Think Biblically!

A Christ-focused message on Mark chapter 9, verses 14-29. 

TWO FATHERS AND TWO SONS

And he said to them, Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power. And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah. For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, This is my beloved son, listen to him. And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only. And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean. And they asked him, Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come? And he said to them, Elijah does come first to restore all things. And how is it written of the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him. 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 might I be with you? How long might I 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. 

INTRODUCTION The first section of Mark 9 is one glorious scene but as important as it was there came the time when Peter, James and John must follow the anointed one to the foot of the mountain. There was another scene that awaited them where there was work to be done. 

My first point. It is my intent to present to you how difficult, if not humanly impossible, for fathers to do their children any heavenly good apart from the grace of God. 

Both Luke chapter 9 and Mark 9 present the reader with the most remarkable account of the transfiguration of Jesus Christ. On that mount Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James and John. In their blessed company there was also the presence of Moses the great lawgiver and mediator of the old covenant along with Elijah who was revered as a great prophet of God in his own right. Together they represented the law and the Old Testament prophets. In addition to this illustrious group of slaves there was also the invisible but audible presence of God the Father, the Father of the anointed one, Jesus. 

Consider how this tragedy unfolds, we see this helplessness of man. It was the next day and they've arrived in the presence of the nine apostles who did not climb the mountain with their Lord. There is also a crowd that has gathered around the nine. In addition to the crowd there was also a group of scribes. Scribes were men educated in the scriptures. In their day they were the doctors of the law. Jesus asked them, what are you arguing about with them? Of all people why are you arguing with the scribes? Sometimes, it seems to me that all Christians do these days is argue with friend and foe while the work of the gospel is set aside. People are perishing while the disciples of Christ are toying with the finer points of theology. 

At this point, from out of the midst of the crowd there is a man, perhaps an ordinary man, is neglected by the contentious Torah teachers and the faithless disciples. In the midst of this chaos he cried out, apart from Jesus he's probably the only other person on a proper mission. 

Look at the heart of this tragedy, verses 17b-18. 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. Wow, this is indeed tragic. At the very least there are two problems here that our Lord needs to deal with. 

Jesus points out the first and most obvious problem in his response, verse 19. And he, Jesus, answered them, Oh, faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Faith, specifically the absence of saving faith, is man's inability to please God. But this man has a deeper problem than the absence of faith. 

Listen again to key portions of verses 17 and 18. He cried out, Teacher, I brought my son to you. Who is this father? Why, he is a child himself, a child of Adam the first man. And who is his son? Why, he too is a child of Adam and this helpless father. Romans chapter 5 verse 12 reads, Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, Adam, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned, he has a spirit that makes him mute. This son of Adam is so helpless he cannot speak for himself. 

The resulting behavior of this man's son resembles that of a person experiencing a drug overdose yet it is much more serious. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So we can rightly assume that this poor helpless father, a son of Adam, and his poor helpless son, another son of Adam, have no faith. Why? Because they have no life in them. They are the walking dead children of Adam. It's at this point when I'm sure all of the eyes and ears of the disciples, the scribes, the crowd and of this man are riveted on Jesus. This helpless father said, I brought my son to you. 

But who is this Jesus? Jesus is also a son, a man, but he is no ordinary son. He is not the son of a helpless father nor is he the son of Adam. What makes this man, the man Jesus different? His father is perfect for he is none other than Almighty God, the majesty on high, the creator of heaven and earth and the creator who gave life to the first Adam who rebelled and turned his back on his goodness. He is the one of whom God the Father proclaimed in verse 7. This is my beloved son. 

As this helpless man loves his son, so the heavenly father of Jesus loves his son perfectly. Adam cannot do his children any lasting good whatsoever. Both he and his children are ruined for all eternity. But thank God for this father and his son. 

Listen to verse 7 again. And a cloud overshadowed them and a voice came out of the cloud. This is my beloved son. Listen to him. Yes, listen to Jesus. He alone has the words of life. When others were forsaking God's son, Peter said in John's gospel, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Those helpless disciples and helpless sinners alike must look to Jesus and hear him. Moses will not do. Elijah will not do. The teachers of the law and the prophets will not do. Even the disciples will not do. 

Hear God's son. He alone has the words of life. This is a great commandment: "Hear Jesus!" 

Moving along now to verse 19, Jesus said, bring him to me. This is what God wants of fathers and mothers in our day. Bring your sons and your daughters to Jesus. No one else can do your child any good. Religion is helpless. Bickering disciples are also helpless. What separates your son and your daughter from this man's son? Nothing. If they be apart from Christ, you are just as helpless to do your children any eternal good than this man. Do you hear the father's own cry? He is as helpless as the son you loves. 

In verse 22, hear the cry of the boy's father. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us. 

Application. The necessity of hearing Jesus and believing. Let's read verse 21 to 24 again. And Jesus asked the boy's 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. 

Before we close, let's give some attention to this man's faith. 

Consider this. He is not altogether faithless. Somewhere, somehow, he heard of Jesus and the power of he had over demons, sickness and perhaps everything. He's convinced Jesus alone can do his son any good. All others have failed him. The disciples and theologians failed him and now he is desperate. We do know he needed Jesus's help. Note the last words of verse 24 where it is recorded. "I believe. Help my unbelief." In my translations, the word unbelief ends with an exclamation point. This indicates this is a man sick and tired of his lack of faith that was grounded and rooted in his unbelief. He's probably also sick and tired and discouraged by the unbelief of all of the others. 

What about you? Has your unbelieving heart brought you low? Low enough to make you cry to God to rescue you? Low enough to make you cry to God to rescue your son or your daughter? Listen carefully to the following words. They are for your encouragement. Mark chapter 9 verses 25 to 27 reads, And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, You mutant 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. 

Who did Jesus take by the hand? A totally helpless son. He was as dead. Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up. And carefully hear this. And he arose. The message hasn't changed. We need to hear Jesus. Verse seven. A voice came out of the cloud. This is my beloved son. Listen to him. 

First Corinthians chapter 15 verse 22 for as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

We hope you have found this to be helpful in your study the Gospels.