The long-suffering road of our Lord’s Faithfulness towards us when we are Faithless - Mark 9:14-29

Mark 9:14-29 The long-suﬀering road of our Lord’s Faithfulness towards us when we are
Faithless.
INTRO
Okay (verse 14), chapter 9 in the gospel of Mark. Let’s go there now. - read.
Now if you recall, the ‘they’ refers to Jesus, Peter, James and JOHN who were coming down
from the mountain top experience. Last week Ben took us through this amazing account that
Peter, James and John had with Jesus.
(Hebrews 1:3) “JESUS … the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature,
….(Colossians 1:15-16;19a) “JESUS - who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all
creation. By whom all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were made through him and
for him.”
“For in whom all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,..”
This JESUS,…Peter, James and John witnessed His appearance transfigure/transform before
their very eyes……..JESUS, granted them a peek into His Majestic Holiness , His Divine
brightness, HIS INTRINSIC GLORY unveiled…shining forth intensely…
And now, in contrast, coming down from the mountain top experience we are given a peek into
the humanity of Jesus as one who is clearly burdened,…troubled,….and displeased. All of
which can be emotions one experiences and NOT SIN…as we’ll soon see here with our Lord
who is met with Faithlessness. Jesus is troubled by this and it’s in this space where we are
able to identify with the (2 Peter 3:9) “The long-suﬀering road of our Lord’s Faithfulness
towards us when we are Faithless. ” The very Christ like attribute PAUL instructs us to put on
as his representatives here on earth. Long-suﬀering…usually translated as patience or
endurance in the ESV. But there is a distinction to be made between long-suﬀering and
patience. For PAUL includes both of them in his Colossians epistle where he writes how he’s
praying to God for the church there (Colossians 1:9-11) “…to be filled with the knowledge of
his (God’s) will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of
the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the
knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all
(now watch this)..for all endurance and patience with joy…” and get this..King James version
says “…..for all patience and long-suﬀering with joy;”
Between the two translations we could literally read it “for all patience and patience with joy.”…
so similar, yet they are distinct.
Patience - Greek word (Hypomone) (Hi-po-mu-nay) has to do with patient continuance in
waiting or a steadfastness and constancy in the face of trials, tribulation (Romans 12:12) and
diﬃcult circumstances while Long-suﬀering - Greek word (Makrothymia) (Mak-ro-thi-mee-ah)
relates more to being patient with one another.…bearing troubles and ills of each other. Very
similar but distinct.
That’s why Paul in (Colossians 3:12-13), when instructing the church there to “Put on then as
God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness
and (Makrothymia) long-suﬀering; he follows it with then in (verse 12)… “bearing with one
another, and if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has
forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” (Makrothymia)…This patience is not speaking of a
patient continuance in waiting or in tribulation but clearly in being patient with one another as
our Lord is toward us. As we will see JESUS demonstrate in today’s passage this morning.
The long-suﬀering road of our Lord’s Faithfulness towards us when we are Faithless.
BODY

We encounter this Faithlessness firstly by his disciples faulty representation of Christ while he
is away.
1) FIRST POINT - (Mark 9:14-19). Faulty representation of Christ
JESUS, with Peter, James and John return from the mountain and come to meet up with the
rest of his disciples whom they find arguing with the Scribes in the midst of a great crowd
gathered. The crowd…stoked to finally see JESUS…come running up to him…bidding him
welcome. Picking up in (verse 16) - “And he (Jesus) asked them, (his disciples) “What are you
arguing about with them (the Scribes)?” And this is great…because it’s not his disciples who
answer…NOR a Scribe BUT ‘someone’ from the crowd. I can’t help but wonder if it was one of
those embracer of awkward silence moments ‘Ben Bronson’ is so famous for.
JESUS asks a direct question to his disciples and they don’t speak…unlike Peter who didn’t
know what to say when Jesus transfigured before him and yet spoke anyway…these
disciples..I believe out of shame…are silent. Along with the Scribes who could have chimed in
at this point BUT are also mute no doubt from the track record of their attempts to trap Jesus
in his words. SO whether short lived or awkwardly long….someone from the crowd (we’ll soon
learn is a burdened father)…he breaks the silence and reveals the cause of all the commotion.
(Verse 17) “Teacher, (he says) I brought my son to you…NOW stop there briefly. Jesus…up
until this moment was on the heights of a mountain. This is the first time he’s met the father
and first time he’s heard about the the man’s son who…continuing on in the verse “has an
unclean spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he
foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So, (now notice here) I asked your disciples to
cast it out….Jesus’s disciples..because though he brought his son to Jesus….JESUS was not
present (Jesus was up on the mountain) and therefore the man brought his son to those who
r.e.p.r.e.s.e.n.t Jesus and whom Jesus gave the ‘authority’ over unclean spirits,…the man
brought his son to them to cast the unclean spirit out…(Mark 6:7)…and…they…(verse 18) were
not able.”
“…. they were not able.” And he (JESUS) in (verse 19) answered them (which I believe the
whole crowd heard his reply but I see his reply as being chiefly addressed towards his disciples
who are still silent mind you), “O faithless generation, how LONG am I to be with you? How
LONG am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.”…………He said this out loud. These words
sound a bit shocking to hear spoken from our Lord. BUT this is what he stated and they carry
with them the burden and trouble he was feeling…brought on by injuries to his heart from
repeated and continued acts of faithlessness. The humanity of Jesus’s sinless heart that
continues to bear with them is clearly being expressed here and is identifiable isn’t it?
For Jesus here the hardheartedness of the Scribes with their constancy in arguing…steady
attacks against him and his followers was certainly a burden he bore BUT namely here it is His
disciple’s inability to not do what he gave them the authority to do that is the chief hurt. The
crowd gathered around His disciples didn't witness a boy being delivered from the grip of
satan making mute the critical Scribes to the praise of God, rather, they see the disciples fail to
care for him followed by quarreling with the Scribes who, because of their faulty representation
of Christ had ammo to fire.
JESUS is troubled by this…because He cares and is not indiﬀerent.
Indiﬀerence isn’t burdened…there is no care or sympathy with indiﬀerence but only alienation,
apathy and callousness. Long-suﬀering on the other hand… stems from the heart that cares
for others.

Same as you would be in the face of continued or repeated acts of injury to your heart from the
hardheartedness of one you care for who continues to reject the Jesus you share from your
heart about. IT hurt’s your heart to see them reject JESUS because it hurts His.
A little tally here. Raise of hands by those present who have been guilty of faultily representing
Jesus to another? If I had TEN hands I’d raise them all and be looking for more to lift UP.
Consider, how many “good works God has prepared beforehand for you to walk in by faith”
that you have faulted…failed to do so. (Ephesians 2). GOD directs someone who needs to
meet Jesus…GOD brings them to a representative of Jesus…you/me…his disciples to care for
them as He would and we fail to do so though He has abundantly equipped us in every way for
that good work to bear Him fruit in… “and we are not able.” That unfaithfulness strikes injury
to the HEART of GOD who delights to work through you in bearing fruit to HIM.
How often do we cause injury to each other’s hearts by our faulty representation of Christ to
each other within the bride of Christ…the church? Unintentional…but faulty nonetheless.
Injured by each other in such a manner….we may think along the lines of the words Jesus says
but we soften them by saying “I challenged by this brother Joe OR “I love you my friend…
followed by —-fill in the blank of something you’re challenged by.
I’ve heard that and I’ve said that and will continue to because only JESUS can say out loud
such words in this account and not sin. It’s real christian living.
That’s why we are instructed in GOD’S word to put on compassionate hearts, kindness,
humility, meekness and (Makrothymia) long-suﬀering; patience in bearing with one another,.”
With Makrothymia we do kindly, in humility with meekness….bear with one another as we work
through the injuries we inflict upon ONE another from our faulty representation of Christ with
the same forgiveness we have received from JESUS for our faults of faithlessness to Him.
In doing so, we walk the long-suﬀering road along with Jesus who remains Faithful when we
are Faithlessness.
SO,….how does JESUS, in this identifiable humanity expression of himself being very troubled
by faithlessness, HOW DOES HE ACT? We want to pay close attention to this right? For I
liken this state to a HAIR trigger….“Not pulled but only a breath away from firing”. Being
disturbed as Jesus is here is not a sin itself BUT can in an instant be followed by sin. SO
WHAT DOES HE DO? What is seen…what is not seen.
There is NO Outburst of anger or
rage and he doesn’t forsake them. Quite the contrary….In the same breath of his verbal
expression of being burdened he says at the close of (verse 19) “Bring him to me.” …. “Bring
him to me” Jesus doesn’t linger but moves immediately on to lovingly care for the distraught
father and his boy with the unclean spirit whom they bring to JESUS as requested. Such
faithfulness of our Lord to extend loving care.
AND IT’S HERE where we will see another act of faithlessness along the road of our Lord’s
long-suﬀering towards us.
THIS is seen in faulty belief.
2) SECOND POINT (Mark 9:20-)- Faulty Belief
Continuing the theme of contrast: We had a peek into the Divine brightness, holiness, splendor
of JESUS at his transfiguration contrasted to a peek into the humanity of Jesus burdened with
a heavy heart over faithlessness and then Jesus himself standing in stark contrast to his
disciple’s faulty representation of him.
Let’s contrast this account of the father coming to Jesus on behalf of his son with the account
of the Centurion coming to Jesus on behalf of his servant.

The Centurion account found in (Matthew 8:5-13). From the gate the Centurion, who is not a
Jew mind you, addresses Jesus as LORD. The title of honor expressing respect and reverence
as servants would greet their master. That’s how he initiates conversation with JESUS,
identifying JESUS as his master and himself as the servant. Followed by bringing before
JESUS the concern upon his heart. “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suﬀering
terribly.”
And when Jesus responds that he will come with him to his home to heal him the Centurion
responds with great humility in who he is and the great confidence he has in the authority of
who JESUS is. “Just say the word, Jesus and I confidently believe in YOU that it will be done.”
Jesus marvels at this man’s faith.
Contrast that with the father represented here in the text who addresses JESUS in a very
similar manner as ‘Teacher’ accurately ascribing that Jesus taught the things of God with
authority and power wherever He went…..BUT when it comes to the father asking Jesus to
have compassion on them and help them, he doesn’t come with the same faith the Centurion
had. FOR the father includes midway through (verse 22) “But if you can do anything,” NOW if
we were to remove that portion of the father’s request it would sound like this. “Jesus, have
compassion on us and help us.” BUT the father doesn’t say that.
Unbelief is present. Faulty belief. This is aﬃrmed in that JESUS doesn’t marvel at this man as
he did the Centurion, RATHER he draws attention in a corrective manner to the man’s unbelief
by repeating the phrase that expressed it. “If you can!”…. And then again….HE doesn’t linger
there but He moves right into correcting this man’s faithless thinking by providing him a
statement of truth. “All things are possible for one who believes.” Such long-suﬀering and
compassion exhibited by JESUS provides the strength for the father of the child to draw from
who in (verse 24) “Immediately cries out and says….WHAT? ‘I believe, help my unbelief!” 5
words in the Bible we christians have often repeated when we find ourselves in a similar place.
We come to JESUS, see Him as and call upon Him as Lord and Teacher…BUT often times are
guilty of having faulty belief same as this man. Especially when we are in a situation that
causes us to be distraught like this father here. A glance back to (verse 21) when Jesus asked
how long has he suﬀered from this unclean Spirit…the father answered ‘from childhood.’ How
heartbreaking and helpless the father must feel. Years of seeing his son suﬀer through most of
his life thus far. How awful. Few things compare with the heart ache a parent feels…who
stands helpless to stop the suﬀering of their child. What they wouldn’t give to take it away OR
to even take their child’s place if it were possible.
There likely was hope when he brought his son to Jesus’s disciples who have been given by
JESUS the authority to cast out demons and who have been successful in doing SO. (Luke
10:17). “The seventy-two ‘DISCIPLES’ returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are
subject to us in your name!” The disciples have been doing this in the name of Jesus as his
representatives…. BUT this time, whatever hope the father had of the disciple’s casting out the
unclean spirit on behalf of JESUS quickly fell as….“they were not able.”
He is at a very low place.
Weakened in FAITH and having faulty belief.
A very low place you have either been before or are at right now or will be in a day to come.
(Number 11:12; Deuteronomy 1:31) “God carries us in His bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing
child,” while in contrast he does not coddle us either. HE is one who says (1 Corinthians 16:13)
“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” HE is calling forth for us to have
FAITH! To believe with a believing heart that God is able. “All things are possible for one who
believes.” And this is not a passive, eﬀortless act of will on our part.
Have you noticed the fierceness of the unclean spirit’s grip on this boy?

(Verse 18) “whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and
becomes rigid.”
(Verse 20) “And they brought the boy to him (him being Jesus). And when the spirit saw him,
immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground an rolled about, foaming at the
mouth.”
And when Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit commanding him to come out and never enter him
again (Verse 26) “And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was
like a corpse, so that most them said, ‘He is dead.” Are you serious? One of the other gospel
accounts uses the word lunatic to describe the boy’s state and rightly so.
Satan’s powerful grip is not one to easily be set free from. Deliverance is tumultuous; Though it
is instantaneous as being transferred from darkness to light there is intense wrestling and
combat leading up to it that in a sense continues in the christian life in their battle against sin in
their lives - putting sin to death.
Do you know what PAUL mentions leading up to his lamenting discourse about “not
understanding his own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.”
LISTEN to what he says about sin and God’s Law just prior to that in (Romans 7:8-9) “….SIN
(Paul says), seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of
covetousness. For apart from the Law, sin lies dead.” (Meaning: “I would not have known what
it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”) Paul continues… “I was once alive
apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.” The very
commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For..reason being here….sin,
seizing an opportunity through the commandments, deceived me and through it killed me.”
SIN is a monstrous beast aimed to breed death in us that needs to be sleighed…put to death…
mortified.
(1 Peter 5:8) Our “adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to
devour.” And like this unclean spirit seizing the boy….(Genesis 4:7) “sin is crouching at the
door ready to seize an opportunity to deceive and devour you. It’s…(sin’s)…desire is contrary
to you, but you must rule over it.” And it’s a FIGHT to do so.
If you need a visual think of Peter Parker in Spiderman 3 who is trapped in that dark foreign
substance OR Frodo from the Lord of the Rings who is trapped in the spider’s web. BOTH
Frantically Fought with all their might to be set free.…and Both were delivered. So it is in our
battle against SIN.
Is this is foreign to you? IF SO, Perhaps it’s because there is no fight. AND if there is no
fight………. I believe it was PAUL who told Timothy to (1Timothy 6:12) “Fight the good fight of
faith”………and also towards the end of his own life PAUL stated that he has (2Timothy 4:7)
“fought the good fight of faith”
NOW, ??? Is it possible to have true saving faith and no fight?”_______________
JESUS confronted this man’s FAULTY BELIEF….directed him to believe that God is able….and
the man’s outcry to Jesus, “I believe, help my unbelief!” Convey’s the sense that it Arises from
one who is (Philippians 2:12). “working out his own salvation with fear and trembling; drawing
from the strength of God who works in him both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” YOU
SEE, on our own, without GOD’S help…we are helpless…LEFT in despair. Like the boy lying
as a corpse, thought to be dead…we need JESUS’S hand,…seen in (verse 27)…to lift us up.
That’s why when Paul speaks of putting to death sin in our lives, he says (Romans 8:13) “if by
the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Why by the Spirit? Because
it’s only by the Spirit of Christ in US, who conquered SATAN, SIN and DEATH on the cross, by
which we are able to rule over SIN…and NOT have it rule us. The victory over our FOES has
been won…past tense…JESUS said from the cross “It is finished!”….while in the strength

Christ provides by his Spirit we fight against it till he returns. That’s why Paul can write in
(Galatians 2:20) “I have been (past tense) have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who
live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of
God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”….and this life lived in the flesh we, Paul
says…“by the Spirit OF CHRIST are to put to death the deeds of the body.”
The christian life is a FIGHT…a fight of faith. A LIFE where battles are fought every day in the
strength God provides. It is a toil….(Colossians 1:29) “…., struggling with all his energy
(GOD’S energy) that he powerfully works within the believer.” By His Spirit through faith in
CHRIST.
(Deuteronomy 3:22) (Exodus 15:3) “The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is his name.” “It is the
Lord your God who fights for you.” Yes and AMEN. While
He is also the Lord who tests us that we may know war. (Judges 3:1-2)…in the strength He
provides, we are to engage in the battle. He calls us to do so.
IF YOU THINK of the christian life is a passive one; one without a fight, YOUR thinking is
wrong. It is a FAULTY BELIEF.
Blessings of peace with God, Assurance of Salvation, Forgiveness of sin, Eternal life, Hope in
all these graces and more received through believing faith in JESUS CHRIST do-notnegate….are-not-disconnected with the FACT..that we are engaged in a WARFARE - A Spiritual
Warfare that has intense manifestations BOTH within ourselves and in the world in which we
live.
On this train of thought PAUL says this about the Christian life in (1 Corinthians 9:24-27). “Do
you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that
you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a
perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one
beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control lest after preaching to others
I myself should be disqualified.” “I discipline my body and keep it under control…” (literally like
a boxer who beats his body black and blue, handling it roughly for training; Paul uses this
figuratively in describing the fight put forth to keep his body under control against sin…SIN we
all have crouching at the door to deceive and devour us. SIN we are to put to death by the
Spirit.
Not to fight IS to forfeit. And to forfeit is not to compete (Timothy; Mark 8)
WHAT does the fight look like in the every day?
IT may be as fundamental and familiar as Getting out of Bed to SEEK the Lord in His word OR
whatever time in your day is set aside to do so…fight for it to steadily take place.
IT may be a Fight against the fear of man to evangelize,…..or combatting a besetting sin you
remain entangled in.
IT’S a fight in “making no provision for the flesh to gratify it’s desires.” (Romans 13:14) as IT is
to “Humble yourself before God and resist the Devil so that he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)
You need to fight against “temptation” to sin. (James 1:14)
You need to fight to “take every thought captive to obey Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5)
You need to fight to resist selfishness to rather be generous with your time, talents, money and
possessions.
PERHAPS your fighting to stay awake and alert during my preaching which I in turn myself
need to fight to labor well in the Spirit to preach with unction so as to rattle the cage of the
listener’s soul to have vigor for Christ!.…and more could be said of the FIGHT OF FAITH.…

But, perhaps what one of the greatest fights in the Christian life is what Jesus directs the
disciples attention to in the closing of this passage.
CONCLUSION (Mark 9:28-29)- Persever in Prayer
Look at the final two verses in our passage this morning (28 & 29) - read
Some manuscripts add fasting after prayer…..What is Jesus telling his faulted disciples who
want to represent him better. Faulty disciples like you and I.
IN SHORT. Seek closer fellowship with God. Persevere in Prayer.
PAUL uses the illustration of a Roman soldier geared up for battle to describe the christian
engaged in Spiritual warfare. You are likely familiar with that passage in (Ephesians 6). AFTER
describing all the spiritually symbolic gear for the soldier of God he then says this in (verse 18)
“praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all
perseverance, making…yep you guessed it…making supplication for all the saints.” 4 times
PRAYER is mentioned after describing the armor of God the believer is to put on TO “fight the
good fight of faith.”
I don’t know about you BUT I’m all about tightening my belt for battle and securing my
breastplate to be firmly secured to my chest so that I can run fast while I wield my sword and
raise my shield. Where I find it tremendously challenging though…is to commit focused time
taking hold of my helmet near my side while I bow my head over my shield and sword on
bended knee in prayer.
THIS can be the greatest fight in the christian’s life can it not? To
persevere in prayer even though “the fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (James
5:16)…THAT’S one of the greatest fights to have as a faithful practice in the Christian life isn’t
it. BUT OH how we need the (Romans 13:12) armor of the light Christ to be given as a suited
up soldier in God’s army to fight this fight of faith in the victory Christ obtained on our behalf
who keeps faith forever even when we are faithless. The Apostle Peter was spot on when he
said…(2 Peter 3:15) “.consider that the long-suﬀering of our Lord is salvation.” ……is salvation.
- Let’s pray.


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