“Behind the Scenes of the Transfiguration”

Series: “The Gospel Truth”

Text: Mark 9:14-29

Introduction: (What?)

While Jesus, Peter, James, and John were on the Mount of Transfiguration, the rest of the disciples were having a dispute with a crowd. Once again Jesus seized on a “teachable moment” to help His disciples grasp the fact that nothing can be taken for granted. Often, we must face failure in order to be open to learning truth. John Maxwell wrote a book entitled “Failing Forward” which focuses on the fact that successful people have learned from their failures. Rather than beating ourselves up when we fail, we need to turn to Jesus. Our failure is often a wake up call from the LORD reminding us to turn to Him in order to succeed.

Explanation: (Why?)

1. What’s the problem here? (vv 14-19)

“When they (Jesus & the 3) came to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and scribes disputing with them. When the whole crowd saw Him they were amazed and ran to greet Him. He asked them, ‘What are you arguing with them about?’” (vv 14-16)

As usual, the One who knows everything, asked a question in order to engage those to whom He is speaking. Often in verbalizing a problem, people can see the solution for themselves, or recognize that they need someone to clarify what they are dealing with. It seems that Jesus’s question was directed to the 9 disciples, but it was someone in the crowd, the father of the afflicted boy, who answered.

“Someone from the crowd answered Him, ‘Teacher, I brought my son to You. He has a spirit that makes him unable to speak. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive it out, but they couldn’t.’” (vv 17-18)

Notice that the man had brought his son to Jesus, but He wasn’t there. Most likely the 9 disciples, fresh from their successful mission trip, felt confident that they could handle the problem. It is not clear whether the ability to drive out evil spirits had been limited to a particular time and place. It evidently did not occur to them that prayer should be involved. This is somewhat like Joshua and the Israelites when they attacked Ai with only 3000 troops because the spies who had surveyed the situation felt they did not need a full complement of troops. They thought they could handle it, so they didn’t even pray, but just attacked…and lost. God, like Jesus in this story, was exasperated with Joshua who was crying out to Him after the defeat. In Exodus 7:10 God spoke. “Then the LORD said to Joshua, ‘Stand up! Why have you fallen face down? Israel has sinned.’” Had Joshua prayed before taking action, God would have revealed the sin of Achan, and the loss at Ai would have been avoided. Like many today, prayer is a last resort rather than a first choice.

However this failure did open the door for a teachable moment for the disciples. There are times when we aren’t open to help or advice until we fail and see no solution. Jesus’s response was not just to the disciples, but also to the crowd including the scribes. “He replied to them, ‘You unbelieving generation, how long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him to Me.’” You can almost hear the exasperation in Jesus’s voice. Neither His disciples, the people nor the scribes, who were no doubt gloating over the disciples’ failure, understood the connection between prayer, faith and miracles. We still struggle with that today. His comment addresses all of us who are “practical atheists”. That means that although we SAY we believe and have faith, when things don’t go as we think they should, doubt overwhelms our faith.

2. Face off with a demon. (vv 20-27)

When the boy was brought to Jesus, He first addressed the father. Once again, the One who knows everything asked for information about the boy and his affliction. With the boy rolling on the ground in the midst of a seizure, Jesus conversed with the father. “So they brought the boy to Him. When the spirit saw Him, it immediately threw the boy into convulsions. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. ‘How long has this been happening to him?’ Jesus asked the father.” (vv 20-21a) I’m sure that the father, just like you and I wanted to say, “Enough talk! Do something!” However, we must recall that all of Jesus’s healing miracles required faith, and often faith must be built up in a person before it becomes effective. Jesus wanted to build up the father’s faith. Also, He was setting the stage for the faith of the disciples and the crowd to be built up as well. In response to Jesus’s question, the father responded. “‘From childhood’, he said. And many times it has thrown him into fire or water to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.’” (v 21b-22) The length of time the demon had been in the boy and the severity of the seizures made what Jesus was about to do even more breathtaking.

“Jesus said to him, ‘If you can’? Everything is possible for the one who believes.’” Almost like a tennis match, the ball is now in the father’s court. “Immediately the father of the boy cried out, ‘I do believe; hep my unbelief.’” Most of us have this same mixture in our hearts. We do believe, but at the same time we have unbelief in our hearts. Just like the father we need to confess our unbelief and trust God to intervene.

When Jesus saw the crowd swelling, He sprang into action. “When Jesus saw that a crowd was quickly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, ‘You mute and deaf spirit, I command you: Come out of him and never enter him again.’” His words, “I command you” emphasized His absolute authority. There was no question. The demon had to leave, and as Jesus commanded, never return. This was different from any other deliverance in the Gospels. What happened next certainly got the crowd’s and the disciples’ attention. “Then it came out, shrieking and throwing him into terrible convulsions. The boy became like a corpse, so that many said, ‘He’s dead.’ But Jesus, taking him by the hand, raised him, and he stood up.” When we cry out to God because of a desperate situation, we must realize that reality is what God says it is, not what we think we see with our eyes.

3. The teachable moment. (vv 28-29)

The Disciples’ failure drove them to the one person who could provide an answer…Jesus. The same should be true with us today. When we fail, rather than rolling around in the misery of our failure, we should recognize that this is a “teachable moment”. Run to Jesus for the answer.

“After He had gone into the house, his disciples asked him privately, ‘Why couldn’t we drive it out?’ And He told them, ‘This kind can come out by nothing but prayer.’” (vv 28-29)

Jesus was not saying that there are different kinds of demons and some of them require prayer in order to make them leave. He was emphasizing the fact that prayer is essential in Spiritual Warfare. It always concerns me when people read or quote Paul’s teaching on Spiritual Armor and stop before they get to prayer. In Eph. 6”10-17 Paul lists the Defensive armor and mentions only one Offensive weapon…the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. However, in v 18 he gives the other Offensive weapon that is at our disposal as believers. “Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.”

Nothing of spiritual significance is ever accomplished without prayer. if you have succeeded in one situation, it is dangerous to assume that you will have the same result later without first consulting the Father in prayer. When David was King of Israel, he would ask God specifically if he should go to war against different enemies. 7 times in 1 & 2 Samuel he prayed asking God if he should “go up against” an enemy or pursue an enemy.

The 7 sons of Sceva, in Acts 19 found out that they could not just use the name of Jesus and be successful in exorcism. They said to a spirit in a demonized man, “I command you by the Jesus that Paul preaches to come out!” The demon responded, “I know Jesus, and I recognize Paul, but who are you? Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them, overpowered them all, and prevailed against them, so that they ran out of the house naked and wounded.”

Never enter into Spiritual Warfare without praying first.

Application: (How does this apply to my life today?)

The application of this message is both for individuals and for churches. Often we are quick to emulate someone whom we think is successful spiritually. Churches are known to copy what a larger, more successful church is doing. However, God works individually with people and with churches. There are principles that we can follow, but only after laying our situation before the LORD and seeking His direction. I have found that the best course of action for myself or for my church is to take whatever situation we may face to God in prayer, then seek consensus among the people as to what we sense God is saying and then to act accordingly.

What are you facing today? Illness, financial trouble, broken relationships?

Have you taken your situation to God, NOT telling Him what you want Him to do, but rather asking Him what you should do?

Have you gathered some Prayer Warriors to join you in prayer?

Have you and your Prayer Warriors reached a consensus as to what God is saying?

If your answer to each of the questions is “yes”, then the time has come to take action, according to God’s revealed will. However, if you have not surrendered your life to Christ, don’t expect His leadership. You will find that once you surrender to Christ, many of the things you were concerned about dissipate. That is not to say that all your problems will vanish, but many of them will. You can take the rest to Jesus and follow His direction.