In this episode, J. Mark discusses the four kinds of faith revealed in Mark 9:14-29. Through this account of the demon-possessed boy, we see examples of different kinds of faith coupled with the power of God. Jesus invites us to place our faith in Him, but sometimes our faith is weak. The father of the demon-possessed boy in Mark 9:24 pleads, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” This illustrates how our imperfect faith can be brought to Jesus and we can grow in our faith. Will we continue to have weak or misplaced faith, or will we pursue a seeking and healing faith that reveals our dependence on God?
Transcript
Hello, I’m so glad we can be together again for another lesson from the precious Word of God. In the Bible, way back in the beginning, we have the account of creation. Not one of us was there, and we don’t know for sure how it unfolded. We believe and have faith in God’s Word. People who reject this account of creation have faith in some other event that explains where we came from. Since they also were not there, they must place their faith in something other than the Bible.
One believes in the Bible; the other doesn’t, but both have faith. Have you ever wondered exactly what faith is? Or are there different levels of faith? Good questions. In today’s lesson, we have several examples of faith, some good and some not as good.
Turn to Mark 9, and J Mark will lead us as we think about different kinds of faith.
One prominent theme of the New Testament Gospels is Jesus’ invitation to place one’s faith in Him. Mark’s Gospel is no exception. Our text for this episode highlights a dramatic illustration of faith coupled with the power of God. The testimony of a distraught father resonates with us, especially when our faith, too, seems weak. Our study is titled “Lord, I Believe.” This dramatic illustration will be a powerful guide for understanding and strengthening our faith.
Here is Mark 9:14-29.
14 And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them.
15 Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him.
16 And He asked the scribes, “What are you discussing with them?”
17 Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit.
18 And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.”
19 He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.”
20 Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.
21 So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood.
22 And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
24 Immediately, the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!”
26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.”
27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him, and he arose.
28 And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”
29 So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”
This record of Jesus casting out a demon reveals several KINDS of faith. These kinds of faith are present in our journey.
The First KIND of Faith is,
Weak Faith
As Jesus and the three disciples descended from the mountain, they noticed a huge crowd gathered around the nine disciples. They saw the Jewish scribes arguing about something. What a contrast between the glorious on the mountain and the dark, grief-filled scenes they now faced.
When the people in the crowd saw Jesus coming, they were amazed and ran to greet Him. Turning to the scribes, Jesus asked them, “What are you arguing about with My disciples?”
A desperate father steps out from the crowd and speaks to Jesus at this precise moment. “Teacher, I have brought my son to You; he has a mute spirit. Whenever and wherever the spirit seizes him, it convulses and throws him down. He foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to cast out the spirit, but they couldn’t.” Mark chapter 6 tells us that they cast out many demons before this. So, what is happening here?
Notice what Jesus says next. “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you?” Jesus’ disciples were most likely the focus of this reproof. His use of the word “Oh” shows Jesus’ disappointment in them. They were not faithless in the sense of treacherous, but their faith was weak. It was inadequate to meet their needs.
We can ask Jesus’ question in today’s language. “How long must I be with you and ‘put up with’ your lack of faith?” Do you sense exasperation in Jesus’ words? Would Jesus have similar questions for you and me? We, too, have seen Jesus’s power demonstrated many times. Yet we often lack faith in His ability and willingness.
Praise God, there is a remedy for weak faith. Like the characters in our text, we can grow into the following kind of faith.
Another KIND of Faith is,
Seeking Faith
After rebuking His disciples, Jesus says, “Bring the boy to me.” When the evil spirit in the boy saw Jesus, he immediately experienced the symptoms the father had listed earlier. The glorious power of Christ seen on the mountain now clashes head-on with the powers of darkness.
Jesus addressed this boy’s case just as a doctor would. “How long has this been happening?” The father told Jesus it began in childhood. The demon often tried to destroy the boy. What a tragic situation!
Imagine the emotion in these scenes. See the father’s distress and hear his cry for help. “If you can do ANYTHING, have compassion on us and help us (immediately)!” Can you hear the desperation in his voice? He is at his wits’ end and begging Jesus to do anything. Jesus repeats the father’s words, “If you can…” to him: “If you can believe, all things are possible for the one who has faith.” He is challenging the father’s faith.
I love the father’s response! “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” This father had faith but confessed it was weak and craved more faith.
While I’ve never experienced the trauma of a demon-possessed child, I want God to strengthen my faith continually. Is that your desire, too? This will only happen when you and I come to the end of ourselves and realize that Jesus is our only hope.
The faith of the men who brought the boy to Jesus and the distraught father’s seeking faith resulted in the following kind of faith.
The Next KIND of Faith is,
Healing Faith
When Jesus saw the crowd quickly gathering, he rebuked the unclean spirit by saying, “Deaf and mute spirit, I command you to come out of him and never enter him again!” Notice that Jesus addressed the demon, not the boy. Jesus was not merely indulging popular belief in a superstition. Today, many would diagnose such a person as having a mental illness. While there are legitimate diagnoses of mental disease, many cases are rooted in deep spiritual needs.
In this case, Jesus regards the demon as the cause of the boy’s misfortune and issues a direct command. After crying out and convulsing the boy violently, the evil spirit came out of him, leaving him as lifeless-looking as a dead person. Many observers said, “He is dead!” But Jesus took him by the hand, lifted him, and he arose.
Again, imagine the emotions this father and son experience. Instead of the tortured relationship between them because of the demon’s power and their inability to communicate with each other, there is now joy and laughter, mutual love and acceptance. We don’t know how old the boy was, but this was a long-term condition that was reversed. We can hardly identify with the magnitude of this change without having had a similar experience.
Yet, in a measure, this is the experience of every genuinely born-again Believer. Before our rescue by Christ, we were all under the control of Satan. He had us bound in sin with our evil thoughts and wrong actions. Even though we may have wanted to change, we were powerless to accomplish it alone. Then, as it were, someone metaphorically stepped out of the crowd and took us to Jesus. When we met Him, sin’s shackles were broken, and we were set free!
This dramatic demonstration of Jesus’ power made the nine disciples question their failure. Their question leads us to the final kind of faith.
The Final KIND of Faith is,
Misplaced Faith
After this fantastic event concluded and Jesus was alone with the Twelve, they asked Him, “Why were we unable to cast out the demon?” Jesus responded, “This kind of demon cannot come out except by prayer and fasting.” Their earlier success in casting out demons may have encouraged them to believe they could do so at any time or place. That was a mistake.
The disciples failed to understand their need for a continual connection to Jesus’s power. Their neglect of prayer caused a loss of power. They had too much faith in themselves and too little faith in Christ. This was a valuable lesson for them.
How much we are like them! We underestimate the power of evil in our world and ourselves. How easily we forget that “without Him we can do nothing.”
The difficulty of miracles isn’t the lack of God’s power but the difficulty of our belief. Doubt seems to be in the very air we breathe. The moral and spiritual characteristics of our age are not conducive to faith.
Yet, as we learn from this account, as great as these difficulties are, they are far from impossible. All things are possible with God and to us if we dwell upon what is eternal, infinite, and invisible and are thoroughly infused with the Spirit of God.
Have you confessed, along with the desperate father, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief?” If you have, then you are exercising a kind of faith that God can bless and honor. That doesn’t mean all your desires will be met, but you can trust God to move you from weak faith to seeking faith to healing faith and a renewed awareness of your complete dependence on Him. He will provide you with everything you need. I trust you will find it so in your life.
Which faith best describes your faith? Are you growing stronger in your faith? Or is your faith becoming weaker? I like how this example shows real people with varying levels of faith. It is also noteworthy how Jesus interacts with each person. Jesus, always wise and understanding, meets each one where they are and encourages greater faith in Him. This is what He is still doing, no matter where we are in our journey of faith, he desires to meet us there and take us deeper. He wants to see our faith in Him increase.
If you have any questions or want to contact us, please do. You can contact us by email or online. Our email address is hope@heraldsofhope.org, and our website is heraldsofhope.org. Go to the partner tab on the top right. Under this tab is the “contact us”. From there, you can message us directly. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Thanks so much for joining us for this lesson. One of the clearest definitions of faith is in Hebrews 11:1. One translation says it this way, “Faith is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead.” May we tell Jesus the same thing the father in our lesson said: “Lord, help my unbelief.”
