From Amazement To Faith - Mark 9:14-29 Series

Mark 9:14 When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. 15 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him. 16 "What are you arguing with them about?" he asked. 17 A man in the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not." 19 "O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me."

20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. 21 Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?" "From childhood," he answered. 22 "It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." 23 " 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." 24 Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"

25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. "You deaf and mute spirit," he said, "I command you, come out of him and never enter him again." 26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, "He's dead." 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.

28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, "Why couldn't we drive it out?" 29 He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer."

Introduction

Watershed

We left off last time with Jesus, Peter, James, and John coming down the mountain after the Transfiguration. And descending that mountain is really a good picture of where we are in the whole structure of Mark. Remember, Mark has two parts, with the climax of the book in the center. We just finished studying that climax—Peter’s great confession, then the great confusion, Jesus’ words about suffering and following him, and the Transfiguration. That’s the continental divide of the book—everything in the first half points forward to that and everything in the second half points back to that. The first half points to it by establishing who Jesus is: He’s the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, the almighty miracle worker who has absolute authority—authority to forgive sins, authority over demons, over the creation, over people’s hearts, over the Word of God, and over the kingdom of God. That’s Mark part 1 and it comes to a climax in the middle of the book where Peter says, “You are the Christ,” and God the Father speaks from the cloud and says, “This is my son whom I love” and sends Moses and Elijah to vouch for Jesus as the fulfillment of the entire OT. The second half of Mark is about what Jesus came to do—suffer, die, and rise again; and that’s the path all his followers must take as well. So Mark part 2 is about the cross and what it means to follow Christ as he makes his way toward that cross. And we saw all that in the climax as well. The second half of the book all points back to that same climax where Jesus said the Son of Man must suffer and die and if anyone would follow me he must take up his cross and even his forerunner Elijah suffered and died, etc. So all that to say, these four men walking down that mountain is a great picture of how we have now crossed the continental divide of Mark, and from here on all currents flow in the direction of the cross. The whole rest of the book is the journey to Jerusalem and then the events of the cross and instruction for what it means to be a disciple and follow him.

And so now Jesus is mostly done with the crowds. The cross is looming, and there isn’t much time left to get the disciples ready, so Jesus turns away from the crowds and all the big, public miracles, and really focuses in on training the disciples. And it starts right here where Jesus teaches them a crucial lesson about faith.

When they get down the mountain and catch up to the other 9 disciples, they walk right into the middle of a very dramatic and very evil scene. Jesus has just had the best day of his earthly life by far. He had just experienced the greatest, most glorious event in human history. And now he drops right into a scene so horrible that look what he says in v.19.