Painful Reality. Mark 9:14-19.
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 am I to be with you? Bring him to me.”
Dear Ambassadors of the King of Kings,
Coming down from the glorious experience on the mountain, Jesus and the three disciples are immediately confronted with a volatile situation.
Commotion (v. 14). Jesus finds the disciples he left behind in an argument with the scribes, and the crowd gathered around them. The subject of their argument is not stated, although one can guess that it had to do with the inability of the disciples to cast a demon out of a person. Whatever the case, it was not a comfortable scenario for the disciples.
Complication (vv. 15-18). The attention of the crowd turns instantly to Jesus. It is not clear why the crowd was amazed at him. It could be that there was still some residue of the glory that the three disciples saw at the mountain top, or it may have been that many were seeing him for the first time and may have marveled at his common appearance, having expected someone who would have stood out by his looks. Apparently, the father had brought his son to Jesus but found only the disciples. Whether it was at his request or at their own initiative that the disciples attempted to cast the demon out is not known, but the exercise ended in failure. Jesus had earlier given them authority to cast demons out (6:7), so they must have been perplexed by their failure.
Castigation (v. 19). Jesus addresses the disciples as a “faithless generation,” using them as a representative of the people of their time. As he calls for the man to bring his son to him, Jesus expresses his frustration when he asks, “How long am I to be with you?” This is another way of saying that time spent with them has not yielded the understanding and faith that was to be expected. Is it not also true of us that we remain with Jesus a long time, yet our faith is often wanting?
Your Loving Pastor Chris.