A Boy’s Healing D - 2
When they (Jesus, Peter, James and John) came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around 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?”, Jesus asked.
A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is demon 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.
“Bring the boy to me,” (Jesus said). So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
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. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
“If you can?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
Jesus rebuked the evil spirit. “You deaf and mute evil spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.”
But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
Mark 9:14 (NIV)
The sermons I have heard about this passage focus on the power of prayer, or fasting, or faith for a miracle. Or perhaps about the power Jesus had/has over spirits that want to harm us. All good stuff, all important and vital for us! Today, however, I’d like to go in another direction.
Why did Jesus ask the boy’s father about the length of time this spirit was active? Didn’t he know the boy’s history? Didn’t he know the boy’s situation? Did Jesus really gain any information he needed to heal the boy? Maybe, perhaps, possibly.
But … might Jesus’ motives have been much simpler? Namely, that Jesus wanted to impress on the father that Jesus was interested in all the details, that this boy was singularly important, that the father was listened to, that this was as big a deal for Jesus as it was for the father and son??? Could it really have been a simple case of the Creator of the universe saying to the dad, “Tell me all about you and your son, I’m interested!”.
The lie we hear that Jesus is aloof and is nothing more than a kind of distant, holy, miracle vending-machine is just that: a lie. Rather, he is deeply interested in the personal details of our particular life. Tell him, he wants to listen now.
1) Jesus asked what the crowd was arguing about. Can you imagine the clamor there, the crowd’s expectation of a miracle, the confusion?
2) Jesus asked the father for more information about the boy, and the father opened up, sharing with Jesus some of the frightening details about the boy’s life. How did listening help both dad and Jesus?
3) How much power did this particular evil spirit exhibit in this boy’s life?
4) When Jesus began to talk to the evil spirit, can you almost hear the authority in His voice?
5) Re-read the part where Jesus says, “if you can?”. Did Jesus require heavy duty faith from the dad, or was a simple desire good enough for Jesus to act?
6) Was this a healing until, say, sundown, or for 24 hours, or was it to be for a longer period?
7) When reading this story, do you think Jesus is today as interested in you as He was in that boy’s life?
Check out the final sentence in this story. Do think Jesus is wanting and able to do the same for you? Just substitute YOUR first name where you see the word “him” or “he”.