Mark 9:17-29 [A Lesson from the Father of the Demon-Possessed Child]
Mark 9:17-29 "17And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; 18And 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. 19He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. 20And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. 21And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. 22And 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. 23Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 24And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief... 28And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? 29And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting."
[Things to Meditate On]
1. What kind of generation did Jesus say the generation of that time was (v. 19)? And why did Jesus point out the unbelief of the father of the child who had a dumb spirit (vv. 23-24)? Also, why were the disciples of Jesus unable to cast the spirit out of the child (vv. 28-29)?
Matthew 17:19-20 "19Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? 20And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."
2. A father brought his child to Jesus, asking Him to cast out the spirit that was in his son. However, not only the father, but also the people around him, and even the disciples, thought that the problem was the spirit in the child, and they tried only to cast out the spirit that was in him (v. 18). But surprisingly, Jesus revealed that the problem was not the spirit in the child, but rather the lack of faith in that generation, in the child’s father, and even in the disciples of Jesus.
3. We also, like the father of that child, must examine ourselves to see whether, without knowing where the problem truly lies, we have tried to find the problem somewhere else — for example, in other people rather than in ourselves — or whether we have blamed the surrounding environment or circumstances. What truly is our problem, and where is the answer?
[Decision and Application]
In truth, no matter how strong a spirit may be, it is nothing before Jesus. This is because Jesus has the "authority" to cast out devils (Luke 4:31-36). Therefore, what Jesus sees as the problem is not strong spirits, nor the problems of this world that we always worry about, but the fact that there is "no faith" in us. He rebuked the disciples because they could not pray by faith (Matt. 17:19-20), and He also rebuked the generation of that time as a "faithless generation." These words of rebuke apply not only to the generation in the days of Jesus, but also to our generation today (Luke 18:8). Therefore, at this time when Jesus laments the lack of faith, we must strive above all else to have "faith that believes the word of God," as Job did, believing that nothing is impossible with Him (Job 42:1-2).
Luke 18:8 "I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?"
Job 42:1-2 "1Then Job answered the LORD, and said, 2I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee."
If our own faith has not yet become faith like Job’s, then, like the father of the demon-possessed child, we must humbly repent of our unbelief and earnestly pray to Jesus, in the name of Jesus, asking Him to "help our unbelief." Although that father was corrected by Jesus because he lacked faith, he did not become offended or leave Jesus in anger. Rather, he pleaded with Jesus to help him.
Mark 9:24 "And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief."
"Faith" can be obtained through the word of Jesus (Rom. 10:17), and faith is said to grow little by little, from small faith into great faith (2 Thess. 1:3). Therefore, there is no need to be discouraged just because we now have little faith. For if we diligently build up our faith from now on "through the word of Jesus," we can become rich in faith at any time (James 2:5). Therefore, from now on, we must not live with uncertain faith, saying, "if thou canst do any thing," like the father of the demon-possessed child, but must live with great faith, believing that "all things are possible to him that believeth" (v. 23, Phil. 4:13).
Romans 10:17 "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
Philippians 4:11-13 "11...for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
Amen.
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