Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy

Meditations of the Gospel of Mark

September 11, 2020

Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy

The father instantly cried out,

“I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”

Mark 9:24

Read: Mark 9: 14-29

“When the crowd saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with awe, and they ran to greet him.” (v.15) I wonder why? Was it Jesus’ reputation that put them in awe? Maybe his appearance, which had been transfigured, was still radiating the glory of God. More likely, I think Jesus’ reputation preceded him. The crowd knew of the signs and wonders and miracles Jesus had performed. With the desperate situation of the man with his demon-possessed son in the crowd, they were hoping to see another wonderous sign.

Jesus was still concerned with the lack of faith of the people. Because they were building their faith on signs and miracles, they were beginning to reflect a “what have you done for me lately” attitude. Jesus is always leading us to build our faith on the truth of God the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth. God is worthy of our praise, adoration, love, and devotion because God is.

At the end of today’s passage, Jesus tells his disciples that “this kind (of evil spirit) can be cast out only by prayer.” Mark’s account does not reveal Jesus stopped and prayed before speaking to the evil spirit. Perhaps this is an indication that Jesus believes we need to be “prayed-up”, that is, always prepared for our journey as his disciples.

My Takeaway: One way of being prayed-up is to emulate the father’s prayer in today’s reading:

Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.”

“What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”

The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”

Mark 9:22b-24

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Copyright © 2020 by Alex M. Knight

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

• Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

• The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.