(Text and Audio)
Title: The Danger of Underestimating the Power of Faith
Today we resume our study of this story of Jesus and the boy who was demon possessed. If you recall, last week we spent the bulk of our study looking at the Greek word seleniazomai which has at least 3 translations into English. And we did this in an attempt to better understand what, exactly, the ailment was that was plaguing this boy, and how that relates to how we, as a society today, tend to diagnose and treat patients.
Today the conversation will shift to how Jesus heals the boy, and the lesson that he teaches, both to the masses, and privately to his disciples afterwards.
This boy’s possession was so violent that his very life was on the line, you can understand the pleading of the father. If this ailment was to afflict either of my children, there is no limit to what I would do to attempt to find them healing.
When was the boy brought to the disciples originally?
There are a few explanations:
- This some time ago, a time when Jesus wasn’t present.
- It was while Jesus, Peter, James, and John were on the mountain that this man found the remaining disciples at the foot of the mountain and, after they couldn’t help his son, he decided to wait until Jesus came down from the mountain.
- Because of the general nature of the word “disciples” it is also possible that this man had encountered other believers in another region and then sought to find Jesus himself when the boy wasn’t healed by them.
These are all reasonable explanations, and it is also possible there is another good explanation in mind, but within this small segue exits a truth about the Gospels that bears repeating:
The Gospels were not written to be a historical, point by point, chronological biographical account of Jesus’s life. The Gospels were written to provide an account of the things Jesus said and did, so that you might believe.
With that in mind, the main point of the first part of this passage is stated directly in verse 16 “I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”
Jesus’s Response
The fact that the disciples could not help the boy causes Jesus to exclaim, “O faithless and perverse generation…”
Those seem to be strong words, but I want us to remember something that we brought up last week: Jesus is making this exclamation to the masses, not necessarily as a rebuke against the father or the disciples who could not heal the boy. In other words, Jesus sees this boy’s situation, and the accompanying lack of faith as a sign of the times.
Jesus is reiterating a truth of old, by quoting the first part of Deuteronomy 32:5 “They have corrupted themselves, they are not his children because of their blemish, a perverse and crooked generation.”
This is a thought that about 30 years later the apostle Paul will echo when he writes in Philippians 2:14-15 “Do all things without complaining or disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of this crooked and perverse generation.”
When we see these three verses together what becomes clear is this word “perverse.” Something is perverted about this generation that is keeping them from truly understanding God.
What is a perversion? (Take answers)
Now, we know from Paul’s Philippians quote that it is indeed possible, through the grace of Christ, to escape this mind set, but Jesus is groaning here about the general state of faithlessness in all of Israel.
Jesus’s Private Teaching
Finally this morning, I want to look at Jesus’s explanation to his disciples as to why they were not able to heal this boy.
(read 19/20)
First of all, keep in mind that now the focus is away from the masses, and back to a private “closed doors” session with his disciples.
It is in this setting that we see Jesus highlight a few truths:
- Their issue was NOT a lack of confidence. (They obviously seemed surprised they couldn’t help the boy.)
- They have underestimate both the POWER and IMPORTANCE of their own, personal faith.
- Some demons are tough dudes and require more than a typical rebuke. These men had not yet fought against these powers to point continual prayer and fasting.
Close:
As we close today, I want to ask a bit of fun question.
Jesus uses the illustration of moving mountains with your faith, how are we to understand that? (Take answers).