Faith & unbelief

And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. And he asked them, "What are you arguing about with them?" And someone from the crowd answered him, "Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. 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." 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." 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. And Jesus asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." And Jesus said to him, "'If you can'! All things are possible for one who believes." Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe; help my unbelief!" 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." 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." But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" And he said to them, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer." - Mark 9:14‭-‬29 ESV 

Rev. Dan Whang

All things are possible

Jesus has just showed his power through the transfiguration. He revealed his tender kindness and mercy towards Peter. Seeing God's power humbles us and emboldens us. The disciples and the scribes are arguing before a large crowd. There's another demon possessed boy and the disciples cannot cast out the demon. The father brings the boy and asks if Jesus can... to have mercy. This is Jesus but the man clearly hasn't seen His prior miracles. The father would not have questioned the limits of Jesus. 

Help my unbelief

We pray to God for many things this year. Today we see so much brokenness in this world. The father has some faith in Jesus and in God, but he also acknowledges his lack and imperfection. How often do we turn to idols, comforts, and addictions because we do not trust that God will meet our needs. We do not have that much faith in God. It is not the strength of your faith but the object of your faith that saves you. A strong faith in a weak branch can prove fatal, but a weak faith in a strong branch can be life saving.

The disciples have cast out demons before. They've been sent out by Jesus. So what happened here? A lack of faith is noted in the parallel passage in Matthew. A lack of prayer, maybe a lack of dependence on God. In ministry, we are dependent upon the power of God. So we need to pray before Bible study, before reaching out to unbelievers... We need to go deeper in prayer, deeper in Bible study.