I Believe and I Don’t for paper Jan 25

Jesus was returning from the mountain where He was transfigured. Peter, James, and John were with Him. They encounter a crowd. There’s arguing. In the middle of it all is a man with a deaf mute son who is demon possessed. The boy has been like this since childhood. He has seizures in which he foams at the mouth and goes rigid; he frequently falls into fire and water. The man had brought his boy to Jesus‘ disciples while Jesus and Peter, James, and John were gone, but the disciples were unsuccessful. So here we have this desperate man, his demon-possessed son, nine disciples who are looking like losers, and a bunch of teachers of the law arguing in the middle of a large crowd. A messy scene.

And Jesus isn’t too happy either. “O unbelieving generation,” Jesus said, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?” In other words, “How long do I have to put up with this unbelief?” And he orders the father to bring the boy to Him, and immediately the demon throws him into a convulsion. And the man in desperation cries out, “But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” And Jesus immediately replies to the man exclaiming, “If you can? Everything is possible for him who believes”!

First Jesus is frustrated with the whole crowd’s unbelief, now he expresses frustration with the boy’s father. This is not typical of Jesus. Jesus now has his eyes set on Jerusalem and the cross. So this encounter with the crowd and father of the demonized child is almost a detour, a sidetrack to the cross that he finds frustrating. This part of his ministry is now finished and he is looking forward to his departure.

“If you can? Everything is possible for him who believes,” Jesus declares to the man. Now we hear some honest faith talk. “I believe, help my unbelief.” You can’t say it any better than this. He is simultaneously believer and unbeliever. I believe, help my unbelief. This is the real deal. This is how true faith sounds – I believe Lord, and only you, the author of my faith, can deal with my unbelief because true faith is always a gift from God.

Jesus sees the crowds running toward them, and He quickly rebukes the spirit who makes a terrifying show and finally obeys, because demons have no choice but to obey the voice of their Lord. And the boy looked dead. Maybe he was. But everything had gone from bad to worse. And you can only imagine what’s going through this father’s mind. First the disciples had failed him, and now Jesus had seemingly failed, and by all appearances, the boy was dead.

But Jesus wasn’t done yet. And you have to wonder if this was intentional on the part of Jesus, as when He intentionally let His friend Lazarus die. Was He pushing the man’s faith just a bit further, the way a trainer makes you do those 5 more sit ups or push ups? The man wasn’t sure if Jesus could rid his son of the demon that threatened his life, and now he must trust Jesus with his son’s apparent death. Could Jesus help him now? It’s almost as though Jesus amped up the miracle just a bit more, turned the volume up a notch or two.

This man prayed, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.” And Jesus is doing precisely that: helping the man’s unbelief. He wasn’t so sure Jesus was stronger than the demon. Now will he trust Jesus with his son’s apparent death?

It wasn’t long. Just a moment or so. No conversation. Just a silent moment where the boy simply laid there motionless and apparently lifeless. Jesus reaches out His hand, the hand of God in the Flesh, and lifts the boy up and he arose alive and well.

In the house, Jesus and the disciples discussed it afterwards. “Why couldn’t we cast it out?” Why didn’t it work with us? And Jesus’ answer is rather cryptic: “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” Other accounts say it was a lack of faith. It’s a reminder to His disciples, and to us, that that power lies not with them but with Him, and that they and we, have only a dim understanding of the forces that are being dealt with.

Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. That’s the daily prayer of a Christian, a baptized believer. By the grace of God we believe. But as sinner and saint at the same time there is still that unbelieving heart of our old Adam in us. If our faith was perfect, nothing would be impossible for us. But we see that only in Jesus! We are a strange mixture of faith and unbelief all wrapped together as one. All things are possible for one who believes, because with God nothing is impossible. Not your forgiveness, not your life, not your salvation, not your standing justified before God on that last day! And only the author and perfector of your faith can help with our unbelief.

Blessings,