The Cure of Christ - Mark 9:14-29

The Cure of Christ - Mark 9:14-29
By Pastor Lee Hemen
June 20, 2010 AM

The likes of John Osteen, deceased, and now Joel Osteen his son, have both preached a health and wealth gospel. A message that is totally contrary to Biblical Christianity. In fact, both have made comments like the following: “It's God's will for you to live in prosperity instead of poverty. It’s God’s will for you to pay your bills and not be in debt. It’s God’s will for you to live in health and not in sickness all the days of your life.” While God does desire that you pay your bills on time, Joel goes on to declare that what he means is God desires that as a believer, you should be prosperous in everything all the time. If you are not, then there is something wrong with your faith. You have not properly claimed the promises of God for your life. Then there are those like Benny Hinn who give their followers an addition to this kind of biblical drivel. He can heal you, if you believe in his rendition of naming it and claiming it, assembly line, commercialized Christianity.

There have always been those charlatans in Christianity that make the miracles of the Bible into their own personal how to guide on performing the miraculous. When they do, they are not only misinterpreting Scripture, but they often have ulterior motives. In fact, much of what they preach and teach nowadays smacks of heresy. If we look at today’s passage in Mark we discover very quickly that there is no set formula to follow, as some would have you believe, in casting out demonic influences. The truth contained within this story of Jesus curing a demon-possessed boy is one that we all should heed in life. Mark teaches us about the cure of Christ for our lives. Let’s see how…

READ: Mark 9:14-29

Sometimes the cure can be worse than cause. But here we find that this is not true. Only those who love being in the sway of the world, run from the cure of Christ in their lives. In fact, it is my contention that most of the social ills of the world today are caused by mankind’s sin and his willingness to stay spiritually sick. Here in Mark’s gospel we discover…

I. What unbelief in Christ causes! (Vv. 14-19)

1. What we see, may not be what God desires for us to perceive! We discover that when Peter, James, John, and Jesus “came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them.” Something was up. In stark contrast to the transfiguration of Christ, we find Mark describing for us the disoriented nature of the unbelief of the world and the disciples. The disciples who had been left behind were arguing with the people and the teachers of the law. When they see Jesus, they are literally excited, overwhelmed, to see him because they know Jesus will have the answers they need. When Jesus asks his disciples, “What are you arguing with them about?” meaning the crowd, a man respectfully answers his question, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 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.” The crux of the matter is not being able to drive out demons, but rather the root of the problem is a lack of faith for all involved: The crowd, the teachers of the law, the father, but also the disciples. In desperation, a father brings his son for healing to Jesus, but only finds his disciples, and they cannot help. And this is after Jesus had earlier sent them out to do exactly what this father was asking and they had been successful (Mark 6:7-13), but why not now? It is an example of what unbelief causes. The disciples had become dependent upon Jesus physical presence instead of their faith in him. Jesus is frustrated over their continuing spiritual blindness and comments, “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” Certainly, he was often aggravated at the teachers of the law, but his frustration right then was with his disciples. Unbelief in Jesus not only keeps people in spiritual bondage but it also encourages spiritual weakness in believers. They only saw a man with a demon-possessed son, and because of their spiritual nearsightedness, they could do nothing. This is what unbelief in Christ causes. What we see, may not be what God desires for us to perceive!

EXAMPLE: I was rummaging around in the garage, looking for a particular tool, but having no luck in finding it. Denise came out to do some laundry, turned on the light, and eureka – there was the tool I was looking for! She commented, “It helps if you turn on a light.” Isn’t that just like the spiritually blinded world? John wrote, “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” (John 1:5) Jesus taught, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” (John 3:19-21) Unbelief in Christ causes people to love darkness. The teachers of the law and the crowd could not see what to do with the demon-possessed man, but neither could Jesus’ disciples. It is a perfect example of what unbelief causes: Spiritual blindness.

There is a cure though. Those of us who have taken the spiritual medication understand the worth of it for our lives. Mark gives us the answer in…

II. How to conquer our unbelief in Christ! (Vv. 20-24)

1. In order to have faith in anything, one must be willing to trust what they cannot explain! We discover that those who were willing to follow Jesus’ directions exhibited their faith. We find that when the demonic spirit recognizes Jesus, “it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.” We discover that this boy has suffered from this influence for a long time. The father answers Jesus question, “How long has he been like this?” with “From childhood.” It is important to note that in the original translation, the word “boy” is not used. The NIV inserts it because they feel it is implied. However, the father’s answer makes it plain that his son suffered a long time and that he was older than a child would have been. Can you imagine, however? The father explains, “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him.” And pleads with Jesus, “But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” Jesus took up the father’s words of doubt, “If You can,” to show that the father’s faith should not be in Jesus’ ability to heal the boy. Rather, the man’s faith should be placed in his ability to trust in God who can do what is humanly impossible. “Everything is possible for him who believes.” Jesus asserts. The man’s wonderful reply tells us a whole story in of itself. Within the depths of his answer is a pathos that speaks volumes to the human tragedy of life. Bad things happen to good people because sin exists in the world. But also it contains the simple answer in conquering our unbelief in Christ: “Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!’” If only more people would be as honest as this man was. All this man experienced for decades was his son suffering from something and he could do nothing. That was his reality of life. This is the “essential element of Christian faith.” What is impossible with man is possible with God – if we are willing to believe. I am not talking about healing here I am talking about faith. In order to have faith in anything, one must be willing to trust what they cannot explain! That is how to conquer our unbelief in Christ!

EXAMPLE: We live in a day and age whereby to many think that science, business, education, or government will solve our problems. Yet none has helped the oil flow in the Gulf. Science cannot rescue a person from eternal death. Business cannot buy back your sinful soul. Education cannot make anyone smart enough to understand all the ways of God and the evils of mankind. And, well, government has never solved anything without a multitude of laws, conflict, taxation, and restricting people’s freedoms. I remember well a young man who asked me, “Lee, just tell me what to believe and I will.” His attitude was very much like the father’s here in Mark. It is a willingness to realize you do not have the answers, the means, or the method to cure yourself, but you can conquer your unbelief in Christ. In order to have faith in anything, one must be willing to trust what they cannot explain! That father did not need an explanation, only his son cured. His willingness to admit he did not have the answer was what conquered his unbelief.

Perhaps we have become so used to everything being available to us that we have forgotten what it means to be dependent on another person. We hate to be beholding to anyone. And this pride is what keeps many men form faith in Christ. If only they could understand. Mark teaches us…

III. What belief in Christ cures! (Vv. 25-29)

1. It is not in the words you use, but in whom you place your trust! Mark writes that “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.’ The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, ‘He's dead.’ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.” What? Wait a minute! No, “In Jesus’ name!” shouts. No, slapping him on the forehead or breathing on him so he would fall over. Why, how could Jesus do any healing without these old charlatan tricks? Sadly, there are those who actually believe this drivel. When we are told to pray in Jesus’ name it means to pray in our faith of what he did and who he is. Using or applying the name of Jesus to our prayers is not some spiritual mystical formula to be rigidly adhered too or as an ending punctuation point. The example here of Christ is beautiful in all of its glory and power as to he is. We see someone who was held under the influence of Satan, die to his old life and come alive anew in the fullness of Christ. We see a desperate father’s faith made complete at the healing of his son. We find a crowd amazed at what they see and the disciples perplexed. And notice, people’s attitudes have not changed. Were the disciples concerned for the young man? Were they concerned for what the crowd saw? Did they praise God? Nope, they were only concerned about one thing: “Why couldn't we drive it out?” After all, it’s all about “me” which is the narrow focus of any spiritually shallow faith! They were asking Jesus for a readymade excuse. There are those who use Jesus’ answer to his disciples here in Mark as a formula, “This kind can come out only by prayer.” But Jesus did not mean it as such. What belief in Christ cures is unbelief, it heals the spiritually hurt, and mute. Healing the body is not as important as healing the soul. The breaking of the bonds of spiritual death is only accomplished by faith in Christ alone. It is not in some formulated prayer, but in prayer that is uttered in total commitment to the belief that Jesus can do it! It is not in the word you use, but in whom you place your trust! That is what belief in Christ cures!

EXAMPLE: You are hanging by a small piece of your t-shirt that accidently got caught on a small limb, dangling over a sheer drop off thousands of feet above a rocky canyon. Someone holds out his hand to you to pull you up and you ask, “What, no rope?” You are drifting aimlessly on the open water with ocean as far as your eyes can see and then a submarine breaks the surface next to your life raft. They ask if you want to be rescued and you reply, “Got any Perrier?” Fire breaks out in your home and you are trapped. You open the second story window to find a fireman on a ladder ready to carry you down from the flames. You remark, “I think I’ll wait for someone to explain to me why wood combusts.” Sadly, this is the state of many in the world today. Their lives are hanging by a thread, drifting aimlessly in a sea of confusion, while the flames of hell are licking their bare feet. Worse, many are happy when someone simply suggests to them to “feel good” about themselves and “everything will be okay.” The power of positive thinking never saved a single soul, only the power of the cross does. That father was not looking for platitudes, excuses, or reasoning for his son. All he wanted was to believe someone had the cure. Someone did and someone does. Belief in Christ cures all doubt. Will you say with me, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” This is what belief in Christ cures.

Conclusion:

We have learned what unbelief in Christ causes, how to conquer our unbelief in Christ, and what belief in Christ cures.
----
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2010 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission. You now have my permission…

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Have Faith in God - Mark 11:22-26

Leave Everything Behind! - Mark 10:28-31