Mark 9:25-29

Passage

Jesus sees that a crowd came together.  They sensed that Jesus was about to do something special.  Jesus rebuked the evil spirit, calling it deaf and mute.  Then, Jesus told the spirit to leave and never come back.  The spirit caused the boy to cry out and convulse terribly before coming out.  Once the spirit came out, the boy laid still causing everyone to think he was dead.  Jesus reached down, picked the boy up, and helped him to his feet.  The disciples privately asked why they couldn’t do that.  Jesus replies to them that this kind of spirit only comes out with prayer.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

The crowd comes running.  They know Jesus.  They know that a sick boy has been given to Him.  I hate to paint the crowd out so repeatedly as spectacle-hunters, but that is exactly what they are.  When we look closely at the behavior of the crowd, the crowd repeatedly are only interested in the demonstration.  These people are chasing a miracle show.  They know one is about to start when Jesus takes interest in the boy.  So they come running for the show.

What does this tell us about the emotional and spiritual focus of the crowd?  What does this tell us that we need to be careful of when it comes to our relationship with God?  How easy is it to get wrapped up in the spectacle?

Second Thought:

Jesus commands the spirit to leave and never come back.  That is the power of God.  Of course, it is one thing to say the words.  It is entirely a different thing to have the authority behind those words.  Any one of us could make that claim and say those words.  But only someone called by God can have that kind of authority over the evil spirits.

Under whose authority do you act most of the time?  What does it mean to act under the authority of God?  What do you think is required of us to act with His authority?

Third Thought:

Jesus’ reply to the disciples is humbling.  In effect, Jesus says this to His disciples.  “You can’t cast out this evil spirit because you don’t live close enough to God.”  After all, what is prayer except relationship with the Father?  I think it is impressive that Jesus taught so bluntly.

I can’t imagine how sharp those words must have sounded to the disciples.  But Jesus is absolutely accurate.  We don’t live as close to God as we could – especially as we should.  Our spirituality starts with our closeness to God.  If we aren’t close to Him, how could we ever expect to do anything in His name?  If we aren’t close to God, how is it that we expect the gifts that God gives to us will ever be sustained?  The truth is that the failure of the disciples rests upon their failure to put in the time and effort it takes to walk closely with God.

How close are you to God?  Is your closeness to God increasing, staying the same, or decreasing?  What can you do to sustain growth towards God?

Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 9:30-32