“Believe In Me”

Scripture: Mark 9:14-29

As our season of Lent continues, we will also continue to examine how our faith should be growing, and what it can mean for our lives.

For the next 4 weeks, we will consider 4 words, each beginning with the letter “B” – Believe, Become, Belong and Build. Today, we begin with “Believe”.
We don’t always realize it, but the significance behind this word, at least in Christian terms, is very deep – it calls for trust in Jesus Christ; it carries with it not just a hope but a certainty in all he taught and promised; it involves a confidence in who he is; it demands that we travel in his way; and it is exhibited by a reliance on all of the truths that he stands for.

Today we consider four examples of faith, how they emerged, and how effective it was in each.

Read Mark 9:14-18

A crowd had gathered when a loud discussion had broken out between Jesus’ disciples and the Pharisees. We don’t know what the topic was, but it seems that it attracted a lot of interest. Three of our four faith expressions were gathered here – the disciples, the Pharisees, and the man who was seeking healing for his son.

The disciples were, to a great extent, believers in Jesus, but the depth of their faith tended to waiver at times.
The Pharisees were the second group, but their faith had little connection to Jesus – they looked to the Law for their faith, and the only thing they believed about Jesus was that he was a fraud and a blasphemer.
The third is the man who had come looking for Jesus on behalf of his son. He believed in what Jesus could have done for his child, but the Lord hadn’t been there – he, as well as Peter, James and John were just returning from Jesus’ Transfiguration. (Mark 9:1-10)

The disciples had faith, but they still couldn’t free the young man from the demon’s grasp. Their faith wasn’t quite sufficient.
The Pharisees could only trust in the Law, because it had gained authority over Israel through their efforts, and as such, they were unable to do anything in God’s truth.
The boy’s father believed in Jesus, and trusted that he could heal his son. In all probability, he had never met Jesus before, and may have never heard his teaching. But he had heard the witness of others, and that was enough for his faith be solid and strong and sufficient.
Hebrews 11:1 – “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” That was the faith of the man – he believed in Jesus, even though he had no solid evidence.

Read Mark 9:19-23

“Everything is possible for him who believes.” How does the demon react to Jesus’ presence? By violence against the boy! But that has always been Satan’s approach to God’s presence – when God allowed Satan the opportunity to test Job’s faith, he responded with violence against the man’s property, flocks, family, and finally Job himself.
Obviously, Satan and his minions know who God is, they just won’t surrender to his ways.

But can the demon continue to stand against Jesus? We are told that the love of Christ always triumphs. And 1 Corinthians 15:55-58 tells us that when we work within the good of Jesus Christ, our efforts will never be in vain.

The man’s “labor” was in believing that Jesus could heal his son.
The Pharisee’s “labor” was in the ways of the world – in the Law of Moses instead of in the Love of God.
And the demon? There was no love whatsoever in its attack and control over the boy – only hatred for God.

Read Mark 9:24-27

In verse 19, Jesus offers his frustration over the “unbelieving generation”, and here, the father admits his own unbelief. He is telling Jesus that while he does believe in all that the Lord is and does, his faith is still incomplete. So what could be missing in his faith?

It may be that he was questioning why the master’s authority hadn’t been given to his disciples.
It may be that he was beginning to doubt that Jesus had power over the demons.
But he does look to Jesus for strengthening in his faith. That is what the fullness of faith is all about. The Christian author C.S Lewis once said "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen; not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." The man was not only acknowledging his faith in Jesus, but he was also “seeing” that his faith was not as deep and trusting as it should be.

And the demon? Even though he is a follower of Satan, God still has the ultimate authority over him. Jesus demands that he vacate the boy, and after one last attack against the helpless child, he does as Jesus commands. The demon doesn’t willingly follow the way of Light, but he is, nonetheless, compelled to surrender to divine authority.

Interestingly, humanity has the ability to follow Jesus by faith, and can willingly obey his commandments, but we have no obligation to do so. But the demons, those fallen angels of God, the ones who knew the Lord intimately, the ones who had once followed his ways without question, can now only submit to the commands that are given directly to them. And God never demands that we follow his ways – not humanity, and not even Satan and his followers. Following and trusting in Jesus is up to us, but the Lord still has the ultimate authority over all of his creation!

And by the father’s chosen faith, the boy was free once again.

Read Mark 9:28-29

And now we come to the disciples’ failure to cast out the demon on their own. And we need to wonder about this, as in Mark 6:7-13, when the twelve were sent out, they were able to preach, heal and cast out demons. The main difference is that in that passage, we read that they were sent out after being given specific authority over evil spirits.

Jesus had been up on the mountain with Peter, James and John, so he hadn’t commanded the other nine to cast out the demon, and, apparently, they hadn’t prayed for guidance in this situation, and even though they tried, they didn’t have the authority.

Prayer is an important aspect of our faith. It cements our relationship with the Lord; it is our means of seeking his desire for our lives; it proclaims that we trust God, and only wish to do his will. The disciples on this day may have tried to take authority over the demon on their own, but this is never a good idea! If we truly believe in Jesus Christ, if we have truly surrendered our identity to him, if we remain in touch with him through prayer, it is then that the saying in Philippians 4:13 will be true for our lives – “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.” But by our own will, it will never happen.

Do we believe in Christ to that extent? Do we readily admit that our faith could be stronger and truer than it is, and seek the better faith through prayer? Do we resist the temptation to go off on our own, thinking that just because we believe in Jesus that we can do anything we want to?

Believing in Jesus means that we trust his judgment, trust his way, and not our own. And that will always be the better way for this life.