Ever failed something big? In High School, I never failed an exam or an assignment. I remember in year 11 I forgot we had a maths test on and didn’t bring a calculator…. When I was at uni, among my IT friends, there was me and one other, who completed their degree without failing a subject. I used to be proud of the fact that academically I hadn’t failed. Now to be fair I was an IT student, so socially I may not have quite succeeded in that area.
But have you felt spiritual that you have failed? You know what is asked of you, you meant to read the Bible and pray every day. You are not to get angry, have God as number one in your life, not look at porn and all that. And when you reflect on your life do you feel like you haven’t made it? That you wish you had more faith?
It does hurt to fail, and today we see the disciple’s failure. Both at the start and finish of this story, we have the disciple’s failure. At the beginning they fail, they can’t heal this guy’s son, and in the end, they seek an answer as to why they failed. And in the middle of this story is this father seeking help for his child, and he is told to have faith.
Coming down the mountain
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The image could be split in half. At the top we have what you looked at last week. Jesus changes in appearance, Elijah and Moses turn up, a voice from heaven saying this is God’s Son and we should listen to him. It is a glorious and big deal. But then down the mountain, it is darker. There is finger pointing, and arguments and a father in need of his sons' rescue.
Mountain top experiences don’t last, we all have to experience the real world at some time, and when we do it can be disheartening. It is kinda like when Moses was up the mountain with God, receiving the ten commandments and when he comes down from the mountain he finds Israel had already rejected God and they have built their own golden calf to worship. They had broken the first commandment before they were even set in stone.
Down the bottom of the hill, in all this messiness and distractions and opposition, our faith can fail.
There is lots in this passage, but for today, I want us to just see something about faith and a contrast between the disciples and the father.
The Disciples
The disciples show us our need for Jesus. Jesus goes up a hill away from them and when he returns there is fighting and those in need are not being looked after. When the disciples are separated from Jesus, it seems they get into trouble and experience a crisis[1]. The disciples need Jesus, they can’t do things on their own, and Jesus shows frustration with the disciples. He essentially says, “how long is it going to take for you to understand? I am the Christ, the one foretold in the Old Testament. When will you get it? All the signs, the power over nature and diseases and death? The feeling of the thousands? I am God, I will provide, trust in me.”The disciples didn’t get it and after the boy was healed, afterwards in verse 28 they come up to Jesus. They are reflecting on the situation, and what was their question? “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”. They were looking to themselves. Why couldn’t they do it? Even in their question, there is an assumption that they had the power. But they forgot, they lost their sense of humility. You could maybe think, that at least their failure led them to a good thing: back to Jesus, questioning themselves[2].
Jesus answers their question that this kind of thing can only be dealt with in prayer (v29). What kind of things is Jesus talking about? I think the kind that involves the spiritual. “whenever we take to the spiritual battlefield, if we go in our own strength, pride, and self-sufficiency, we have lost the battle before it begins.[3]”. Our battle as Christians isn’t against other people but is against evil in this world. Against Satan and sin, and we cannot win against them on our own. We need God’s armour. We need prayer, asking God for help, not trusting in ourselves, but having a humility that only under God can we make it.
So remember me and my academic success? What do you think I was like in my early 20s? I was a bit of an arrogant punk, especially towards my parents. I was right about things; I know I was because I know I am smart. And thinking like that just showed that I was stupid.
There were things in my life not going to plan and that frustrated me, that angered me. I knew Jesus was Lord but did I trust him with my work, and with my relationships? I was ok at work; I knew what I was doing. But I wanted a girlfriend and didn’t have one, and I was angry and frustrated about it. My thinking was that my work and my relationship were all up to me and my skills and personality and my abilities. What I am trying to say, is that I trusted in myself too much and my arrogance also spilled over into anger and frustration. I knew what I wanted, and things weren’t going to my plans, so I was angry. You know what I needed, more than anything else to make my life better at the time? I needed to look out, not inside at myself, but to trust, really trust that Jesus had it. That He knew what He was doing, even if things weren’t going to my plan.
The father in need
And this brings us to the father in the middle of the story. He had been let down by the disciples. They couldn’t heal his son. And then the Son of God comes, and the father asks if Jesus could heal his child. He wants to know if Jesus can do anything for their situation. Can Jesus have pity on them and help them?
This is a tough statement and is almost a mean thing to say to the man. Jesus is saying, to this man, that he can help, but only if he trusts that Jesus can. Jesus says it isn’t a matter of his willingness but a matter of faith.
This one verse of cause can get taken out of context. It's like the like “I can do all things in Christ” (Phil 4:13) or when Jesus said “You may ask for anything in my name and I will do it” (John 14:14).
The “everything” in our line throws us. Does it mean if you have faith you can walk on the ceiling, or every injury you will be healed, or that if you had enough faith you can believe in a circle with four sides? Jesus often uses language like this, you will see later in this chapter Jesus says if your hand caused you to sin chop it off, if your eye causes you to stumble pluck it out (Mark 9:43, 47). This type of strong language evokes a strong black and white response. Where do you sit, where are you going to draw a line and what side are you on? Jesus is standing right in front of the guy asking him to confront his doubt in the face of a long-running condition his child has.
And then the man answers Jesus with one of the most honest answers someone in the Bible has. He says, “I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief” Do you feel the weight of what the Father is saying? He has faith, he thinks Jesus can, but the problem is big. The child has been like this since he was little. This is a chronic, long-term issue. It is big. And he hopes, he trusts Jesus can, but it is a big ask. Faith sometimes is asking in the fantastic against all odds[4].
Do you feel like that father? Asking the Lord, I believe, help me in my unbelief? Take comfort if that is you, “Jesus is not put off by the humble honesty of one who says, “I believe, but I am not certain of it.” He grants what is asked”[5].
The father didn’t trust his own capacity to believe but asked Jesus to help, in spite of himself. And Jesus does help. He heals the child. The child appears dead but that wasn’t true. Jesus goes to him and literally some texts could say “Jesus raised him, and he was resurrected.” Satanic powers bring death, but divine power brings resurrection life[6].
Faith
We need to be like this father, we need to trust in Jesus and not in ourselves. The disciples forgot this, and the father of the sick child learned this.
So when we struggle, when we hear bad news, when we screw up and sin. Don’t trust in yourself. Trust in Jesus. He will help. Faith is just another word for trust.
And more specifically, we should pray. Ask Jesus to help. The good news is that we don’t have to depend on ourselves, but on Jesus, and Jesus wants to hear our cries for help. Have faith that he will see us through. And we can trust Him, for we know the extent that He is willing to go through for us. He died for our sins and rose in power to bring us to God.
Jesus did the impossible for us. May we believe, in our weakness that He is able to save us, and help us each day. May we depend on Him and not on ourselves, praying and asking for help, knowing that He hears our prayers and helps those in need.
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, thankyou for your Son Jesus. May we trust in him and not in ourselves. Help us in our faith to grow nearer to you, trusting that you will strengthen our faith. May we be a people of prayer, casing our cares and worries on your, trusting in your ways. Amen
[1] Daniel L Akin, Exalting Jesus in Mark
[2] Daniel L Akin, Exalting Jesus in Mark
[3] Daniel L Akin, Exalting Jesus in Mark
[4] David E Garland, Mark (NIVAC)
[5] David E Garland, Mark (NIVAC)
[6] Daniel L. Akin, Exalting Jesus in Mark
[7] Daniel L. Akin, Exalting Jesus in Mark
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