#38 Ministering In The Valley Series

#38 Ministering in the Valley

Series: Mark

Chuck Sligh

February 21, 2021

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TEXT: Please turn in your Bibles to Mark 9:14-20

INTRODUCTION

Illus. – One of the great medieval painters was Raphael. Many art experts believe his greatest painting was The Transfiguration which hangs in the Vatican art gallery. There are three levels in the painting. At the top is Jesus at the center, suspended in the air to convey His deity, with Moses flanking Him on the left and Elijah on the right. On the next level are the three disciples—Peter, James and John—having been awakened, shielding their eyes from Jesus’ blinding brilliance. By the way, the two men on the left are thought to be two martyrs, Justus and Pastor, to whom the church the painting was originally placed is dedicated.

Where were the other 9 disciples and what was going on with them? On the ground level, down in the valley, Raphael shows the disciples on the left. Surprisingly, they all look like medieval Italian men! There’s a disciple in front reading a book, as if searching for a cure…a bound book, by the way, something not invented until another 1,000 years after Christ! Some of the disciples are pointing to Jesus and some are pointing to a man with a dismayed look holding his son whose mouth is gaping open hideously, and whose eyes are rolled back in his head as if about to be in some sort of fit. On the far right is a crowd of onlookers.

The key to this painting and the “the other side” of transfiguration is to see the contrast between the glory and power on the mountain and the desperate needs in the valley below. The confusion of the disciples portrays the sad possibility of failure in the Christian life. The words of Jesus at the end of the story give us the key to success in the Christian life.

I. NOTICE FIRST FAILURE IN THE VALLEY IN VERSES 14-19 – “And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them. 15 And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him, saluted [greeted] him. 16 And he asked the scribes, ‘What question ye with them?’ 17 And one of the multitude answered and said, ‘Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a mute spirit; 18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spoke to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.’ 19 He answereth him, and saith, ‘O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.’”

Jesus and His inner circle—Peter, James and John, came down off the mountain. They must have been on “cloud nine” after experiencing the Transfiguration. Up on the mountain they were privileged to experience a once-in-history event. They had experienced the greatest “mountaintop experience,” ever…but now they had to get back to real life. After a short break from the crowds, the demands of ministry, the constant flow of sick and lame and blind and deaf and mute people and the increasing opposition from the religious authorities, they now had to come back down into the valley.

Man, were they in for a shock! They arrive down in the valley to see the scribes arguing with other 9 the disciples. Jesus had a pastor’s heart, so He was quick to protect his disciples. He immediately asks the scribes, “What are you talking with them about?”

Before the scribes could answer Jesus, a man steps forward, saying he had brought his son to be healed from an awful evil spirit that caused his son to be mute and throw him down in a fit, foam at the mouth, gnash his teeth and then suddenly become rigid. These are the symptoms of epilepsy, but his condition was worsened by a demon. Now, we have to be careful not to attribute epilepsy or other diseases to demon-possession, but these verses teach that demons can sometimes exacerbate illnesses people already have.

Later in verse 22, the father tells Jesus that the demon caused his son to act irrationally and to harm himself—like causing him to jump into fire or water. The demon’s attempts to destroy the boy show again that the purpose of demon possession is “to kill, to steal and to destroy” the only beings on earth created in the image of God.