Power Comes from Faith (Mark 9:14–29)

When we compare the Gospel accounts of this dramatic scene, we discover that this only son was indeed in great trouble and danger. Matthew recorded that the boy was an epileptic (lunatic), very ill, and suicidal, falling into the fire and the water. Mark described him as a mute, who often fell to the ground foaming at the mouth and grinding his teeth. After this display, the boy would go into a kind of rigor mortis. Dr. Luke said that the boy was an only son and that he would scream as he went into these convulsions. While some of these symptoms can have natural causes, this boy was at the mercy of a demon. The disciples had been helpless to do anything. No wonder the father rushed to Jesus’ feet.

I. Our Lord’s first response was one of sorrow.

14 And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them. 15 Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him. 16 And He asked the scribes, “What are you discussing with them?”17 Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. 18 And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.”19 He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.”

A. Their unbelief and spiritual weakness were a burden to Him.

Jesus had given His disciples authority to cast out demons (Mark 6:7, 13), and yet their ministry to the boy was ineffective. No wonder the Lord was grieved with them! What must our Lord feel as He looks at powerless believers today?

How He must be grieved with us when we fail to use the spiritual resources He has graciously given to His people!

B. The disciples were unable to meet this pressing need.

Since the disciples had failed, the desperate father was not even sure that Jesus could succeed; hence his statement, “If you can do anything”. However, the father was honest enough to admit his own unbelief and to ask the Lord to help him and his son. Jesus did cast out the demon and restore the boy to his father.

Having previously been able to exorcise demons (6:13), the disciples assumed they could do so whenever they wished. They failed, however, because of their lack of faith. Spiritual power is not something which once possessed will always be available. It must be maintained and renewed. Disciples then and now must constantly learn and relearn this lesson.

II. The demon responded violently when it saw Jesus.

20 Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth. 21 So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?”And he said, “From childhood. 22 And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

A. The demon seized the boy.

When the demonic spirit saw Jesus, he immediately threw the boy into a violent seizure, reducing him to utter helplessness.

The demon was doing his best to destroy him. Imagine what it would be like for that father to try to care for the boy and protect him!

B. The inability of the disciples to cast out the demon appears to have shaken the faith of the father.

The man seeking healing for his boy also needed encouragement to believe.

Jesus’ questioning of the father was meant to bring a confession of need. It may seem a strange question. Why would the father not admit his need? The Master forced the father to acknowledge that Jesus was his only hope. While the man knew this, he did not know whether this hope was enough. After all, the disciples had been unable to do anything for the son. Perhaps this had shaken his faith somewhat.

III. The main lesson of this miracle is the power of faith to overcome the enemy

23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” 25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” 26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so 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 had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”

A. Why had the nine disciples failed?

Because they had been careless in their personal spiritual walk and had neglected prayer and fasting (Mark 9:29). The authority that Jesus had given them was effective only if exercised by faith, but faith must be cultivated through spiritual discipline and devotion.

It may be that the absence of their Lord, or His taking the three disciples with Him and leaving them behind, had dampened their spiritual fervor and diminished their faith. Not only did their failure embarrass them, but it also robbed the Lord of glory and gave the enemy opportunity to criticize. It is our faith in Him that glorifies God.

B. The disciples needed to understand that their ministry was not an automatic exercise of giftedness.

They needed to depend on the Father, looking to him in prayer and relying on his presence and power. Their failure was not in their giftedness but in how they used their gifts.

The disciples had failed because they had not prayerfully depended on God’s power. Apparently they had trusted in past successes (cf. 6:7, 13) and had failed.

Jesus had given the disciples authority to cast out demons. Why, then, could they not cast this one out? Because they were relying on their own power. They were relying on the fact that Jesus had given them authority. But he had not given it to them apart from God. They needed to rely on God, to know without a doubt the truth that Jesus later expressed, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).