Anything is Possible (Mark 9:14-29)

Mark 9.2New Topic: Anything is Possible Update Existing Topic: New Title: Talking PointsIn Mark 9:14-29 Jesus comes off the mountain with Peter, James, and John and finds the other nine disciples embroiled in conflict with the religious leaders. Jesus seizes the moment to reveal a secret about the effectiveness of faith. The enemy’s purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy - relationships, lives, futures. We see it in the conflict between the religious leaders and the disciples. We see it in the demon possessed boy and the demon’s attempts to bring him physical harm and death. The father’s faith was small, but he brought what little faith he had to Jesus. He was honest about the limits of his faith and begged Jesus to increase it. The most important factor isn’t the measure of our faith; it is the object of our faith. Prayer is one of the most effective spiritual disciplines to remind us of our dependence upon God and his power.Where do you turn when faced with the impossible? Do you turn to family, friends, your own power or resources? Or do you turn to Jesus? NotesThe transfiguration offered a respite from the conflict. It gave Jesus encouragement from the Father and provided another opportunity for the Father to publicly affirm Jesus to Peter, James, and John. After this momentary break, however, it was time for Jesus to again enter the fray. TextTextQuestion: Where do you turn when faced with the impossible? The ConflictThe enemy’s purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy - relationships, lives, futures. We see it in the conflict between the religious leaders and the disciples. We see it in the demon possessed boy and the demon’s attempts to bring him physical harm and death.
Mark 9:14-19 When they returned to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd surrounding them, and some teachers of religious law were arguing with them. 15 When the crowd saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with awe, and they ran to greet him.16 “What is all this arguing about?” Jesus asked. 17 One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk. 18 And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid.[d] So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn’t do it.”19 Jesus said to them,[e] “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
Jesus has just returned from the transfiguration on the mountain. We saw last week that Jesus was glorified on the mountain. He received public affirmation from God the Father. This had to be encouraging as the ministry of Jesus marches on towards the cross. It was a nice break from the constant demands on Jesus, the pressure of the crowds, and the conflict with the religious leaders. It was a great time to further clarify James’, John’s, and Peter’s understanding of who he was - to help them see a little more clearly like we discussed a few weeks ago. As soon as he’s off the mountain and approaches the other nine disciples, he sees they’re embroiled in conflict with the religious leaders. Verse 14 says that there is a large crowd surrounding the disciples and the religious leaders are arguing with them. The text gives us some clues as to what they’re arguing about. A man has brought his son to be healed from a demonic spirit and the disciples were unable to heal him. I’m sure you can get a feel for the accusations made by the religious leaders when the disciples were unable to heal the boy. “See! You’re a fraud! Your Rabbi is a fraud! If you had proper authority, you’d be able to heal this boy. If you were following the teachings of the elders and adhering to all of the oral tr