Mark 9:14-29
Key Verse: 9:23

“‘If you can’? said Jesus. ‘Everything is possible for him who believes.’”

Today, Jesus heals a boy possessed by an evil spirit. Jesus’ nine disciples failed to heal this boy. Jesus rebukes the whole generation due to their unbelief in this passage. He demonstrates the unlimited power of faith and prayer by driving out the evil spirit from the boy. May God bless us to pray for our generation and experience the power of faith through our prayer life. I pray that the Lord may bless your decision of faith to have a victorious life of mission in this new semester.
 
PART I. “O UNBELIEVING GENERATION” (14-19)

While Jesus was transfigured into the glorious image of God at the top of the mountain, nine of his disciples at the foot of the mountain were struggling to take care of one father and his troubled son. As soon as Jesus came back to the real world, there was a big argument between his nine disciples and a crowd of people. This happened when a man in the crowd brought his son who was possessed by an evil spirit and asked the nine disciples to heal his son. The nine disciples thought it was a golden opportunity to prove their ability while Jesus was away. Andrew said, “I can prove that I am better than my brother Simon Peter. Sure, I can do it.” Human competition was intensive among the disciples. Later, they had argued about who was the greatest. (9:34) Of course, their confidence was based on their previous experience. All of them had already driven out evil spirits during their fieldwork training time; not only one time, but during two fieldwork training times. They tried to drive out the evil spirit from the boy one by one. Matthew came forward and shouted, “You evil spirit! Come out!” The evil spirit didn’t come out. He didn’t even budge. He felt a little bit embarrassed. He said, “Maybe, I am not in a good mood now. Next time I can do better.” Philip tried but the result was same. The rest of the nine disciples tried but they all failed to drive out the evil spirit from the boy. One missionary said, “I used to feed a lot of sheep in Korea. One of my sheep became a missionary. I was powerful but I am powerless. Here I have no sheep. What’s wrong with me?” Probably he depended on his previous experience. Probably he did not pray. Probably he was thinking about Korea when he was single and had no cross of supporting families. He should forget about what he did in Korea as soon as possible and start fresh to learn from Americans with humble mind. He needs to make double efforts to understand American students and pray for them day and night with shepherd compassion. He needs to overcome cultural and language barriers to become an excellent Bible teacher. More than anything else, he needs to study the word of God diligently and listen to Jesus. Then he can be powerful once again.

The boy’s situation grew worse due to the disciple’s failure. The father was disappointed. The nine disciples wanted to hide somewhere but they were surrounded by the crowd. They felt shame and guilt. Then the teachers of the law took advantage of their situation. There was a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law began arguing with them. The teachers of the law said, “Hey, you guys! You cannot cast out the evil spirit. Where is your healing license? Your gesture was nice. But you could not cast out the evil spirit from the boy. You and me are the same.” They did not do anything for the boy but they loved to criticize the disciples. They were the old wineskins. They were equally helpless people. In a sense, they were worse than the nine disciples because they were legalistic and heartless.
 
As soon as the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him. It was because Jesus’ radiance still showed in his face from the mountain. So they were overwhelmed and wondered. The crowd and the teachers of the law ran to Jesus and greeted him, “Hello, Jesus. Where were you? We missed you a lot. We are glad to see you again.” “What are you arguing with them about?” Jesus asked (16). The disciples were silent. But a man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a  spirit that has robbed him of speech” (17). He went on with a sad tale like, “You know, every morning my son said to me, ‘Good morning, Daddy! I will see you Daddy when I come back from school.’ He was the joy of my life and he is the hope of my family because he is the only son in my family. Suddenly, he was possessed by an evil spirit and he could not speak. We all suffered together with him. What is more, when the evil spirit seizes him it throws him to the ground. Then he becomes flat like a wounded soldier. As soon as he restores his breathing, he foams at the mouth. It is indeed terrible to look at him. I cry, ‘Oh, my son.’ I complained to your nine disciples. They bragged about casting out an evil spirit. They only made motions and they could not drive out the evil spirit from my son.” When Jesus heard about the suffering of the boy and the father and the failure of his disciples, his heart was broken for them due to his shepherd heart. He had compassion for them because they all were suffering under the power of the evil spirit.

When Jesus saw his nine disciples who were unable to help the boy and his father, Jesus expressed his holy anger towards their lack of faith and shepherd compassion. Though they were called to shepherd God’s flocks, they revealed their inability. What did he say to them? Look at verse 19. “‘O unbelieving generation,’ Jesus replied, ‘how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?’” Jesus saw that their problem was a generation problem of unbelieving. Unbelieving was permeated to the whole generation. So he rebuked the whole generation as unbelieving by saying, “O, unbelieving generation.” Jesus stayed with his own disciples more than three years. He taught them the word of life. He performed many miracles before them. He planted the hope of God in them. His time to be crucified was approaching rapidly. He did not have time to stay with them too long. But they were still unbelieving. They were arguing among themselves. They were afraid of the cross and rejection. They were thinking about the things of men. They had human ambition but did not want to take up the cross. Jesus knew their spiritual condition and lamented, “How long shall I stay with you?” How about the religious leaders? Jesus tried to put up with them for a long time. But they were still unbelieving. They were looking for a way to kill Jesus. The unbelieving problem was everywhere. It was widespread. It was epidemic. Unbelieving people occupied the whole world. Men were unbelieving. Women were unbelieving. Young people were unbelieving. That’s the reason why Jesus expressed his holy anger towards his disciples. 

In the Bible the word “generation” appears in 85 verses. This shows that God concerned about his people from generation to generation. Generation is one way of describing a group of people who live during the same period of time. In the Bible the time of one generation is often understood to be about forty years. When Jesus looked at his generation, they were perverse, sinful, corrupt, and adulterous. Why? Because they worshipped idols and disobeyed God and were unfaithful to their marriage partners. In a word, they were unbelieving and wicked. What does Jesus think about our generation if he is here today?  Are we any different? Not at all. We are no different. America used to be a glorious nation in the previous generations because the Puritans and Pilgrims came here to believe in God freely and they built a nation under God. Their motto was “In God we trust.” America was strong and glorious during the generation called “the Bible believing generation.” They believed that America should be “A City on a Hill.” One million American missionaries were sent out to every corner of the whole world in the 19th century because they believed in God. They were in the jungles of Africa and in the deep country villages of China and in the cities of Korea with the gospel message of Jesus. But the things began to change. After WWII, GIs returned home happily to enjoy prosperity and freedom they earned. Many children were born to them. They formed a generation called “the baby boomer generation.” In their youth they experimented with drugs, protested the Vietnam War, danced to rock ’n’ roll and embraced the sexual revolution. They loved Elvis, the king of rock ‘n’ and roll. They saw the freedom march by Dr. Martin Luther King. They saw the assassination of John F. Kennedy. They saw the landing on the moon. They saw their president Richard Nixon to resign due the Watergate cover-up. They watched television from the cradle. They put off marrying and experienced Hippie life. Later, they returned home because they could not bear Hippie lifestyle anymore. When they married, they had fewer children and were quick to divorce. Then they all escaped to the suburb and they all became Yuppies. Bill Clinton became the first president among the baby boomers and George Bush followed him. If we think about Bill Clinton, we can understand the baby boomer generation. They believed in the Wall Street and themselves. They were pragmatic, selfish, able, and materialistic. What’s wrong with the baby boomer generation? They lost faith in God. Humanism replaced God. Materialism replaced God. Pragmatism replaced God. As a result, they suffered under the power of the evil spirit. Depression was common among people and there were many mental patients. Children suffered under the broken family relationship. Unbelieving is prevailing among them. What happened to their children? They became unbelievers too.

 We call their children “X generation.” What’s going on to the Generation X? We saw the Oklahoma bombing, the Columbine massacre, Gay Pride, rampant divorce, multiple sex partners, teen pregnancy, and violent crimes like horrible murders in Iowa and California. Are they lost completely. I don’t think so. Generation X Christians are radically changing the church according to Discipling A Whole Nation, an international church-planting ministry. The generation of 18 to 35-year-olds, less concerned about the structure and hierarchy, are disconnected from traditional churches and starting small, informal fellowships. They sing differently and they want to explain faith to their peers in a language that makes sense to them. Generation X is the largest the world has even seen, with a population of approximately 2 billion, including 80 million in the United States. The young people of today, in 10n years or less, will be the future of the nations. Look at our Young Disciples of Jesus team. They are our future hope. They are young, eager, powerful, faithful, explosive, and energetic. Augustine Park grew through his trip to Mexico. John Lee saw God’s vision through his trip to Russia. Think about their names. They are “Chosen generation” and “Second generation.” They are everywhere. They play music and prepared for the wedding ceremony. They love the word of God. They write testimonies faithfully. They are the remnant of God. They are truly future hope of the generation X. They are the revival generation and God is going to use them to revive hearts of many people around the nation’s capital. 
 
PART II. “‘IF YOU CAN’? EVERYTHING IS POSSILBE FOR HIM WHO BELIEVES” (20-27)

Again people brought the boy who was possessed by an evil spirit. When the spirit saw Jesus, he immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. Then the boy fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth (20). It was indeed an awful sight. The boy looked terrible. But Jesus began to pay attention to the boy’s father. Why? The father’s problem was more serious that the boy’s because he was poisoned by his doubt. Look at verses 21-22a. “Jesus asked the boy’s father, ‘How long has he been like this?’ ‘From childhood,’ he answered.” “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him.” Jesus opened a personal dialogue with the father in order to fix his unbelieving problem first. The father lost faith and began to doubt Jesus’ power due to the disciples’ failure though he believed in Jesus when he first came. Jesus wanted to restore his faith first. It is important for a shepherd to have faith in God for his sheep’s healing. Shepherd must stand firm in any situation when his sheep goes through many hardships. Jesus prayed for his disciples when they were wavering in their unbelief. What’s the father’s response? Look at 22b. “But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us” (22). We can paraphrase what he said as follows: “If you can, do something. If you cannot, don’t try it. I understand.” So he said, “If you can....” We understand the father’s situation. He saw so many failures and now he had doubt in his heart. He had no hope. He thought he had nowhere else to go for help. So he spoke to Jesus with half-believing words. He did not say, “Save him from his evil spirit possession.” But he said, “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” Sometimes we feel like the father. In the beginning of the new year we decided to feed five sheep. But as the year went on, many sheep quitted 1:1 Bible and by the summer no sheep were left. Then we began to lose our faith and have half-believing faith by saying, “If God gives me sheep, I will feed them. If God does not give me sheep, I will not feed them.”  We lose our faith in Jesus. We become prisoners of our unbelief. It is easy to blame our situation. It is easy to blame our sheep. It is easy to blame others. But the most important thing to restore our faith again.
 
How did Jesus help the boy’s father? At this moment, Jesus rebuked him. Look at verse 23. “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.” In this situation, Jesus taught the father absolute faith in God. Jesus taught him that faith is the solution to all men’s problems. Jesus did not think that any problem was too big to solve. Jesus believed that all problems can be solved if we believe. Only problem is our unbelief. We limit God. Believing and half-believing make a big difference. There is no limitation for anyone who believes. Belief unleashes the unlimited power of God. Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God…” God wants us to have faith in him not in ourselves. In Mark 11:23 Jesus promised that we can move mountains into the sea if we have faith in God. Hebrews 11:29 says, “By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.” What is the difference between the people of Israel and the Egyptians? The Egyptians believed their chariots but the Israelites believed in God Almighty. When Moses had faith in God, he experienced the power of the Almighty God. God is Almighty Creator God. Whoever believes in him will experience his power. When Prince Moses’ fellowship were separated from Paul’s fellowship last year, there was nobody except Bob and Becky Woods. By faith they are growing to become the largest fellowship. Jay Jagun was admitted to UMCP when she tried again believing God almighty.  M. Isaac Koh failed his doctoral qualifying exam last January. He did not give up on it but he trusted God and tried it again by faith. He passed it second time. M. Rebekah Forbes was asked to leave America by the INS because she did not apply the Green Card in time. But she refused to go back to Korea to stay in the mission land by faith. Now she received the Green Card by faith. When we did not have any center, we believed that God would provide a new center. God blessed our absolute faith. When M Abraham Cho had an absolute faith to marry before the fall semester, God blessed his faith by bringing him the best helper, M. Andrea Cho. Apostle Paul said in Phil. 4:13, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” He was able to pioneer numerous churches in Asia Minor and Europe. He strengthened the church in Rome, even though he was in chains. Noting was impossible for him when he believed in Jesus. He became the most prolific missionary in the history of God. If our faith is not absolute, rather there is a condition in our faith, God cannot use us. We become like the nine disciples who merely formed the gesture to heal the boy who was possessed by the evil spirit. We are nobody when we don’t have absolute faith. We need to have an absolute faith that God will fill our center with 120 flocks of God and grant each of us to have 5 1:1 Bible students each week in the fall semester. We need to have an absolute faith that God will raise up 12 HNWs in this semester.
 
Look at verse 24. “Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!’” This father suffered much and he was totally helpless. He had no way to go. At this moment, he listened to Jesus. Then he cried for help. Let’s read verse 24 together.  “Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief.’”
The world seems to be many things, and many people are doing many things. But it is a battleground to defeat our unbelief. Those who are not fighting against unbelief will perish. But those who fight with courageous faith against unbelief will succeed. Finally he will receive the crown of life. At the present, Americans look complacent and they don’t look ambitious enough to make America once again a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. But we must fight against our unbelief and pray until our prayers are answered. We must repent like the boy’s father who said, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief.” Let’s shout one time, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief.”  When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again” (25). Look at the scene of the evil spirit running away. The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.”  The evil spirit’s misconduct was too extreme. The evil spirit made the boy look dead. Look at verse 27. “But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up to his feet, and he stood up.” Here we learn that Jesus had faith in God only; he drove out the evil spirit from the boy and stood him on his feet. The word of Jesus has absolute power. Jesus drove out the evil spirit with the command of his word. Jesus is the only Savior. Jesus alone is the Son of God who can save us from demon possession. Jesus is the only Son of God who can give us faith to defeat the devil’s scheme. Jesus is the one who gives us strength to fight against unbelief. Are you giving up in life or fighting against unbelief? Fighting against unbelief is a matter of life and death.

PART III. ONLY BY PRAYER (28-29)

After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples spoke to him privately.  In a whisper, they asked Jesus, “Why couldn’t we drive it out? We are greatly embarrassed. You know, you gave us power to drive out the demons and the evil spirits, and to heal the sick during the evangelistic journey. You must continue to give us the power to drive out evil spirits.  Why did you take it away?” Actually, Jesus did not take it away. They did not pray. They did not believe in Jesus. They did not fight against unbelief. They only pretended to heal a boy possessed by an evil spirit based on their past experience. Look at verse 29. “He replied, ‘This kind can come out only by prayer.’” The text note added the word “fasting.” When we experience the power of faith, we want to bring our problem to Jesus. How? We can pray. Prayer is the expression of our faith. When we were born again into the kingdom of God, God granted faith in him. Then we experienced the peace of God and power of his word. After that, God gave us his spiritual weapon, prayer. Prayer is like watering a plant so that it can grow. Prayer and faith are inseparable. Prayer makes our faith shine like the stars in the universe. Prayer is like gasoline to our car. Mark 11:24 says, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”  James 5:15, “And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.” Remember that he said that the prayer must be offered by faith. David Park prayed a lot with fasting before he came to the United States. He looked so powerful when he said, “I will get up 5 AM and pray for an hour daily and help others.” But he lost power when he got up late and did not pray. He said, “Everything became burden to me. I felt lonely and got an hot-temper and an easy-going mentality.” Without prayer he became very weak. It was his prayer that makes him powerful. Prayer is our spiritual weapon to defeat the power of the evil spirit and enable us to win many spiritual victories. We need absolute faith in God that he can do everything when we believe in him. Today’s passage challenges the unbelief problem of all of us. We have to overcome our unbelief and experience the power of God through our prayer life in this fall semester. We must pray earnestly until God answers our prayer and he himself solves the problems that we are confronting.  I pray that God may use us to revive our perverse generation when we have absolute faith in God. Let’s read the key verse 23.