Jesus Casts out a Stubborn Demon

We are continuing our journey through the life of Christ three weeks ago we looked at the nature of Peter’s confession which lead to the transfiguration that we spoke about last week. Now the story continues once more.

Today we find that Jesus, Peter, James, and John return from the mountain to rejoin the other disciples. The other disciples were not idle while Jesus was gone. In fact, we see they must have continued on doing the work that Jesus had called them to do. For when Jesus returns, he returns, to find that once again the religious leaders were in a dispute. The nature of the dispute is not mentioned but if we had to make an educated guess based on the context we would conclude the dispute was over Jesus.

The text tells us the disciples had failed to exorcise a demon from an boy and no doubt the religious leaders seized the opportunity to attack the reputation of Jesus due to the disciples lack of success in this matter.

Mark 9:14–18 CSB

14 When they came to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and scribes disputing with them. 15 When the whole crowd saw him, they were amazed and ran to greet him. 16 He asked them, “What are you arguing with them about?” 17 Someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you. He has a spirit that makes him unable to speak. 18 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.”

Problem: Any perceived weakness, failures, or missteps of God’s people will often result in an abundance of criticism from the world.

One thing is for certain there will always be those people who will take every opportunity to criticize God’s people in an attempt to defame the name of God.

Have you ever been around someone you knew was out to get you? You felt that no matter how hard you tried this person(s) would find fault with you or your actions?

This is what was happening in this setting. The disciples were attempting to do a good work. A man brought his demon-possessed son to the disciples and the disciples attempted to cast him out without success. Immediately this brought criticism from those looking to criticize.

Did the disciples actually do anything wrong? No. As we will see in a few moments they just didn’t have the training or had they been granted the ability to exorcise this type of Demon.

Mark 9:28–29 CSB

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

Over the course, of my life in the church I have often come across people that were so afraid they might mess up they did little in the way of service for the Lord. What if they sing the wrong note when in the praise team? What if they say the wrong thing when teaching? What if they attempt to share the Gospel and the message they give isn’t clear enough.

When I look back at my first few sermons that I ever preached, I wonder why anyone stayed around for me to actually finish it. Some of my early sermons were incoherent.

I knew when I finished my first sermon after I had said everything I knew to say in 8 minutes it wasn’t very good. There very well could have been a person visiting that day who walked out and said, I imagined church would have been worthless, now I know I was right.

What if the disciples had stopped attempting to heal the sick and drive out demons because of one mistake that seemed to bring about an opportunity for the critics to mock God?

This is what I want you to see.

Solution: When in the course of striving to do the work of the Lord you find you are insufficient in your knowledge or training, God will step in and use your weakness as an opportunity to show His power.

Here the disciples were trying to do good but they didn’t know what they were doing. Immediately the scribes begin to argue with them. The crowds are gathering and it seems like the reputation of the disciples and Jesus is on the line because of their inability.

But who showed up? Jesus.

Do you know who is the biggest defender of God’s name?

Galatians 6:7 CSB

7 Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a person sows he will also reap,

Isaiah 48:9–11 CSB

9 I will delay my anger for the sake of my name, and I will restrain myself for your benefit and for my praise, so that you will not be destroyed. 10 Look, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. 11 I will act for my own sake, indeed, my own, for how can I be defiled? I will not give my glory to another.

God will not allow his name to be profaned. He will not share His glory.

This is not to say we are weak on purpose or that we have a cavalier attitude about training or studying the word of God. “A workman studies to show himself approved unto God.” But when striving to serve the Lord when we are insufficient, Jesus shows up and displays his power.

But notice that the disciples sought out further instruction. So often I hear the phrase, “God knows my heart”. It is true that he does. Yet when we make a mistake we don’t just shrug it off and say oh’ well. No we find out what we did wrong or what we didn’t know and we strive to learn more from it.

If this is true than why does Jesus offer such a stern rebuke?

Jesus rebukes the lack of faith

Mark 9:19 CSB

19 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.”

Jesus is not rebuking his disciples, He’s rebuking the crowd for their reaction. The disciples were not displaying a lack of faith. They were striving to do the mission. It was the crowd and the father that were showing the had no faith.

How do we know this

Mark 9:20–24 CSB

20 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. 21 “How long has this been happening to him?” Jesus asked his father. “From childhood,” he said. 22 “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.” 23 Jesus said to him, “ ‘If you can’? Everything is possible for the one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the boy cried out, “I do believe; help my unbelief!”

The father admits his lack of faith.

I think if we are honest with ourselves we often struggle with having faith, but instead of admitting it we shove it done. It’s like we believe that if I just ignore it and suppress this unbelief than it isnt really there. Yet

We see that this father understood his inability to have faith and instead of ignoring it. He prayed for a greater faith. See faith is not an act of the will. It is a gift from God. Our faith in this world will often be conflicted. We have broken flesh that wars against the spirit. Even though many of us have seen God work in miraculous ways, We are easily plagued by a lack of faith.

The nation of Israel say miracle after miracle yet they were plagued by a lack of faith. When we admit that we are struggling to believe and call out to God, he will grant you your request for a greater faith.

When is the last time you asked him for a greater faith?

The Next thing I want you to see is

Wicked spiritual forces are real and they are still working evil, still possessing people, and still harassing God’s people.

Do not under estimate the enemy. The forces of hell are real and they are active even today. The church has been lulled to sleep by the entertainment industry Into believing these stories are the stuff of movies. Yet even in recent days we have seen events unfold that cannot be described by any other words than evil, wicked, and demonic.

When the depravity of man is coupled with the demonic forces we are left bewildered by the result. Yet scripture reminds us

Ephesians 6:12 CSB

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.

In today’s text we see a vivid example of this and in our own broken nation we see it lived out time and time again right before our own eyes. Yet there are some who are still diving into a world where believers do not belong. There are some who insist in participating with the fruitless works of darkness.

There are those who lack spiritual discernment who welcome the presence and teaching of the demonic world into their homes and call it entertainment. Many musicians today perform occult ceremonies right before our eyes and the church and lost world alike consumes them without even noticing.

Sadly, there are even those in the church who join in the actual practices of the occult through secret societies such as the mason’s and other organizations.

Yet we see in this text the reality, power, and influence of the spirit world. This is not to be taken lightly. Demons have the power to influence and seduce Christians and even possess those who are not.

The demonic world is actively working against the things of Christ. This includes you, those who are in Christ.

Then what should the Christian response be?

Mark 9:25–29 CSB

25 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.” 26 Then it came out, shrieking and throwing him into terrible convulsions. The boy became like a corpse, so that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus, taking him by the hand, raised him, and he stood up. 28 After he had gone into the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” 29 And he told them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer.”

We renounce the practices of evil, rebuke them in the name of Jesus and we pray. We see from this text that there exist an evil in this world that cannot be stopped by anything but prayer.

Do you see it here? These are Jesus words.

Mark 9:29 CSB

29 And he told them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer.”

Church family the response to evil forces in this world is not fear it’s prayer. It’s going to the one who is more powerful than any evil being and praying that they might be stopped. We don’t have to live in fear unless we refuse to pray.

In this story we see hopelessness

The father was hopeless his son was possessed

the disciples were discouraged and embarrassed

Then what’s the good news in all of this?

Jesus stepped in...

A people of prayer do not have to fear evil. A people of prayer do not have to feel shame over our inabilities becuase we have a God with every ability.

The answer to evil in this land is to pray against it and live righteously.