This morning I am reflecting on some verses from the Gospel of Mark 9:14-29 NIV;
[14] "When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. [15] As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.
[16] “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked.
[17] A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. [18] Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”
[19] “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
[20] So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
[21] Jesus asked the boy's father, “How long has he been like this?”
“From childhood,” he answered. [22] “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
[23] “ 'If you can'?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
[24] Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
[25] When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
[26] The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He's dead.” [27] But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
[28] After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn't we drive it out?”
[29] He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer. ”
I really like this particular set of verses, because I can pretty much imagine the interchange, and believe that this is pretty close to an eye-witness account. Now this series of events immediately follows the Transfiguration of Jesus, but most of the people, as well as the disciples left below would not have understood what had just happened up on the mountain. That being said, it is definitely possible that in the spiritual realm, an awareness of what had transpired, even among the demons.
Without getting too much into the spiritual side of these events, I do want to focus on two things - the authority of Jesus and His calm demeanor in the face of spiritual manifestations.
First, there is a significant difference between the authority that Jesus operated in, and that in which the disciples operated. The man brought the child to the disciples and even thought they tried to cast out the demon, they were unsuccessful. This seems to be one of the few times that the Gospel writers bring up someone's failure. That was not the real issue here, but more of a comparison to Jesus' effectiveness and authority. As soon as the spirit saw Jesus it immediately manifested, causing the child to go into what sounds much like the grand mal seizure of an epileptic. There was no mention of the demon manifesting when confronted by the disciples. I believe this is because of the authority of Jesus, and the level of the demonic power.
Imagine if you will, a wrestling match where there is a huge heavyweight wrestler in the ring and his opponents are a bunch of smaller individuals who are unsure of their abilities. The heavyweight would be pretty much unconcerned, and may even be unmovable by the lighter opponents. However when a new opponent steps into the ring, who is unbeaten, bigger and stronger, and the world champion, the formerly unconcerned heavyweight will become very concerned and desperate. I think that is a good description of what occurred in the spiritual realm.
Secondly, Jesus appears to be totally unconcerned by the manifesting spirit in front of him, even though the child is writhing about. He turns to the father, while this is happening, and starts to interview him concerning the child's condition. This is another good indication of His authority and understanding of the spiritual realm. He is unconcerned and unflustered, and going back to the wrestling analogy, unchallenged. What is also interesting, and possible to miss is that when Jesus addresses the spirit, He calls it a deaf and mute spirit. There was no mention previously of the boy suffering from deafness, so this must have been shared by the father of the child during the interview with Jesus, though its not listed here, or possibly understood by Jesus through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Whatever the case, the authority of Jesus is unquestionable, and spirit comes out when commanded to by Jesus.
A few other things I noticed, Jesus didn't have to work anything up. He didn't have to get things going by shouting at the demon, winding up His own level of faith, etc. He seemed to me to be totally at peace with His authority, and understanding His dominance of the demonic. Secondly, He didn't want to draw attention and so acted quickly - which I think shows His sensitivity to the child and father. I have known a few people who are epileptic and they are all concerned by the attention that their seizures cause. Jesus understands and immediately acts before the crowd can gather. He is so aware of our personal situations and is sensitive to our need for self-esteem. He frees the child and father from this demonic influence in their lives!
This morning I am encouraged by the authority and sensitivity of Jesus. He knows He has authority, but at the same time is sensitive to our personal situations. He does desire to set us free from those things that are damaging and destroying of our self, and self esteem. Thank You Lord for loving us well!
Amen!
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