(Text and Audio)
July 27th, 2025
Four Lessons on Failure
1. Failing with the enemy
2. Failing with the team
3. Failing with the allies
4. Failing with the unbelievers
Failing with the Enemy
Luke 9:37–45 (NASB95)
37 On the next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Him.
38 And a man from the crowd shouted, saying, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my only boy,
39 and a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly screams, and it throws him into a convulsion with foaming at the mouth; and only with difficulty does it leave him, mauling him as it leaves.
40 “I begged Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not.”
41 And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”
42 While he was still approaching, the demon slammed him to the ground and threw him into a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy and gave him back to his father.
43 And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples,
44 “Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.”
45 But they did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they would not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement.
Starting line questions:
1. Who are the disciples? The other 9? Other followers?
2. If it’s the 9, why can’t they cast out the demon this time?
3. How did they fail? Why did they fail?
4. Why does Jesus seem to lose patience with them?
5. What does all this mean for us today?
6. Has anyone ever seen a demon possessed person in Ashland, Ohio?
7. Has anyone ever witnessed the spiritual afflictions orchestrated by evil spirits?
My Friend’s Story:
The identifying details of this story have been altered or scrubbed to keep it generic, but the events are all true. For us in Ashland, Ohio, it may seem more like a Hollywood movie script.
My friend was a pastor in the US. One evening, a local family called and told him that Billy was home, and he seemed strange. Billy’s sister was a member of my friend’s church.
My friend visited Billy, and found out that he got involved in pornography, a Ouija board, and spiritism while in college. My friend counseled Billy to get rid of the pornography and end his playing with the spirit realm. My friend gave Billy some scripture assignments to do over the coming week, and they would meet again. Billy said he would.
Billy never did. One evening, the sister called her pastor, my friend, and asked him to come out to the house – Billy was acting very weird. My friend called the deacon, and they planned to meet up over at the house.
When they arrived, they met the mother and daughter. They told my friend that Billy had gone into his sister’s room completely naked. She screamed at him to get out. Praise the Lord, he did. They also told my friend that he had brandished a kitchen knife but didn’t hurt anyone.
My friend and the deacon went into the house. They couldn’t find Billy downstairs. They looked in the kitchen. Oddly, Billy had taken peanut butter and jelly and had broken the jars. He had smeared the PBJ on the walls.
My friend and the deacon went upstairs. They found Billy. He was laying naked on his bed. My friend said, “Billy.” “Billy.” My friend and the deacon were inside the bedroom. Billy then spoke in a completely different voice. My friend said the hair on the back of his neck stood up. Billy told them they were not needed and they should leave. My friend said, “Billy, let’s talk.” Then in another completely different voice, Billy said, “I’m not Billy.” My friend asked, “Who are you then?” The voice replied, “I am Legion.”
My friend and the deacon backed out of the room. They talked together about what they should do.
What would you do?
Before I tell you the rest of the story, let’s see what Jesus tells us to do.
The Biblical Narrative:
Demon possession
Luke 9:39 (NASB95) and a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly screams, and it throws him into a convulsion with foaming at the mouth; and only with difficulty does it leave him, mauling him as it leaves.
Matthew 17:15 (NASB95) “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.
The evil spirits hate God. They hate humanity because we bear God’s image. Their desire is to destroy and enslave. Their true target is God.
Ephesians 6:12 (NASB95) For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Disciple failure
Luke 9:40 (NASB95) “I begged Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not.”
If this is in fact the 9 disciples waiting for Jesus and Peter, James, and John, then it is shocking that they are utterly helpless to do anything for this man and his only son.
Perhaps that is the reason for the response Jesus gives his disciples.
Jesus’ rebuke
Luke 9:41 (NASB95) And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”
I can imagine hearing Jesus say something worse than this. He could say, “Depart from me…” But he will never say that to his disciples. He loves his disciples. He loves us.
Because he loves, he speaks a necessary rebuke, that would be a deep wound.
Proverbs 17:17 (NASB95) A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity.
Proverbs 20:30 (NASB95) Stripes that wound scour away evil, And strokes reach the innermost parts.
Proverbs 27:6 (NASB95) Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.
There are two key concepts here for us. One, they lacked faith. Two, Jesus bears up with patience in our weakness.
Praise God.
Malachi 3:6 (NASB95) “For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.
Lamentations 3:21–23 (NASB95)
21 This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope.
22 The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
Jesus is training his disciples to reproduce themselves. He is training them how to do mortal combat in a spiritual war.
Even when they (or we) fail to learn a lesson, his rebuke is love. His aim is to perfect us.
Let’s see what that perfection looks like. Let’s see what the authority of Christ will do.
Jesus’ authority
Luke 9:42–43 (NASB95)
42 While he was still approaching, the demon slammed him to the ground and threw him into a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy and gave him back to his father.
43 And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples…
Jesus’ lesson
Matthew 17:19–20 (NASB95)
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive it out?”
20 And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.
Mark 9:23–24 (NASB95)
23 And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.”
24 Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.”
Mark 9:28–29 (NASB95)
28 When He came into the house, His disciples began questioning Him privately, “Why could we not drive it out?”
29 And He said to them, “This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.”
The lesson is simple. Faith is necessary to combat evil. We have neither the power nor authority to defeat spirits. Jesus, however, has all the power. He has all the authority. At his command, everything, everywhere obeys his voice.
Even rebels will one day find that he was only patience and longsuffering while they walked in their own way. He will command them to bow and bow they will before his throne.
When will you bow to him and worship?
Will you bow today? Or will you wait for the judgment?
Repent. Flee from the wrath to come.
My Friend’s Solution:
So… what was my friend’s solution. I will tell you up front that he would do it all different than he did that day. He has told me so several times.
His first concern was to keep Billy’s mom and sister safe. That my friend would not change.
They decided to take him to the local mental hospital to keep everyone safe. They manage to get him there without an incident. That night however, Billy did not want to be held any longer. It took 4 male orderlies and 3 nurses to Billy down and strap him to the bed.
The next day the deputies arrived to take him to a safer location. They drugged him and placed him in a strait jacket. They put him in a special padded cell at the jail. That night, Billy ripped off the strait jacket and ripped all the padding off the walls.
The deputies transported him to the state hospital. To keep control of him, they had to give him 10mg of a drug that would knock you or I out with only 2mg.
He was left at the state hospital. My friend tried to see him there but was turned away by the doctors. They wanted no help from any clergy.
My friend said he would have found a safe place to keep Billy away from his mother and sister, but he would have begun to minister to him through prayer. He would have pleaded with the Lord to drive out the evil spirits.
The Spiritual Effects We Face in our War Against Evil:
So why place a lesson about this failure to cast out demons in a passage about learning how to be a follower of Jesus?
First, the disciples are going to be the foundation of the church. They are going to be moving outward with the gospel.
They will be pressing against the leading edge of paganism.
Everywhere they go, they will find these kinds of evil spirits.
They are not going to Ashland, Ohio. They are going to pagan Greece, pagan Rome, pagan Egypt, pagan Gaul, pagan Persia, and so on.
They need to learn that they are completely dependent on the power of God. He is sufficient.
Second, this story is a lesson to us. Possession can still happen anywhere. It did in the life of my pastor friend.
Maybe tomorrow we will be up against such an evil enemy. Maybe tomorrow we will call Pastor Ben and Andy to go to a house and pray for someone’s deliverance. And maybe this will never happen to us here.
One thing is for sure. If not possession, these evil spirits will seek to wreck, ruin, and destroy God’s image bearers. They will inflict them with all kinds of suffering. They will fan the flames of temptation. They will seek to destroy our efforts to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.
They are the enemy.
All around us we see the results of their efforts.
BUT 1 John 4:4 (NASB95) You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
There is so much more to say, but no time. I will close with some great quotes from Darrell Bock.
“Feeling helpless in evil’s hand, we emerge battered and bruised in the Christian life, just like the epileptic boy. Jesus is against righteous wimps who think Satan and evil are unbeatable Goliaths. Greater is the One in us than he who is in the world. That is what this miracle is designed to reveal. Jesus calls for a faith that is certain that righteousness is stronger than evil.”[1]
“With all the resources available in Christ, there is no reason for sin to prevail, for our humanness to lead to failure, nor for demonic forces to remain in control (Eph. 1:15–23). When we fail, it is because we have not used what God has made available. To fail to draw on such resources is spiritual neglect, like trying to use a bicycle to go across the country when a jet plane is available.”[2]
Prayer
Q&A
[1] Darrell L. Bock, Luke, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996), 279.
[2] Ibid. 279.