Filling up on Faith

Gas Gauge Games

I like to play games with my gas gauge. It’s kinda like a game of chicken…except with fuel. When there’s less than half a tank, no problem. Quarter of a tank? Keep on keeping on.

It’s only when it gets WAY below E and warning lights start flashing that I start to look for a gas station. In my mind, I don’t need to stop until the last minute. I might not have much sloshing around my tank, but I DO have fuel!

Winning the gas gauge game is cruising up to the pump on fumes. Sure, There are those occasions when I’ve had to throw my car in neutral and coast downhill in order to make get to a gas station. And despite all the electronic gadgets in my car, I’ve also lost the game a few times.

No Faith Gauge

Too many times, I do the same with my faith without knowing it. As long as I’ve got a little, I’m okay. There are a couple problems with my approach. First, there’s no faith gauge on my dashboard. I really have no idea how much I have left.

Second, you can really never have enough faith. I can ALWAYS use more. Let’s face it, we never really know what’s right around the next turn. I don’t know about you, but too many days are a lot like one of those old driver’s ed videos with danger jumping out into the road every fifty feet.

Third, faith is a gift from God. There’s no limit. He’s not rationing it because of some international crisis. He’s always ready to give us more. There’s really no reason to not fill up on faith.

A Son in Crisis

In his bio of Jesus, John Mark introduces us to a man who suddenly realizes he needs more faith.  Through a combination of his son in crisis and an encounter with Christ, he suddenly realizes his trust in God is running low.

Pulling Back the Curtain of Heaven

The place is in the mountains of northern Palestine, not far from Mount Hermon and Caesarea Philippi. Jesus and three of His closest friends are returning from an amazing moment of a mountaintop (Mk 9:2-8).

People describe what went down as the Transfiguration. I’m guessing Peter, James, and John would think that’s a pretty lame term for what they experienced. So what happened? First, the Lord pulls back the curtain of heaven and suddenly starts flashing like lightning.

Next Moses and Elijah show up and chat with our Savior. If that’s not crazy enough for you, God’s glory cloud rolls in and Jesus’ heavenly Dad delivers one of the all-time attaboys.

Coming Down the Mountain

The Big Three’s heads are still spinning on the way down the mountain (Mk 9:9-13). They can’t figure out what Jesus is talking about with all His rising-from-the-dead nonsense, much less how Elijah fits into all of this.

Back on the summit, Pete tried to figure out a way they could stay (Mk 9:5). As awesome as it is, we can’t stay up. You see, we live most of our life in the valley between peaks.

Life Between the Peaks

Sundays are sweet. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could spend all of our time inside the holy huddle? But there’s one little problem. Life is also filled with Tuesdays.

A lot of what we experience is the garden variety everyday. And then there are those times when everything goes off the rails. We don’t need a lot of faith for those mountaintop moments. It’s in those times of trial in the valley that our trust in God gets tested. This story in Mark is one of those times.

A Shouting Match

We pick up the action with Jesus as the Big Three meeting up with the other nine disciples. “When they returned to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd surrounding them, and some teachers of religious law were arguing with them” (v14).

Clearly a big crowd has gathered for a blowup between the rest of the Lord’s crew and a team of Jewish theologians. This isn’t some polite discussion on the finer parts of the faith. It’s a knock down, drag out shouting match.

A War of Words

Mark uses a word the NLT translates as “arguing” (Gr. συζητεω/suzeteo). The meaning of this word depends on the context. It can either describe cooperating together to find  the answer. That’s exactly how it’s used when the Pete and the Thunder Brothers talked on the way down the mountain (Mk 9:10).

The other meaning is forcefully expressing your opinion without necessarily seeking a solution. We see that in Acts when some Jews got into a war of words with Stephen and “started to debate (Gr. συζητεω/suzeteo) with him”  (Acts 6:9).

Not at Full Strength

Clearly what’s happening here is the latter. The scribes saw their chance to take on the disciples while while their Leader’s gone. With Team Jesus not a full strength, these religious bullies think they’re hot stuff.

These are some of the top Jewish theologians on the planet. Their very name in the original language (Gr. γραμματευς/grammateus) describes an expert in the writings. Any religious contest between them and Jesus’ rat tag gang of uneducated guys from the sticks would be a blowout. We’re talking Alabama playing a bunch of middle schoolers.

A Heavenly Afterglow?

The Lord and the Big Three arrive. And not a moment too soon. “When the crowd saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with awe, and they ran to greet Him” (v15). Was Jesus still shining just a bit after the supernatural light show on the summit? Are people taken by His heavenly afterglow?

Some folks think that might be the case. Remember when Moses returns to the people and his face shines after spending time with God on Mount Sinai (Ex 34:29-35)? Possibly. One thing for sure, just like the Big Mo, Jesus returns to find people acting crazy.

Saving Their Bacon

I’m guessing that they’re simply glad to see the Savior and He could save their bacon in what is probably a losing argument. Not only could He shut down these religious bullies in the blink of an eye, He’s the one who will do what needs to be done. Man, are we glad to see You!! But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Playing for the Same Team

The radical Rabbi/Carpenter cuts to the chase. “What is all this arguing about?” (v16). From what we’re about to read, you can bet the hot topic is Jesus’ ability to cast out demons. The Hebrew home office has already accused Christ of getting His power over evil spirits straight from Satan (Mk 3:22).

The problem is that the scribes and disciples should be playing for the same team instead fighting against each other. It’s a powerful reminder that theological debates and infighting among fellow believers are destructive. That’s a far cry from the unity our Savior prayed for the night before He died (Jn 17:22).

Win at All Costs

You do realize how foolish we look to those outside the faith when we trash talk fellow believers, don’t you? The next time somebody fails to check what you believe are the right doctrinal boxes, don’t fire up the social media flame thrower. Please, put your phone down before you post something stupid.

The sad part is winning the argument has become WAY more important for the disciples and scribes than the person asking for help in the first place. Again, we fall into the same trap. We get all hot and bothered talking smack to other believers when there’s a lost and dying world that desperately needs to hear about Jesus.

Demon Got Your Tongue?

The nine disciples don’t answer Christ’s question. Neither do the scribes. Nothing but crickets from the two sides in the fight. Suddenly someone in the crowd speaks up. “Teacher, I brought my son so You could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk” (v17).

This desperate dad came hoping Jesus could finally end his son’s misery once and for all. Mark is the only Gospel writer to say the evil spirit won’t let the boy talk. Funny how neither the scribes or one of the nine disciples don’t speak up and tell Him what’s going on. What’s up, boys? Demon got your tongue?

A Completely Different Fight

It’s a face in the crowd who’s in a completely different fight who speaks up. Matthew’s version of this story tells us that this dad drops to his knees when he encounters Christ (Mt 17:14). Dr. Luke describes how the man tells Jesus that this boy is “my only child” (Lk 9:38).

The father describes what his son goes through. “And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn’t do it” (v18).

Spiritual Connections to Physical Health

Boy, there’s a LOT going here. First of all, I don’t want anybody to misunderstand what’s going on. Mark is NOT saying every case of epilepsy or grand mal seizures is demonic. But we need to remember that there is often a spiritual connection to our physical health.

Let this dad’s description sink in. Imagine one of your children or grandchildren suffering in this way. His only child is totally helpless when the evil spirit decides to take control.

Violently slamming the boy to the ground. Foaming at the mouth like a rapid animal. Grinding his teeth. Stiffening up like a board. There’s not a thing this dad could do about it.

Spiritual Terrorism

The folks at the Life Application Bible wants us see this story as a great reminder that Jesus may have defeated the devil, but our enemy is still extremely dangerous. It’s like the end of a war where there’s no doubt one side has lost. But the losers still cause a ton of trouble through acts of terrorism. Think of demonic attacks as spiritual terrorism.

One day, Jesus is coming back to put a stop to that garbage once and for all. That can’t happen soon enough in my book. Until then, we’re under attack. You can bet the devil will use every trick in his satanic bag to steal, kill, and destroy (Jn 10:10). But in the end, he’s already lost. You can take that to the bank.

John MacArthur points out that it’s kinda surprising the disciples couldn’t pull it off considering Jesus had previously given them the authority do stuff like this (Mk 3:15; 6:13). Why not this time? Maybe that power was temporary. Maybe their faith is faltering. Whatever the case, we’ll soon see that they tried to do cast out this demon without God’s help.

No Participation Trophy

At first glance, Christ’s response catches me off guard. “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you?” (v19). Whoa. He doesn’t give the disciples an A for effort. He doesn’t present them with a participation trophy just for playing.

Here in Jesus’ reaction we see the first mention of faith, or shall we say, the LACK of it. The word we translate “faithless” is απιστος/apistos. In Greek, adding the prefix α/a- changes the following word into the opposite of its original meaning. It’s like adding “un-” to a word in English.

You People Are Unbelievable!

The root word here is actually faith or trust (Gr. πιστος/pistos). So we can actually translate απιστος/apistos as unfaith. The term can also describe something that’s unbelievable, incredible, or impossible to swallow.

Kinda makes you wonder if Jesus may actually being saying, “You people are unbelievable!” The paraphrase in The Message certainly backs that up. “What generation! No sense of God! How many times do I have to go over these things? How much more do I have to put up with this?” (v19 The Message).

SMH

It’s not the first time Jesus is flabbergasted with the lack of faith. On His trip back home to Nazareth, folks didn’t buy His claim to be God. “And He was amazed at their unbelief”  (Mk 6:6).

The Lord’s frustration isn’t just with the nine disciples. He’s also had it up to here with the so-called religious experts, as well as the crowd that’s gathered. This sure seems to be His way of saying SMH.

Calvary around the Corner

His followers seem more concerned about winning the argument than helping the boy. The scribes are probably laughing their heads off over the failure of Jesus’ followers. Then you’ve got all the lookie-loos who’ve assembled to watch the fight.

Don’t misunderstand when the Lord says, “How long must I put up with you?” He’s NOT talking about downsizing the disciples. The Son of God knows the clock on His incarnation is ticking. Calvary is right around the corner. He needs His team to be filled with faith ASAP.

Nobody Cares More than Jesus

Instead of throwing His hands up and walking away from it all, our Savior goes all in. He tells the dad, “Bring the boy to Me” (v19). Here’s where the entire situation changes. Despite His deep frustration, Christ demonstrates His even deeper compassion.

Read the following words out loud and very slowly. Nobody cares more about you and loves you more than Jesus. Okay, now read it again. Once more with feeling. And get this, it’s not even close.

Our Savior’s Dumpster Dive

Let me put this another way. You matter to God. It’s the reason He left the comforts of the heavenly palace to dumpster dive into our world of sin, and come to our rescue. Despite our rebellion and disobedience, He came. Shoot, BECAUSE of our rebellion and disobedience, He came.

As much as this dad loves his boy…and let’s be clear, he LOVES that kid…the Savior loves him even more. You can hear it in His words, “Bring the boy to Me” (v19). There’s no better place to be than near the One who loves us the most.

Savage Spasms

And with that, things are about to get crazy. “So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth” (v20).

Just in case people there didn’t believe the dad, you can all see it for yourself. Mark chooses his words carefully here to get his readers to understand the extreme violence and brutality of the demon toward this young man. Savage spasms. Flailing wildly. This is not a scene from a horror flick. This is the real deal.

The Horrors Straight out of Hell

If you’ve been following along in Mark’s bio of Jesus, you know that demons have a habit of freaking out when they see the Son of God. Remember the reaction of thousands of evil spirits possessing the naked man living in the cemetery (Mk 5:6)?

Imagine what’s going through the minds of Peter, James, and John. They’re fresh off the jaw dropping experience of Jesus’ transfiguration, meeting Moses and Elijah, and hearing the voice of God the Father (Mk 9:1-8). They go from a glorious glimpse of heaven to horrors straight out of hell.

Disturbing Details

Like a good doctor, the Great Physician asks for more info. “How long has this been happening?” (v21). The dad tells Him, “Since he was a little boy” (v21). While we don’t know his son’s age at this point, we know he’s not a toddler. He’s had to watch this spirit torture his boy for years.

The father provides a few more disturbing details about the demonic attacks. “The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him” (v22). Think about that for a minute. You can bet this boy has third-degree burn scars from the previous demonic convulsions.

Our Enemy’s M.O.

If the satanic convulsions aren’t bad enough, the other kids in the neighborhood probably tease him and want nothing to do with this disfigured, demon-possessed little guy.

There’s no doubt in this desperate dad’s mind that the devil is behind it all. This certainly fits our enemy’s M.O. Christ warns us, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy” (Jn 10:10). I’m certainly no there’s-a-demon-lurking-behind-every-door kinda guy, but we must remember that he IS real and looking to take us down.

Imagine this father’s broken heart for his boy. He’s just had to stand there and watch as the devil tortures his son like a cat toy for years. He’s tried everything. Everything except bringing him straight to the Lord.

Deep in His Gut

Now that Jesus is back, the dad begs Him to help. “Have mercy on us and help us, if You can” (v22). Interestingly, this is not the usual word we find translated as “mercy.” This is the Greek verb σπλαγχνιζομαι/splagchnizomai, which means to deeply moved.

It actually comes from a root word describing your internal organs. Specifically, your spleen. This father knows that if the Son of God feels it deep in His gut, his boy stands a good chance of getting rid of this demon.

The Compassion of Christ

We’ve seen the compassion of Christ before in Mark’s Gospel. He heals a man with leprosy when “moved with compassion (Gr. σπλαγχνιζομαι/splagchnizomai)” (Mk 1:41). When He sees a big crowd wandering around without loving leadership, the Lord “had compassion (Gr. σπλαγχνιζομαι/splagchnizomai) on them” (Mk 6:34).

Then there’s the time several thousand people ran out of food. Jesus says, “I feel sorry (Gr. σπλαγχνιζομαι/splagchnizomai) for these people” (Mk 8:32). Next thing you know, He provides an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet a handful of fish and seven loaves of bread.

The End of the Rope

Meanwhile, did you notice how that father ends his cry to Christ? “If You can” (v22). Maybe he has his doubts because the other nine disciples couldn’t. Whatever the case, this man seems to think Jesus is the only hope of healing for his son. I think we can read this as “If You can’t, nobody can.”

As someone once said, Jesus’ office is at the end of the rope. So many of us only turn to Him when nothing else works and all else fails. Too bad it takes crisis and disaster to break us and so we can realize what we’re facing is WAY beyond our pay grade.

Declaring Spiritual Bankruptcy

Our Savior says just that in the opening lines of His most famous sermon. “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for Him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs” (Mt 5:3). God blesses us when we finally declare spiritual bankruptcy.

When we finally turn to Christ, we discover is that He’s been waiting for us the whole time. He’s so glad to see you. He’s been expecting you. No judgment. No shame. He hates it for you because it took so long.

Not If, but Will

Check out Jesus’ response to the dad’s desperation. “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” (v23). John MacArthur points out that the issue here is not Jesus’ lack of power but the father’s lack of faith. It’s not “if He can” but “will He?”

A couple of VERY important points behind Jesus’ statement to this father. He wants him to know anything is POSSIBLE if we believe, because nothing is too hard for God. That’s one of the mega-themes we see all throughout the documents of both the Old and New Testaments (Gen 18:14; Job 42:2; Jer 32:17, 27; Mt 19:26; Eph 1:19; 3:20).

Rainbows, Unicorns, and Skittles

Let’s be clear about one thing. Jesus is NOT endorsing the power of positive thinking. He’s NOT telling this desperate dad that all he has to do is just think good thoughts and his son will be healed. Keep it up and life will be nothing but rainbows, unicorns, and an endless supply of Skittles.

The other point here is that Jesus is saying anything is possible. He doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed. Big difference. It’s not like we utter a few magic words and get God to respond like some sort of genie in a bottle. Nope. He doesn’t work that way.

Out of the Frying Pan

We trust and ask God. If what we desire is for His glory and our good, chances are He’ll answer. Otherwise, I wouldn’t count on it. “Possible” means just because He can doesn’t mean He will.

You may have heard about the three Hebrew dudes who ticked off King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and were about to go from the frying pan into the literal fire. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew it wasn’t a matter of “if God can” save them, but “will He?”

But Even If He Doesn’t…

The pagan king is furious when these Hebrew up-and-comers won’t worship his golden statue. He’s about to chuck them into a blast furnace for their disobedience. As things are about to heat up, the boys demonstrate an amazing depth of trust in God.

“If we are thrown in the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if He doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up” (Dan 3:17-18).

God Can

All cards on the table, boys and girls. I’m not sure I have the same but-even-if-He-doesn’t kinda trust in God that Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego had. Not yet anyway. How ‘bout you?

The big idea. God can. Forget all this nonsense about building a wall so high that He can’t step over it. Theissen says that God can easily do anything and everything that’s in harmony with His perfections.

God can. And being the divine Son of God and Second Member of the Trinity, Jesus can too.

Holding Nothing Back

That’s the moment the light bulb clicks on for this desperate dad. “The father instantly cried out” (v24). Mark uses the Greek verb κραζω/krazo here. It describes someone shrieking or screaming. He’s not holding anything back at this point!

What he shouts is one of the more head-scratching statements we see anywhere in the pages of Scripture. “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” (v24). He believes yet he doesn’t? What the WHAT?!?!?

All Cards on the Table

This man owns his personal lack of trust in God. Did you catch how he says “MY unbelief” (v23 emphasis added)? He admits he his own doubts. All his cards are on the table. Desperation has a way of revealing what we truly believe. The storms of life expose our faith.

Trust and confidence in God and His goodness is what we call belief or faith. Let’s talk about what it is NOT. Faith isn’t mustering up some sort of ridiculous confidence from within ourselves.

Weak Faith in a Strong Object

It’s NOT about the faith what WE can crank up. It’s ALL about the object of our trust. Strong faith in a weak object is foolish. Weak faith in a strong object is our only hope.

For instance, I can believe with every fiber of my being that I can fly when I put on my Superman underoos. Do I have to tell you my leap from the roof of the garage will end badly? Didn’t think so.

A Tiny Bit of Trust

On the other hand, I can have serious doubts about a 737’s ability to fly cross country. But placing a just a tiny of trust in the plane by buying a ticket and stepping on board will just about guarantee my safe arrival.

That’s weak faith in a strong object. And there’s no stronger object than the Rock of our Salvation, the one and only Jesus Christ! The father here in Mark’s Gospel understands just that. He has some and desperately needs a whole lot more.

The Source of Faith

Did you realize that the source of faith in God is actually…drum roll, please….God Himself? An early follower of Jesus named Paul puts it this way, “Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us” (Rom 12:3).

Suddenly the dad realizes his faith gauge is running low. He knows he’s got some. But not nearly enough. Now he also recognizes the One who can fill His tank of trust is standing right in front of him.

The Unbelieving Parts of Ourselves

Before we get cocky comparing ourselves to this father, we need to remember that we’re ALL unbelievers at some level on this side of eternity. Don’t believe me? We demonstrate our lack of trust each time we disobey God. As a result, we must continue to preach the Gospel to the unbelieving parts of ourselves.

The Life Application Bible says that no matter how much trust we have in Jesus, we’ll never reach the point of being self-sufficient. We can’t stockpile faith. We simply trust Christ more each and every day. And it usually grows the fastest during a crisis.

Thanking God in Advance

What exactly is faith, anyhoo? The writer of Hebrews provides a handy dandy definition.  “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see…And it is impossible to please God without faith.

 

“Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek Him” (Heb 11:1, 6). It would appear the desperate dad in Mark 9 checks those boxes.

I also love what Rick Warren has to say about it. “Faith is thanking God in advance.” Think of having so much trust in His goodness that you write the thank you note and drop it in the mail WAY before He moves.

Coming out of the Woodwork

Christ then responds to this father’s double-barreled cry for help and more faith. “When Jesus saw the crowd of onlookers was growing, He rebuked the evil spirit” (v25). Mark goes out of his in his description to emphasize how the size of the crowd absolutely explodes. People are coming out of the woodwork.

The author describes a few other times when Jesus evicts evil spirits that are torturing people (Mk 1:21-28, 32-34, 39; 5:1-13; 7:24-30). This is the last time we read about it in the second Gospel.

Get out and Stay out!

“Listen, you spirit who makes this boy unable to hear and speak” (v25). Jesus cuts out the middle man and speaks right to the demon personally. “I command you to come out of this child and never enter him again!” (v25).

What we’re about to witness is an unfair. Our Savior kicks satanic tail every single time. He orders the evil spirit leave and don’t come back. Get out and stay out!!

A Demonic Temper Tantrum

The next thing we see is nothing more than a demonic temper tantrum. “The spirit screamed and threw the boy into another violent convulsion and left him. The boy appeared to be dead.  A murmur ran through the crowd as people said, ‘He’s dead’” (v26).

The demon does as much damage as possible on the way out. Think of a baseball player throwing a fit after the ump tossing from the game. Everything that’s not nailed down flies out of the dugout. Balls. Bats. Batting helmets. Coolers.

Limp as a Rag

This seizure leaves the poor kid unconscious. His body is limp as a rag, lying on the ground. The big crowd stands in shock. They believe they’ve just witnessed a murder. Not only did Jesus NOT heal the boy but the young man died in the process.

Put yourself in his father’s sandals. He came to Christ for a cure. Has his cry for help killed his boy?

But Jesus…

Wait just a Galilean second. What’s that? The Son of God is reaching down to the boy’s lifeless body. “But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up” (v27).

Your situation may look bad, I mean REALLY bad, but it’s not over until Jesus says it’s over! “But Jesus” (v27). These two little words change everything. Did you know that “but Jesus” appears in the New Testament 64 times? And “but God” shows up another 62 times!

Nothing fills your faith tank faster than a “but Jesus” moment.

Going over Game Tape

After the Son of God’s beatdown of the demon, we move to the postgame show. “Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the house with His disciples, they asked Him, ‘Why couldn’t we cast out that evil spirit?’” (v28).

The other nine disciples want to know what they did wrong. They ask their Head Coach to go over the game tape and analyze what happened.

Last Resort or First Option?

His answer is simple. “This kind can be cast out only by prayer” (v29). First of all, Christ makes it clear there are different kinds of demons. He says you have to have a scouting report and know your opponent.

Whatever kind of evil spirit it was, they simply forgot to pray. Let’s face facts. Too many times we do the same thing. We turn to prayer as our last resort instead of our first option.

A Wartime Walkie-Talkie

A.T. Robertson says these disciples were powerless because they were prayerless. It reveals that they thought they personally had the power to do the job. They were sadly mistaken. Let’s not make the same mistake.

The truth is prayer is critical anytime you’re doing spiritual warfare. I love how John Piper describes prayer. “The number one reason why prayer malfunctions in the hands of a believer is that they try to turn a wartime walkie-talkie into a domestic intercom.”

Instead of misusing the incredible gift of prayer to order spiritual room service, let’s remember that it’s for calling in the ultimate air support. There’s nothing like prayer to fill our faith tank. It’s an admission of our need for more of God in our lives.

Ready for a Fill up of Faith

There’s a whole lotta stuff going on in this story. So what’s the bottom line? No matter how much faith we have in God, we can ALWAYS use more. Don’t play games with the gauge on the dashboard.

Stop pretending you’ve got it all together. Admit you need more trust. If we don’t, the next disaster will make it clear to everybody. In the meantime, go to Jesus. He’s more than ready to fill up your faith.

©2018

Jay Jennings