able to resolve it properly.
It is a shame that we have allowed such powerful drugs to be used which have such drastic side effects. In our text, the man identified the problem, but could not find the solution. He had turned to Jesus’ disciples but they were not able to help him. Jesus addressed that problem in verse 19. The disciples were not yet in a place where they could help others. They lacked the faith needed for this. We need to remember this was prior to the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus was in their midst at this time. The Holy Spirit would come and live within the true believers after Acts 2. In our text, Jesus rebuked His disciples for their unbelief.
In verse 20 we read that this man was tormented by this devil. His father knew this was not normal and he wanted relief for his son. He did not want a bandaid solution. He wanted this devil cast out of his son. He wanted his son to be free from this torment.
In verse 21 we read that this son had this devil in him from a child. Once again we are not told how this happened. We know that the people were in spiritual darkness at that time due to the predominant nature of the Pharisaical teachings. Many people had subjected themselves to the lies of the Pharisees. False teaching is powerful and it is also dangerous. This is something we are not recognizing in our time. We spent yesterday’s devotional exposing the dangers of Catholicism. Many people are sleepwalking through life with their attitude toward that cult and many others.
In verse 22 we see the unbelief in this father as well. He came to the right place for help, but he did not know that. He hoped Jesus could help him but he was not convinced that Jesus could help him. Jesus needed to confront this unbelief. The problem was not IF Jesus could help this boy. The problem was IF the father could trust in the Lord. You notice here that this boy is not the one crying out for help. It is the father who is seeking help for his son. Fathers have an important place in the home. Fathers need to be saved in order to be able to help their children properly. Fathers need to be able to identify the real problems at hand. Children do not need the latest toys. They do not need to have the latest fashions. They need to be immersed in the teaching of the Word of God.
In verse 24 the father was shaken out of his spiritual lethargy. He cried out to Jesus with a repentant heart. He asked Jesus to help his unbelief. He needed to acknowledge the sin. Jesus had helped this man with his need. We read in verse 25 that the people had been watching and were coming to get a closer look. Jesus was not trying to draw crowds for entertainment purposes. He was seeking to help people to see the need to know Him and be forgiven and saved. Jesus’ purpose was completely different than that of the “faith healers” of our time. It is sad that so many people are drawn to the entertainment they are offering.
Jesus did not need much time to deal with this situation. He rebuked the foul spirit and commanded him to come out of this child. This particular devil was not going to come out peacefully. He made life difficult for this boy. In fact the text tells us the people assumed this boy was dead. We see here that when God does good things, it can appear quite negatively to those who do not appreciate truth. The devil is always looking for a way to interfere in God’s Work.
Jesus did not allow the doubters to interfere with His Work. He took this lad by the hand and lifted him up and he arose. Jesus is the giver of life. The devil is the destroyer of life. The after effects of the devil’s work is disaster. God provides the blessings. Due to the disastrous nature of the devil’s work, the blessings of the Lord may not seem good at first.
We understand that in order to rebuild a rotten wall, there needs to be some destruction first before the rebuilding can take place. In order to fix the rot of sin, there needs to be the removal of the sin first. Depending on the nature of the sin, the removal process may look quite bad. However, when a person turns to God and is forgiven and saved, the end result is a great blessing.
This son certainly came to understand this as did his father. They would not have regretted the results at all. No doubt they would have regretted the former time. We know the father was desperate to find real help for his son.
In verses 28-29 the disciples were not finished with this matter yet. They wanted to know why they were unable to help this father and son. Those who are God’s children want to be a help to others. They want to be able to meet their real needs. They do not want to put a bandaid on the problem. Jesus told the disciples that this kind, referring to the possession of this son, could not be resolved but by prayer and fasting. The disciples would learn this important lesson. True Biblical faith is an absolute faith in God. There can be no doubt in the heart and mind. In prayer and fasting, the true saint is drawing nigh to God. He wants to get rid of any interference with communication between himself and God. He wants to draw nigh to God. Biblical fasting is drawing nigh to God when the hunger pangs are there. Rather than going to the cupboard or the fridge to find something to take away the hunger, it is a turning to the Word of God and to prayer. It is a removing of the distractions that interfere with discerning the truth. It is not in receiving a vision or a dream. It is not an ‘experience’, but rather it is in seeing truths from God’s Word that may have been overlooked before or forgotten through neglect.
God desires to bless not just us, but those around us. The disciples needed to be in a right relationship with God in order to help others to be able to be blessed. Those who are saved have important work to do. We cannot do that unless we are given to serving God faithfully.
Pastor Bartel
