Mark 9:14-29 14 When they came back to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them. 15 Immediately, when the entire crowd saw Him, they were amazed and began running up to greet Him. 16 And He asked them, “What are you discussing with them?” 17 And one of the crowd answered Him, “Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute; 18 and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and stiffens out. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it.” 19 And He *answered them and *said, “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!” 20 They brought [n]the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. 21 And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” 23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.” 24 Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” 25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again.” 26 After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, “He is dead!” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up. 28 When He came into the house, His disciples began questioning Him privately, “Why could we not drive it out?” 29 And He said to them, “This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.”
Both the scribes and the father of the possessed son are looking for Jesus but instead find only the disciples. The crowd transfers this expectation to the disciples, who are learning to represent Jesus but who obviously have not mastered this yet. When they come across this evil “spirit” (9:17) that seeks to “destroy” the boy (vv. 20, 22), and he cries out (v. 26). Due to their lack of prayer, the disciples are not able to heal him. What does this say about the role prayer has in a follower of Jesus’ life? Are there times when we lack faith in the effectiveness of our prayer? Scriptures to discuss: Philippians 4:6; John 15:7; 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Jesus makes reference to lack of belief as the core issue for this generation. What characteristics lead Jesus to make such a bold statement? Do we still have some of these characteristics in today’s generation? Scriptures to discuss: Deuteronomy 32:5; Jeremiah 5:21-22 The father merely seeks help through Jesus’ miraculous powers: if you can do anything. Jesus corrects the father’s statement by calling him to put his trust in God. I believe; help my unbelief! The father immediately confesses that he has some faith but also acknowledges his spiritual weakness and appeals to Jesus to create in him a heart that believes more firmly. Are their times we to struggle with unbelief in specific areas of our lives? How can we as Christians today help our own unbelief?
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