Scripture Reading: Mark 9:14-29

Matthew 17:14-23

We Just Read From Mark 9 About Jesus Healing a Man’s Demon-Possessed Son

We’re About to Study this Very Same Story From Matthew’s Account

But it’s Going to Sound Quite a Bit Different

Matthew is Going to Leave Out Most of the Details of the Story

When You Compare the 2 Accounts…

You’d Be Completely Justified if You Thought…

Matthew’s Version is a Little Boring

But this Provides an Opportunity for Us to Think About…

An Important Concept When it Comes to Studying the Bible

The Authors of Scripture Were Real People

They had Their Own Goals and Purposes for What They Were Writing

They Wrote From Their Own Perspectives on Things

This Does Not Discount the Fact that They Were Inspired By God

But Being Inspired By God Doesn’t Remove…

Their Personalities, Uniqueness, or Perspective

It Means They are Helped/Guided into Speaking the Truth…

As it Flows From Their Own Personalities, Uniqueness, and Perspective

There’s a Reason All 4 Gospel Accounts are Different From One Another

They Were Written 4 Different People…

With Different Personalities, Perspectives, and Goals

Why Does Matthew Leave Out Most of the Details of this Story?

Because Matthew has a Different Goal/Purpose Than Mark

Mark Focuses on:

The Crowds and Their Amazement with Jesus

The Father, His Desperation, and His Struggle with Faith

The Boy and His Agonizing Condition

The Miraculous Casting Out of the Demon

Matthew, on the Other Hand, is Focused on the Disciples

Mark Paints this Story as a Happy One

When You Read it, You Come Away Feeling…

Happy, Relieved, and Amazed at Jesus

But When You Read Matthew’s Account…

You Come Away Feeling Quite Different

Matthew’s Focus is on the Failure…

And Faithlessness of the Disciples

Matthew Wants Us to Come Away From this Text…

Realizing the Importance and the Power of having Faith in Jesus

Matthew 17:14–15 (NASB95)

14 When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.

Let’s Remember the Context

Jesus Took Peter, James, and John Up on a High Mountain

He was Transformed into His Future Glory…

And Spoke to Moses and Elijah About His Death

Now They are Coming Back Down the Mountain…

And They Find a Large Crowd Gathered Around the Other Disciples

One Man in the Crowd had Asked the Disciples to Heal His Son

His Son was a “Lunatic”

Lunatic = “Moon-Struck”

They Believed the Phases of the Moon Could Affect Peoples’ Sanity

Lots of People Still Believe that

Many Believe this Boy is Experiencing Epileptic-Like Seizures…

Caused By a Demon that’s Possessed Him

It Causes Him to Fall into Fire and Water

This Demon is Causing Him to Be “Very Ill”

“Very Ill” = To Suffer Severely

Then the Father Says:

Matthew 17:16 (NASB95)

16 “I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.”

Back in Chapter 10, Jesus Gave the Disciples the Ability to Cast Out Demons

But Now They Aren’t Able to

Matthew 17:17–18 (NASB95)

17 And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once.

Jesus Came Down From Glory on the Mountain…

Into a Valley of Despair and Hopelessness

He Finds His Disciples Surrounded By a Crowd and Arguing with Some Scribes

He’s Confronted By a Helpless Father Trying to Save His Helpless Son

And He Hears that His Disciples have Tried and Failed…

To Do the Very Thing that Jesus Gave Them the Ability to Do

Have You Ever Gone on a Vacation and had the Most Wonderful Time…

Only to Return Back Home and Be Bombarded with Problems that Need Fixing?

It’s as if Everything Started Falling Apart the Moment You Left…

And You’re Expected to Clean Up the Mess the Moment You Return?

It’s a Rude Awakening, Isn’t it

It’s Frustrating

I Think that’s What We’re Seeing in Jesus Right Here

He’s Frustrated

And He has Every Right to Be

He Calls Them All an “Unbelieving and Perverted Generation”

“Unbelieving” = Without Faith

“Perverted” = Crooked; Distorted

Often Refers to Someone Who is Trying to Lead Others Astray

Jesus has Been with These People for All this Time

They’ve Seen His Miracles and Heard His Teachings

But the Moment He Goes Up a Mountain to Be with God…

And Experience His Glory…

They Turn From Their Faith in Him and Start Taking Others with Them

I Hope this is All Starting to Sound Familiar

Exodus 24:12–18 (NLT)

12 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain. Stay there, and I will give you the tablets of stone on which I have inscribed the instructions and commands so you can teach the people.” 13 So Moses and his assistant Joshua set out, and Moses climbed up the mountain of God. 14 Moses told the elders, “Stay here and wait for us until we come back. Aaron and Hur are here with you. If anyone has a dispute while I am gone, consult with them.”

15 Then Moses climbed up the mountain, and the cloud covered it. 16 And the glory of the Lord settled down on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from inside the cloud. 17 To the Israelites at the foot of the mountain, the glory of the Lord appeared at the summit like a consuming fire. 18 Then Moses disappeared into the cloud as he climbed higher up the mountain. He remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Like Jesus, Moses was on a High Mountain with God and His Close Assistant

God Appeared Over the Mountain in a Cloud and Spoke From the Cloud

Then, When Moses Left God’s Glory and Came Down the Mountain…

He Found Everything in Total Disarray

The People He Left Behind had Turned From Their Faith…

And Were Leading Others Astray, as Well

They had Begun Worshiping a Golden Calf in Those 40 Days

Notice How Moses would Later Refer to the People of Israel:

Deuteronomy 32:5 (NASB95)

5 “They have acted corruptly toward Him, They are not His children, because of their defect; But are a perverse and crooked generation.

(Put Up Verses 17-18)

These People and Their Weak Faith are Wearing Jesus Out

“How Much Longer Am I Going to Put Up with You People?”

It’s Been Very Obvious Throughout Matthew’s Account…

That He Wants His Readers to See Jesus as the New Moses

He is Experiencing the Same Frustration that Moses Felt

Just as Moses Immediately Took Care of the Golden Calf Problem…

Jesus Cast the Demon Out of the Boy and Fixed the Situation

Matthew 17:19–20 (NASB95)

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive it out?” 20 And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.

Now that Jesus is Back with His Disciples…

They Want to Know Why They Couldn’t Cast the Demon Out

Jesus’ Reply in Mark is:

Mark 9:29 (NASB95)

29 And He said to them, “This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.”

But in Matthew, Jesus Blames it on Their Little/Small Faith

These 2 Accounts Give 2 Different Answers

But Don’t Think They Aren’t Closely Connected

Mark Says it Takes Prayer to Cast Out this Kind of Demon

Matthew Says it Takes Faith

They are Painting the Same Picture, Just From Different Angles

To have Faith in God is to Trust in/Rely on His Power

To Pray to God is to Seek His Power

However These Disciples Were Trying to Cast Out this Demon…

It Wasn’t By Trusting or Seeking God’s Power to Do So

Jesus Says that a Person can Move a Mountain with the Smallest Amount of Faith

To Move a Mountain was a Common Analogy for Doing the Impossible

With Faith the Size of a Mustard Seed, the Impossible is Possible

Matthew 17:21 (NASB95)

21 “But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

This Verse isn’t in Our Earliest Manuscripts of Matthew

This Means it was Likely Added By a Scribe at a Later Point in Time

It was Likely Added Because of Mark’s Account Mentioning Prayer

Matthew 17:22–23 (NASB95)

22 And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; 23 and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved.

Jesus Tells His Disciple Again About His Death and Resurrection

But this Time He Adds a New Detail

He will Be “Delivered” into the Hands of Men

This Same Word is Found in Matthew 26 as the Word “Betray”

And it’s Referring to Judas Betraying Jesus

Jesus Isn’t Just Going to Die in Jerusalem…

At the Hands of the Jewish Leaders

He is Going to Be “Delivered/Betrayed”

What is the Disciples’ Response this Time?

They are Deeply Grieved

That’s the Perfect Ending to this Text

Matthew Definitely Focuses on…

The Negative Side of Things in this Passage

Application

Matthew Wrote this Story of Jesus’ Ministry in the Way that He Did for a Purpose

It was so His Readers would…

Learn an Important Lesson in Discipleship

Without Faith, All that Results is Failure

But with Faith, Anything is Possible

But is that Really True?

Are ALL Things Possible with Faith?

Can I Trust God Enough to Jump Off a Bridge…

And Sprout Wings and Fly to Safety?

Does God have the Power to Do that?

Absolutely!

But is that God’s Will for My Life?

Absolutely Not!

It was Jesus’ Will for His Early Disciples to Cast Out Demons

But that was Totally Impossible…

When They Didn’t Rely on and Seek His Power in Accomplishing it

What’s His Will for Us?

To Live as New Creation/Humanity

To Love God and Keep His Commands

To Love Others as We Love Ourselves

To Treat Others the Way We Want to Be Treated

To Embody the Fruit of the Spirit:

Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control

To Be His Image-Bearers/Representatives to All Creation…

With the Goal of Leading Others to Know and Love Him

To Encourage Our Siblings to Remain Faithful…

And Strive for Greater Faithfulness

To Help Care for Those in Need

To Be a Servant to All

To Patiently and Humbly Endure Suffering for Our Faith

To Bring Glory to God with Every Thought, Word, and Deed

We can Try with All Our Might to Be that New Creation

But It Takes Faith/Trust/Reliance on the Power of God…

To Act Against Our Fallen/Selfish/Wicked Nature

Only When We Give Our Total Allegiance to God…

Can We Experience the Transformation Necessary to…

Be the New Creation He Calls Us to Be

If You Don’t Trust that God can Empower and Use You…

To Move Mountains/Do the Impossible…

Then He Won’t

It’s Not About Our Power and Our Abilities

It’s Not About Your Mouth, Moses

It’s Not About Your Strength, David

It’s Not About Your Military Might, Israel

We’ve Got to Stop Looking Inward and Relying on Ourselves

We Need to Look Upward and Rely on His Power…

To Do Great Things Through Us

If We Trust that He can

He Will

If We Doubt

He Won’t

This is a Foundational Principle Throughout Scripture

“Trust Me, and I’ll Defeat Your Enemies”

“Trust Me, and I’ll Answer Your Prayers”

“Trust Me, and I’ll Provide Your Needs”

“Trust Me, and I’ll Move Mountains Through You”

Do You Trust Jesus?

Do You Trust Him to Provide You with Eternal Life?

If You Do, Then Follow Him in the Water

Die to Yourself and Resurrect…

As the New Creation He can Empower You to Be

Christians, How’s Our Faith?

Do We Still Trust/Rely on Jesus?

Or are We Trying to Move the Mountains in Our Lives on Our Own?

This World is Full of People Who are Searching for…

What Jesus Offers Freely

But So Often the Barrier that Blocks Their Way to Him

Is His Own Disciples Who Lack Faith in Him

How Many People are Turned Away From Jesus…

Because His Own Disciples Don’t Even Trust Him

“They Don’t Follow His Will, So Why Should I?”

“They Don’t Trust Him to Provide Their Needs, So Why Should I?”

“They Don’t Try to Be Anything Like Him, So Why Should I?”

“They Don’t Believe He is Still Alive and Active in the World, So Why Should I?”

“They Don’t Trust His Love, Grace, and Mercy Toward Them, So Why Should I?”

“They Don’t Trust Rely on Him to Save and Transform Them, So Why Should I?”

Christians, Do You Truly Trust Jesus?

Do You Believe, that Through His Power, Not Yours…

That He is Able to Do Great Things for His Glory

If You Don’t, He Won’t

Trust Him and Let’s Move Mountains Together

Trust Him and Let’s Change the World for His Glory