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Introduction
Good evening and welcome back!
I hope everyone had a good Mother’s Day and maybe even was able to get some rest.
This evening we are going to return to our Journey Through Matthew, looking at the subject of “Ye of Little Faith!”
So, if you would like, start turning in your Bibles to .
In just a moment I will be picking up with verse 14 and we will be reading through verse 20.
Also, just for reference the account we are going to be talking about tonight is also recorded in and and I will be sort of bouncing back and forth between Matthew and Mark.
Now, if you can remember all the way back to last Sunday morning, we looked at the Transfiguration and God the Father’s instructions to the Disciples (AND TO US) to “Listen to what Jesus says.”
In fact, just to refresh us, tells us . . .
And that was really the main point, that when Jesus is teaching, they should be listening.
And when the Holy Spirit is teaching us, we also should be listening.
Whether that teaching is from the Word, from experience, from other people, from the circumstances in our lives, there is always a lesson and we should always be listening and responding to what we are being taught.
Also, remember that at this point Jesus, James, John, and Peter are away from the rest of the disciples.
And while they are away there are some other things going on back at the disciples base camp, which is where our Scripture tonight picks up.
So, if you have found again in your Bibles, I’d invite you stand with me as I read.
Matthew writes . . .
Scripture Focus
The Disciples Can’t Do Anything (vs 14-16)
Now, also remember that Matthew is pretty good about giving us the facts, but where he sometimes lacks is that he does not give some of the details surround the facts.
Which is one reason why we have (4) Gospel accounts and not just one.
So, our passage in Matthew starts out with . . .
Which is 100% accurate, but there is more to it than just a man in a crowd coming and knelling before Jesus.
Mark tells us . . .
Mark 9:
So, remember now, Jesus, James, John, and Peter are away and they are just now getting back.
And as they are walking up to the camp, they see a large crowd of people gathered around and see a bunch of arguing and angry people.
We have the teachers of the law, or the Jews and the rest of the people, including the other disciples.
And the other disciples are engaged in an argument with the Jews.
But then, as they see Jesus approaching . . .
Mark 9
And of course Jesus wanted to know what was going on at this point . . .
Mark 9:16
And the response . . .
Mark 9:
Which is the crux of the entire argument.
This man had brought his son, looking for Jesus, but of course Jesus was gone.
However, he found the other disciples and presented the child to them to be healed.
But, they couldn’t do it for some reason.
And the Jews took this as an opportunity to pounce on them, accusing them of being fakes and frauds, unable to carry through on what they said they could do.
And of course the disciples fired back.
They didn’t know why they couldn’t drive out this demon, but they still were not going to be called a fraud and a fake by anyone.
How Long Do I Put Up With You (vs 17-18)
So, we have this child that is possessed by a demon, who has (1) robbed the boy of speech, (2) basically throws the child into seizures (foaming at the mouth, gnashing teeth, becoming rigid).
In fact, in Matthew it actually says . . .
Matthew
Which brings us to the third thing, it throws him into the fire or into the water.
Mark’s account says this . . .
Mark 9:20
So this man is distraught by it because Jesus and his disciples were this guys only hope and now it seems like that wasn’t even going to help his son.
And this man is distraught by it because Jesus and his disciples were this guys only hope and now it seems like that wasn’t even going to help his son.
So, he is actually pretty desperate and hopeless.
And Jesus’ response to all of this is a bit strange.
He tells them . . .
Matthew 17:
It’s almost as if Jesus is annoyed by their unbelief.
And it is not just unbelief.
Notice he also calls them a perverse generation, meaning that they are refusing to put their faith and belief in God.
They are putting faith and belief in everything but God.
They are putting all their hope and faith in the doctors and nurses.
In the self-help books and gurus.
In the ump-teen billion belief systems and worldly ideas.
In themselves.
Unwilling to see or acknowledge the truth.
Unwilling to place the boy in the hands of the only one who could really help him.
So Jesus asks them, how long shall I stay with you?
How long shall I put up with you?
And to be honest, it gets a bit old sometimes.
We teach and preach and do all we can to try to show people the truth of God, and they won’t listen.
We do all we can to help them, and they just refuse.
And you honestly want to throw up your hands and say “fine, have it your way!”
But you can’t do that.
You can’t quit.
You can’t give up.
There is too much at stake.
And even though Jesus said this, maybe trying to get them to slow down and think a bit.
He didn’t quit on them.
He didn’t give up.
He tells them, bring the boy to me!
Bring him to Jesus.
Bring them all to Jesus, because giving up is not an option.
There is too much at stake.
And when we get tired and want to give up and quit, we need to come to Jesus ourselves.
We need to be renewed and refreshed ourselves.
Because quitting is not an option.
So, they bring the boy to Jesus and again in , it says . . .
Notice the father says if you can do anything…Do you sense his hesitation?
His sense of unbelief.
Jesus immediately fires back . . .
Do we believe that tonight?
Do we believe that God can do absolutely everything?
Or are we like so many in the world who limit God?
Who think there are things that even God can’t do?
That’s not hope.
That’s not faith.
And that is the main problem as to why the disciples couldn’t even do it.
It was too hard.
There was too much to it.
There was a fundamental flaw in their faith.
And after Jesus rebuked them, the father responds . . .
So Jesus took care of it . . .
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