Mark 9_11_29 Observations

11 And they asked him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come? 12 And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought. 13 But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him. 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 anything, 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.

What does the text say? While Peter, James, and John were experiencing the Glory of God on the Mountain the other 9 disciples were in the valley below involved in an embarrassing situation. A distraught father had brought his demonized son who was deaf and mute to Jesus to be healed but when Jesus wasn’t there, he asked the disciples to heal him. But, the disciples could not cast the demon out. As Jesus came down from the mountain He saw a large crowd gathered and the disciples arguing with the scribes. When Jesus asks what is going on, the boys father tells Him of his son’s condition.

The demon makes the boy unable to speak, throws him down, he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid.(LIST) “I asked your disciple to cast it out but they could not.” Jesus said, “you unbelieving generation, how long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you?” EMOTIONAL TONE- AGRIVATED Jesus told them (? Disciples?) to bring the boy to Him and when the Spirit sawVerb Jesus it threwverb him into convulsions. (CAUSE AND EFFECT) He fell on the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked, ”how long has this been happening to him?” the father answered “since he was a child. Dialogue The father goes on to say that often the demon throws him into fire or water to kill him. Then the father made a statement to Jesus, “If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us” Emotional tone – desperate Jesus answers, “If you can?” Everything is possible for the one who believes By FAITH THE IMPOSSIBLE IS MADE POSSIBLE (CAUSE AND EFFECT) Immediately the father cried out, help my unbelief! A crowd quickly gathered and Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, commanding “ you deaf and mute spirit come out of Him and never enter Him again.” The spirit came out, shrieking him and throwing him,CAUSE AND EFFECT then the boy laid still as a corpse on the ground. Many said “he is dead” But Jesus took the boy by the hand, raised him, and he stood up.

When the boy had gone home, the disciples asked Jesus privately why they could not drive the demon out. Jesus told them. “this kind can only be cast out by prayer.” the Power of prayer (But when did Jesus pray? Or did He not have to?)

What does the text mean?

We see the inability of the disciples in this miracle as well as in all of them. This is not inability to understand but the inability to act. It is also to stress the necessity and give insight into the nature of faith in discipleship. Another purpose is to instruct the church about it’s ministry after Jesus’ departure.

When Jesus came down from the mountain, He found unbelief, inability to heal, and controversy. As wonderful and important as mountain top experiences can be, the disciple’s primary occupation is in the valley of service.

Contrast between Mountain Top experiences and the lows found in the valley of service.

The boy’s symptoms suggest he may have had epilepsy on top of deafness and being mute.

The unbelieving generation is referring to the disciples.

The Disciples had casted demons out before (6:13) but here they fail to be able to. It was a lack of faith and a dependence on their own abilities. THEY WERE TRUSTING IN SELF NOT THE LORD!

The inability of the disciples to cast out the demon seems to have shaken the father’s faith. “Have compassion on us!”

It was not Jesus inability to heal but the father’s inability to believe. All things are possible to him that has faith (Hebrews 11)

Help my unbelief! The father expressed the paradox of faith and unbelief experienced by God’s people in all ages. “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” We want to believe, yet find ourselves filled with doubt. We hate this inward, unreasonable contradiction, yet seem to fight it in vain

The idea of the boy being “as” dead suggests the idea of resurrection. If the boy truly died or not is unknown.

Faith has been the main theme until 9:29. Prayer is included… these two go hand in hand. A whole life of prayer is the avenue to faith. ALWAYS PRAY NEVER GIVE UP!

What does the text matter?

This passage shows the necessity of dependence on God instead of human resources of any kind!

This life is a war, ministry is a battle… and our foe is not flesh and blood but a powerful spirit of darkness. Our own power is ineffective in this war but we have a tendency to forget that we are even in a war and we walk through life in our own power. Those mountaintop experiences teach us to depend on the highest power, the One who had all authority, Jesus; for those times we find ourselves in valley below which is daily. Believe constantly pray always… Depend on Jesus every moment of the rest of your life.