Sermon Tone Analysis

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