The Gospel of Mark: Help My Unbelief

David Krueger

The Gospel of Mark • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

Mark 9:14–29

Faith

Prayerless

Person having Weak Faith

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While we may receive pardon from God as a gift, power from God sometimes has to be bought. The price is sacrifice on our part. We must be willing to deny ourselves in order to receive this power from above.

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Text: Mark 9:11-29

Theme: While we may receive pardon from God as a gift, power from God sometimes has to be bought. The price is sacrifice on our part. We must be willing to deny ourselves in order to receive this power from above.

In this text, Jesus will encounter problems resulting from a lack of faith. Through the disciple's failure, Jesus will teach them about the centrality of faith and the supreme importance of prayer. This passage helps us understand that the two most important keys that unlock the power of God in our lives are faith and prayer.

The account begins with Peter, James and John coming down from the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus. He has been miraculously transfigured before their eyes. The have seen the radiant glory that was his before the incarnation, and that would be his again after the resurrection.

No doubt, as the disciples and Jesus descended the mountain, they were filled with the afterglow of the marvelous experience they had just been privileged to be a part of. They were full of divine encouragement. But what they were about to confront was altogether different.

I. AN ENCOUNTER WITH HUMAN INSUFFICIENCY

“And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. 15 And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. 16 And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” 17 And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. 18 And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.”” (Mark 9:14–18, ESV)

1. the first thing Jesus would encounter here in the valley below was human insufficiency

a. He would encounter the failure of His own disciples to deal with a demon- possessed boy

A. THE ACCUSATIONS OF THE SCRIBES

1. vs. 14 says as they were approaching the place where they had left the other nine disciples, they saw a large crowd surrounding the nine, and soon were close enough to hear some scribes in argument with the nine

a. the word arguing in this verse means to forcefully express differences of opinion without necessarily seeking a solution

1) this is accusation and counter-accusation, and it’s heated

b. the argument centered around the disciples' inability to deal with a demon- possessed boy

1) they had tried to exorcize an unclean spirit from the young boy and failed

2. no doubt, the scribes were giving them a hard time

a. as you recall, Israel’s religious leaders were not particularly fond of Jesus, nor His disciples

b. it is not surprising, therefore, that these scribes were filled with chortling, and malicious glee because of the inability of the nine to cure the boy

1) to use a common idiom of our day, "they were rubbing it in"

3. I'm sure they took this opportunity to deride them and their Master concerning their impotence

B. THE ANGUISH OF A FATHER

1. Jesus asked the crowd to explain what the argument was about and one man spoke up

a. the boy’s father steps forward, and he’s anguished and frustrated over the plight of his son

1) he tells Jesus in vs. 17, “Teacher, I brought my son to you. He has an evil spirit in him that stops him from talking. When the spirit attacks him, it throws him on the ground. Then my son foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes very stiff. I asked your followers to force the evil spirit out, but they couldn’t.”

2. this man had a child who has been tormented by an evil spirit since childhood

a. we learn from Luke’s Gospel that this is the man’s only son

b. in utter desperation, he had come to Jesus

1) you can hear that desperation in vs. 22, "Take pity on us and help us."

2) he is asking Jesus to act from a heart of compassion

3. the father was pleading his case

a. he had brought his son to the disciples, and they had tried and failed to heal him

b. the story speaks of human inadequacy

1) neither the father nor the disciples had been able to help the boy

4. this was the situation Jesus encountered at the foot of the mountain

a. how would He respond to it?

b. what could He say or do in the midst of this encounter with human insufficiency?

II. AN EXHORTATION TO PERSONAL FAITH

“And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” 20 And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. 21 And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. ... ” (Mark 9:19–22a, ESV)

A. THE CHALLENGE OF THE SITUATION

1. Jesus' disciples had failed

a. back in chapter six we see that Jesus sent the twelve out preaching the gospel, and he gave them authority over the unclean spirits (Mark 6:7)

1) but this is a marked failure on their part

b. the interjection “O” in vs. 19 expresses deep emotion on Jesus’ part, revealing that the disciples weak faith was painful to him

c. his rebuke on his disciples was harsh

“Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.”” (Luke 9:41, ESV)

1) but it’s not just his disciples who have disappointed him

2) he is disappointed with the father, who lacked sufficient faith in Christ’s healing power (9:22–24); with the scribes, who, instead of showing any pity, were in all probability gloating over the disciples’ impotence (9:14); with the crowd in general

2. now all eyes were on Him

a. would He be able to do more?

b. no doubt, the scribes would have loved to see Jesus fail just as His disciples had

3. Jesus handled the challenge with a challenge of His own

a. He identified the problem as a lack of faith

1) here was a boy who was enslaved by a demon

2) the situation was grave

b. but Jesus was up to the challenge

4. our God delights in doing exceedingly, abundantly above all that we can ask or think!

B. THE CONDITION OF THE MIRACULOUS

“And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”” (Mark 9:22b–24, ESV)

1. we see here the condition of the miraculous

a. the father said to Jesus, "But if You can do anything ... "

b. and Jesus replied, "If You can ... ! "

1) it’s an exclamation of surprise

2) in light of his widespread ministry of healing the sick and casting out demons, how could his ability to cast this one out be in question?

2. the father's request was turned back to him in the form of a challenge

a. Jesus is essentially challenging the father, “If you didn’t think I could heal your son why did you bring him to me?”

1) the challenge was for him to meet the condition of the miraculous, and that was to have faith

b. the lesson that faith is essential to access the power of God applied to all

1) it applied to all the unbelieving crowd,

2) it applied to the father, who was struggling to believe

3) it applied to the disciples, whose faith was weak and wavering

C. THE CONFIRMATION OF THE PROMISE

“And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, 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 And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.” (Mark 9:25–27, ESV)

1. when Jesus saw the father exercise what little faith he had, he rebuked this unclean spirit and cast the spirit out

a. the crowd was rapidly gathering and saw what was happening

1) the boy convulsed, the demon came out, and then he collapsed as though he were dead

b. the Scribes were ecstatic, “You’ve killed him! He’s dead!” they shouted – with glee I’m sure

c. but Jesus took the boy by the hand and raised him, and the boy got up

2. the father rejoiced – his son had been restored to him

3. the scribes grimaced at yet another miracle

4.the disciples despaired – what had they lacked that they couldn’t have healed the boy?

a. why had the disciples failed?

b. what had Jesus done differently?

III. AN EXPLANATION OF SUPERNATURAL ADEQUACY

“And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”” (Mark 9:28–29, ESV)

1. the disciples didn't understand

a. what was so different in what Jesus had done?

b. they had tried the same thing

c. in Jesus case it had worked; in theirs it had not

2. Jesus zeros in on their prayers — prayer is the key to real spiritual power and their prayers had evidently been lacking

a. what Jesus was revealing was the place of prayer as central to any true ministry

3. the same is true for us

IV. LESSONS MARK 9:11-29

A. THE ENEMIES OF THE GOSPEL WILL ALWAYS PERCEIVE A BELIEVER’S SPIRITUAL FAILURES AS PROOF THAT CHRISTIANITY DOESN’T WORK

1. the attitude of the lost has not changed much since the time of our Lord

a. it only takes a failure on the part of a believer for the mockers to condemn all of Christianity

b. the scribes had seen many miracles, but they chose to attribute them to the devil

1) now they saw the failure of the disciples to cast an unclean spirit from a young boy, and they were quick to condemn the entire ministry

2. let me make two observations here

a. First, when we attempt to do the work of God under our own power, we will . . .

1) . . . accomplish only what human ingenuity and ability can accomplish, or we will

2) . . . fail

b. Secondly, when Jesus shows up on the scene and takes control, things happen that often can only be described as the providence of God at work

3. God is moving in His Church today, and there are still those who would condemn all the good that has been done because of one failure

B. FAITH IS ALWAYS THE CONDITION TO RECEIVE ANYTHING IN THE KINGDOM

1. the Bible says in Hebrews 11:6 that without faith it is impossible to please God

a. faith is the key that unlocks the door to the miraculous for us

b. Jesus said, in Mark 9:23, "All things are possible to him who believes."

c. when the father had heard this, he cried out, "I do believe; help my unbelief."

1) that could be the cry of each one of us

2. most of us do believe God can work in a generic kind of way

a. but sometimes it's hard to believe that He can work in our specific situation

ILLUS. Street Fair experience, FBC Versailles. Prayed for no rain.

C. EFFECTIVE MINISTRY COMES AT A PRICE

1. that price is prayer

a. where there is little prayer, there is usually little faith

b. conversely, where there is fervent, unrelenting prayer, there is an abundance of faith

ILLUS. In 1830 Dr. Ray Palmer, a professor at women’s Bible school in Boston, was ill and in poor health. One day, he penned a prayer to God – four simple lines. He put the prayer in his bill fold. In time, his health recovered and he forgot about the poem. Several years later, his good friend and hymn writer, Lowell Mason, asked if Palmer had any poems that would provide the words to a tune that he was working on. Palmer opened his wallet and produced the worn and dog-eared page he had stashed away two years earlier. The words read . . .

"My faith looks up to thee,

Thou Lamb of Calvary,

Savior divine!

Now hear me while I pray.

Take all my guilt away,

O let me from this day

Be wholly Thine.”

c. if we would see God move in our lives, or in the lives of others, we must believe that God can do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we can ask or think

1) that involves faith and prayer

2. when we put our faith in formulas rather than faith in the Father, we will always fail

a. this can show up in such simple and insidious ways

ILLUS. For many, the tag line that so many Christians end their prayers with, has become almost something of an incantation. We hear it all the time – we say it all the time – “In Jesus name.” And if you are Pentecostal or Charismatic it sounds more like, “In JEEEE-sus name.”

b. now, let’s be clear, Jesus did tell His disciples in John 14:14 “If you ask Me anything in my name, I will do it.”

1) that is not a heavenly blank check that legitimizes our greed

2) when you read the Gospel in context, Jesus is talking about ministry and spiritual works that proceed out of our obedience toward the Heavenly Father

3. the price of effective ministry is seeking the face of God in prayer as we seek to discern His will

a. if we are not "prayed up," so to speak, we will not have power with God when we attempt to do His work

1) we may roll up our sleeves and work hard, but we will only accomplish what human ability can do

2) the work of God must be done in the power of God

b. prayer is central to tapping into the power of God

1) unless we pray, we will not understand the will of God

2) unless we pray, we will not understand the way of God

4. we must be willing to pay the price necessary to have power with God

a. that price is prayer

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