Reaching Faith
| When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet Him. "What are you arguing with them about?" he asked. A man in the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not." "O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me." So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?" "From childhood," he answered. "It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." " 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" (Mark9:14-24) |
A man had brought his son, who was suffering from demon possession (some suggest an extreme form of epilepsy, but it is clear that an evil and destructive force is at work here.) The disciples had tried to exorcise the evil spirit and had failed.
At that point the finger-pointing would begin: "You don't have enough faith", or "There is still hidden sin in your life", or "There is a generational curse that needs to be broken", or "This is God's will."
The father is desperate, the disciples are flummoxed and Jesus is disappointed at their lack of faith (more on that tomorrow). Jesus asks them to bring the boy and the reaction of evil to the Holy Son of God is immediate and dramatic. Could this partly be due to the close encounter that Jesus had with His Father - that He was still aglow with the glory of God?
When Jesus inquires as to the extent of the affliction the father affirms that it has been a long and destructive ordeal and this causes him to desperately plead "Please, if you can do anything...?"
This seems to strike a chord in Jesus and repeating the father's plea, He affirms "Everything is possible for him who believes."
At first this looks like the same old story - your prayers aren't being answered because you don't have enough faith. BUT the father's answer and the immediate deliverance Jesus provides shows us something different.
The father doesn't have great faith. He has some faith and a bunch of unbelief. He's not trying to bluff God or practice the power of positive thinking. He's coming to God just as he is. No pretences, just desperate reaching faith.
(Tomorrow we'll see what the real problem was...)
