Mark 9:14-19 (NIV): When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.
“What are you arguing with them about?” he asked.
A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 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.”
“O unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
Jesus, Peter, James and John had just spent time in a heavenly scene, a genuine mountain-top experience. Now, as they came down from the Mount of Transfiguration, they were confronted with a scene, not just of earth, but a scene with the demonic smell of sulfur all over it.
The first thing they noticed was the argument. On one side were Jesus’ disciples; on the other were the teachers of the law. And around them stood a crowd of onlookers, watching and listening. This was no polite theological discussion, but appeared to be a heated argument.
When the people in the crowd saw Jesus walking toward them, they instantly lost interest in the argument, and ran to Him. It was Him, after all, that they had come to see. The disciples came too, red in the face from the emotion of the argument.
Jesus had frequent disagreements with the Pharisees and teachers of the law, but on His side it never devolved into an argument. He simply stated where they were wrong, and told them what the truth was. But whatever the issue that the disciples were “discussing” with these teachers of the law, they obviously went very deep on one side or the other to result in the scene Jesus had just witnessed. So He asked, “What are you arguing with them about?”
The answer came not from the disciples or the teachers of the law, but from the man at the center of the controversy: a father who had brought his demon-possessed son so that Jesus could heal him. The spirit had made the young man completely unable to speak, and from time to time it sent him into convulsions. The disciples had tried to cast out the demon themselves, but had been completely ineffective. And their inability to cast out the demon, their lack of power, was what had started the argument. They were emotionally involved because their own reputations were at stake.
Jesus’ outburst was directed at His disciples: “O unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?” After three years with Jesus, after watching Him work, after being empowered themselves to cast out demons, they were completely powerless in the face of this one challenge. As strong as this demon might be, as frightening as the convulsions that it caused were, the disciples, working in God’s power, should have been able to cast it out easily. But they hadn’t been able to. They had been totally defeated.
Jesus’ frustration stemmed from his keen awareness that these were the men in whose hands He would be leaving the future progress of the kingdom of God in just a few short weeks. But instead of their faith and power growing stronger, here they were trying to defend their inability to cast out this demon.
But ultimately the demon was just a demon. The father had brought the young man to Jesus for restoration, and his faith would be rewarded. Jesus’ simple statement, “Bring the boy to me,” marked the transition point of the whole event.
Father, I sometimes wonder if Jesus gets just as frustrated with us as He got that day with His disciples. We are, after all, the ones who are currently tasked with growing Your kingdom by making disciples of all nations, including those right in our own back yards. We are the ones tasked with allowing Your power to flow through us to heal the bodies and souls of men. And we have not done a very good job. We have allowed ourselves to get distracted by our games, and our shows, and our recreations, allowing the work of the kingdom to fall far down on our list of priorities, so that when we are called upon to respond to the deep needs around us, we are reduced to praying feeble prayers and hoping for the best. Lord, this is far from the vision that You paint for us in Your word – far from the promises of power that You have given us. And the fault lies in us, in our lack of focus, our lack of devotion, our lack of passion for Your kingdom, and the compromises we make that restrict Your power in our lives. Forgive us, Lord. Help us to recapture, or even to capture for the first time, a real passion for You, and for the kingdom work that You have called us to do in Your power. Amen.