Lesson 102

LESSON 102 - MARK 9:14-29

14And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them. 15And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him. 16And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them? 17And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; 18And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. 19He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. 20And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. 21And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. 22And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. 23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 24And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. 25When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. 26And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. 27But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. 28And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? 29And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

While Jesus and Peter, James and John had been on the mount of transfiguration, the other disciples had been healing people (v18, 28), and they had been successful with most of them.

But one man's son had a demonic problem so strong that the disciples by their faith alone could not deliver him. When Jesus comes down from the mount, He asks what the problem was and the father explained. The boy had a mute spirit, (which means the boy could not talk.) The boy would have spells when the demon would take hold of him and cause him to hurt himself, to foam at the mouth and gnash his teeth, and not to eat at times. The father explained that his son had had this problem since a child, and the demon had tried to kill the boy by casting him into fire and waters. (The parents had to be watchful all the time to protect the boy. Don't you know when they heard that there was a Healer in the land of Israel, they took heart from that news and wanted their son to be healed?) They packed up and came to Jesus. I'm sure it was a difficult trip, tiring and upsetting, because the boy has an episode right in front of Jesus, while the father was talking.)

Note: demons can attach themselves to a person at times, even children. Like leeches, demons get bigger and stronger the longer they are left in place. Demons sometimes cause violent behavior and try to get the person to destroy himself. (Review the lesson on Mark 5:1-20 for another look at demonic activity in a person.) Demons can cause limitations in natural behavior such as speech or hearing. Demons may cause rage, strange talk and embarrassing behavior in people, too, making them act out in ways they would not normally do.

Some of the things we see today in people's behaviors is caused by the demonic. Society has gotten away from that label, but though times have changed, demons' behavior has not. The good news is that we know the Lord Jesus Christ is the means of getting free of demons' influence and demonic strongholds. Jesus said the disciples could have freed this boy, if they had been fasting as well as praying. Although Jesus didn't require His disciples to fast, Jesus Himself fasted regularly. (See the lessons 22 and 23 on the principles of fasting.)

The important thing to remember is that the same power that Jesus used to free that lad is available today to deliver people from the stronghold of Satan's control on their minds and bodies. Our God is able and willing to deliver and free people from the clutches of the devil, if they are willing to come to Jesus for deliverance. In Luke 4:18, Jesus' first declaration in the beginning of His public ministry was that He had come to deliver the captives and set at liberty them that were bruised. Through His death on the cross, Jesus delivered us from the bondage of the devil (Hebrews 3:14-15). Galatians 5:1 1Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. John 8:36 36If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.