Mark 9 - “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
Every Christian thinks that at some point of their life, that they are closer to God. However, at the same time, when we look into ourselves, we are well aware of our spiritual shortcomings. Do you think this is a contradiction? That’s what disciples of Jesus Christ experienced in their lives. When I read Mark 9, I understood that disciples were same like me and you. They were walking with Jesus Christ all day long, however they did have shortcomings in their life. We still have a lot of growing to do in our Christian faith. For more than two years, the disciples lived and walked with Jesus all the time. They heard everything He taught and preached. They had seen all the situations dealt by Him and circumstances of all kinds. They had seen the miracles of healing, casting out demons and rising from dead. They witnessed the whole life of Jesus Christ.
Every Christian thinks that at some point of their life, that they are closer to God. However, at the same time, when we look into ourselves, we are well aware of our spiritual shortcomings. Do you think this is a contradiction? That’s what disciples of Jesus Christ experienced in their lives. When I read Mark 9, I understood that disciples were same like me and you. They were walking with Jesus Christ all day long, however they did have shortcomings in their life. We still have a lot of growing to do in our Christian faith. For more than two years, the disciples lived and walked with Jesus all the time. They heard everything He taught and preached. They had seen all the situations dealt by Him and circumstances of all kinds. They had seen the miracles of healing, casting out demons and rising from dead. They witnessed the whole life of Jesus Christ.
From verse 1 to verse 13, we learn about Jesus Christ transfiguration high up the mountain and were witnessed by Peter, James and John. After that Jesus along with three disciples came down and found that the rest of the nine disciples were in argument with some of the Jewish scribes. A large crowd was around them. This crowd was gathered when they saw the apostles and came with lots of expectations. Also the scribes were there in order to disgrace Jesus and His disciples. As we read the verses, we realise that the situation have not gone well. The scribes and some of the people were ridiculing and arguing with the disciples. As soon as the crowd saw Jesus coming, they ran to him and greeted him. They must have run to him because the disciples had disappointed them.
Then Jesus asked “What are you arguing about with them?” It’s not clear whom the question was directed to. Well, the scribes did not say anything. They must be waiting for the disciples to answer. Also the disciples did not utter a word. They did not respond because they might have been embarrassed as they were being mocked and belittled. They not only lost their argument and were unable to use the power given to them by Jesus Christ in Chapter 6. We read in Mark 6:7, 12-13 “Calling the twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits. They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them”.
However a man from the crowd comes forward and answers Jesus verses 17-18 “A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is 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.”
That’s where I stopped and thought to myself “Why were those disciples unable to cast the demon”. Even they had the same question in their mind. We read about them asking Jesus privately in verse 28 “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” I understood that there were few shortcomings which the disciples faced in their live as we do. Even though they lived by sight and had Jesus with them all the time, they did lack in some areas.
1. Overconfidence / Pride – As I said before, we read in chapter 6, that the disciples were given power and they did some miracles. This must have created a pride or overconfidence in them. They must have thought that they can do anything and everything. We do come across sometimes this problem in our lives. In Old Testament we learn that whenever Israel became successful, they thought that it was their own doing. They will leave God for a short period and when they get into trouble, they repent and come back. As our God is a loving God, he always rescued them. Here we see the same situation with the disciples. They had forgotten that they were not the one who heals the sick or cast the demons out. It is the power of God working through them. Like disciples, we are mere tools in the hands of the master. The tool cannot work on its own. The disciples were so confident in them. We are helpless without God. That’s what Jesus says in John 15:5 “I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing”. So we humble ourselves and pray to God that His name be glorified through us. So let us put our dependency on Jesus. Self-sufficiency is great for a worldly person, but for a spiritual person it is deadly.
2. Unbelief / lack of faith – At the end of verse 18, the father says, “…I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.” In next verse verse 19 we read that Jesus replied, “You unbelieving generation, how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” Here Jesus himself says that the demon did not go away because of their unbelief which includes the disciples, scribes, father and the rest of the crowd. Let us compare the unbelief of the disciples and the father.
Disciples - Jesus did delegate authority and power to the disciples to cast out demons. They were doing it. How did they fail here? What went wrong? The crowd came to them with great expectation that the apostles always walks with Jesus and can perform a miracle. That’s what people think when they see us as Christians. Externally we may look that we are Christians, however internally do we have that real belief. When someone asks us to pray for certain thing, do we pray with faith and belief that everything is possible by us through Jesus? We may need to self-evaluate ourselves to find out an answer. It was so painful for Jesus to call out “O unbelieving generation”. It did not require a lot of faith to heal the boy, they did not even believe the little faith they had in them. Jesus was really worried to leave the apostles on their own. His time on the earth was about to end and the disciples were supposed to take the batten. However the same disciples we read in Acts 2, when filled / anointed with Holy Spirit, did wonders in this earth.
Father of the sick boy – When we read from verse 21-24 we understand the heart of the father. Jesus asked the father about his son’s condition. The desperate father answered “From childhood, 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.” This father was frustrated because the disciples were unable to deliver his son. However, when Jesus asked, he was bit doubtful whether He would be able to do. This happens now in our time. Because of our lacking in faith, the people even doubt the ability of our God. Always remember, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:2-3, we are letter from Christ, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God. However, when Jesus asked the father the next question in verse 23 “if you can’? “Everything is possible for one who believes.” he broke and humbled himself. He did not ask for his son’s healing; now his priority was to get help to grow his belief in Jesus. What an amazing transformation for the father? The father understood the compassion and care of Jesus. Yes, our God cares about our pain, suffering and struggles we are going through. He cares about the things that breaks our heart and wanted to hear from us. This father was honest and he admitted that he lacked faith. The Lord never expects perfect faith, but he expects us to ask his help to grow in faith. Then we learn that that in verse 27, Jesus casted out the demon from the boy, took him by the hand and raised him up. Jesus gave the boy back to his father. Jesus would be able to work only if we have faith in Him.
3. Lack of prayer – After the miracle, Jesus along with His disciples went inside a house. The disciples who were embarrassed, belittled and sad asked Jesus privately “Why could not we drive it out?” He replied “This kind can come out only by prayer”. Prayer life is very important and significant in a Christian’s life. The boy had the demon which was very powerful. We can understand that when we read verse 26 – The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. To drive such a spirit powerful prayer life is a must. That’s why Jesus says in verse 29 “This kind can come out only by prayer”. I do believe that disciples did not pray as how Jesus prayed. We can realise that when the disciples asked Him to teach to pray. Without prayer nothing is possible. Prayer is power and gives strength to withstand any situations in our daily life. Jesus being the son of God, prayed often. As we read in Mathew 25, He went alone by himself to pray in the evening after teaching and healing people. In Hebrews 5:7 we read that Jesus offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save Him from death, and He was heard. Jesus prayed in night time – sometimes he prayed the whole night, He rose early in the morning and prayed before He started the day. He prayed before making important decisions in His life, like baptism, entering into His public ministry, selection of disciples, after great miracles and times of crisis. Especially in Mark’s gospel we can see that Jesus prayed at the beginning of His ministry (Mark 1:35), In the middle of His ministry (Mark 6:45-46) and at the end of His ministry (Mark 14:32-35).
We should always pray to guard our temptations to pride, satisfaction or contentment. We are His disciples and should use the same weapon used by our Master – prayer and word of God. Also we should be careful how we pray – Pray alone (Mathew 14:23), Pray with few (Luke 9:28), Pray with family in private (apostles were his family) (Luke 9:18), Pray for others by interceding and so on. We may not know how we must pray. Holy Spirit will guide us through. We do not need any script or guidelines to pray, just pour your heart to God as Hannah prayed in the temple. Be desperate (sorrowful) and delighted (joyful) in your prayers. Jesus is a model for us in this. Prayer helps to grow in deeper relationship with God. When we are in constant communication or walking with God, we can be spontaneous in our prayers. Remember we are allowed to pray for our materials blessings; however we should be praying for our spiritual blessings.
4. Lack of scriptural (biblical) knowledge – When we read from verse 30-31, we see that Jesus was spending time with apostles by teaching them. He did not want anyone to know where they are. As Jesus was about to finish his earthly life, He wanted His disciples to understand about His resurrection. “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it. Here we realise that the disciples did not have understanding about the scriptures. In many places, Jesus has to explain the spiritual meaning through parables and stories. This happens to us nowadays. Are we spending enough time reading the word of God? The Bible, the Word of God is the only source and power that can sustain us in our Christian walk. That’s why the Psalmist said in 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and light to my path”. As we read in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 we should always remember that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work”. Meditating on the Word of God is mandatory for our spiritual growth. Listening to sermons, attending church Bible classes and reading spiritual books is not enough – we should sit in presence of God. Prayer is us talking to God and meditating the word of God is Him speaking to us. As we eat every day for our physical need, we should be reading Word of God every day to strengthen our spiritual person. Job understood the importance and he stated it in Job 23:12b “.. I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread”. The more we read God’s word the more we will love it, it’s sweeter than honey, we will get comfort and hope, keeps us away from sins and moreover God will reveal his heart to us. God’s word also revives our souls. Jesus said in John 8:31-32 “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”. Apostles understood the importance of the prayer and word of God later on. We read that in Acts 6:4 “and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
5. I AM the BEST attitude – from verse 33-37 we learn about the attitude of the disciples. On the way to Capernaum, the disciples had an argument on the road. This includes all twelve apostles. The dispute among them – who was greatest among them. John must have argued that he was always sitting close to Jesus heart and he was the best. Peter must have said that he was able to walk on the water; James must have said that he was the half-brother of Jesus. Even Judas Iscariot must have said the he is the treasurer and knows everything about money handling. Andrew must have said that he was the first to be called. Like that everyone had something to make themselves as the best and greatest than others. When we read verse 34, we can see the reaction of disciples when Jesus asked them about the argument. They were ashamed that Jesus had caught them fighting for position. Don’t we have that attitude sometime as a Christian? We may be the highest tithe giver in the church, we may be able to preach for 1 hour nonstop, we may be holding a prestigious position, we may be supporting pastors and mission fields, and we may be the one who prays with fascinating words and so on. None of this matters to my God. Greatness to God is the humility. So Jesus uses the example of the child to make them understand. Unless they have the heart of the child, they won’t be able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. True greatness is to serve others and always willing to be the last instead of putting ourselves in first. Jesus proved the greatness of service and humility by His own example. He came to earth in the form of a servant, he humbled himself to the point of death on that cross and because of that we read in Philippians 2:9-11 “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,” Even So let us listen to the warning in Luke 14:11 “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” To become first let us be servants of the Lord, live a life of love, live a life of self-denial and live a life of humility. Every Christian is in Gods eternal Hall of fame. The talents and gifts may be different for each person, but in Gods eyes, we all are equally great.
6. Non-acceptance / Jealousy – From verse 38 – 41 we read that John was annoyed about a man ministering in Jesus name. He was not happy with the man because he was not one among them. Don’t we have that attitude sometimes against other church people or pastors? There may be miracles and baptisms happening in Jesus name in other churches and instead of encouraging them, do we criticize their spirituality? In these verses, Jesus insists that we should be open armed in receiving people. John said “Because he does not follow us” he tried to stop him. John or other disciples did not think beyond. That man must have listened to Jesus teaching and got saved, he may have strong faith in God, he may be a prayer warrior and thorough in God’s word. That’s why he was able to cast out the demons. The disciples were jealous or envious because earlier we read that they were unable to cast out the demon in the boy; however this man was able to do that miracle in Jesus name. A sense of pride and arrogance can also bring non acceptance. This may happen to me and you sometimes. Remember we are not allowed to judge anyone, we must not be narrow minded and deny others, we cannot destroy others ministry, rather encourage and uplift them. Here Jesus is confident that this man is a true believer of Christ. That’s why he says in verse 39-40 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us”. So as John did, if we have doubts like this, let us go straight to God and ask him to reveal the truth. Of course our heavenly father will guide us and help us to understand the real truth. One of the measuring tools we can use as per the Bible is whether the person bears the fruit of the spirit in all aspects. As I said before everyone has their own calling and its God who rewards them. As Jesus said in verse 41, “Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward” your calling may not be for preaching or healing, it may be to serve others like cooking food for the needy. Yet, you are eligible to receive a reward from God on the final day. As Galatians 3:26-29 says “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise”.
From verse 42-48 we learn about the stumbling blocks in our life. The hands, feet and eyes are the important things we need in our life. If we do not have a control over them, then they turn out to be obstacles in our Christian life. We may be Christians when others look at us outwardly, however we need a change internally. The spiritual aspect of this example is that whatever we hold dear to our heart turns out to be an obstacle in reaching out to our Lord, it is better we get rid of them. We can ask ourselves the question, "What obstacle or stumbling block do I have in me that separates me from my God?". If a relationship is leading us into temptation and sin, we must cut down that relationship. It may be painful, but that’s what God wanted from us. Nothing in this world is valuable compared to the eternity where we will reside with our loving savior forever. And in verse 50 we read that salt is valuable, however if it loses is saltiness, what good it is? That’s why Jesus said if we call ourselves as children of God, we should act and live like a child of God. We must not be a hindrance to others, we must avoid sin at all costs with the help of our Lord, and we must embrace a humble life and be like salt for others.
So far we read about the various characteristics of the disciples which we come across in our daily life. Their lives were drastically changed once they received the power of the Holy Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit made them to stand firmly and witness Jesus is the Christ, son of true and living God. All their shortcomings were gone when they humbled themselves in that upper room. We are no different to them; we are given the authority by our Christ to be called as sons and daughters. With Jesus, ALL things are possible. With Jesus we can do the impossible.
Shaping and moulding, is the potter with the clay
That is how God is with us When we let Him have his way
Let God shape your life Into a vessel for His use,
So He can fill and send you forth To a world void of truth
So yield unto the master's hand As He works within your life,
Making you so lovingly To reflect the image of Christ
-Unknown
Then Jesus asked “What are you arguing about with them?” It’s not clear whom the question was directed to. Well, the scribes did not say anything. They must be waiting for the disciples to answer. Also the disciples did not utter a word. They did not respond because they might have been embarrassed as they were being mocked and belittled. They not only lost their argument and were unable to use the power given to them by Jesus Christ in Chapter 6. We read in Mark 6:7, 12-13 “Calling the twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits. They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them”.
However a man from the crowd comes forward and answers Jesus verses 17-18 “A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is 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.”
That’s where I stopped and thought to myself “Why were those disciples unable to cast the demon”. Even they had the same question in their mind. We read about them asking Jesus privately in verse 28 “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” I understood that there were few shortcomings which the disciples faced in their live as we do. Even though they lived by sight and had Jesus with them all the time, they did lack in some areas.
1. Overconfidence / Pride – As I said before, we read in chapter 6, that the disciples were given power and they did some miracles. This must have created a pride or overconfidence in them. They must have thought that they can do anything and everything. We do come across sometimes this problem in our lives. In Old Testament we learn that whenever Israel became successful, they thought that it was their own doing. They will leave God for a short period and when they get into trouble, they repent and come back. As our God is a loving God, he always rescued them. Here we see the same situation with the disciples. They had forgotten that they were not the one who heals the sick or cast the demons out. It is the power of God working through them. Like disciples, we are mere tools in the hands of the master. The tool cannot work on its own. The disciples were so confident in them. We are helpless without God. That’s what Jesus says in John 15:5 “I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing”. So we humble ourselves and pray to God that His name be glorified through us. So let us put our dependency on Jesus. Self-sufficiency is great for a worldly person, but for a spiritual person it is deadly.
2. Unbelief / lack of faith – At the end of verse 18, the father says, “…I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.” In next verse verse 19 we read that Jesus replied, “You unbelieving generation, how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” Here Jesus himself says that the demon did not go away because of their unbelief which includes the disciples, scribes, father and the rest of the crowd. Let us compare the unbelief of the disciples and the father.
Disciples - Jesus did delegate authority and power to the disciples to cast out demons. They were doing it. How did they fail here? What went wrong? The crowd came to them with great expectation that the apostles always walks with Jesus and can perform a miracle. That’s what people think when they see us as Christians. Externally we may look that we are Christians, however internally do we have that real belief. When someone asks us to pray for certain thing, do we pray with faith and belief that everything is possible by us through Jesus? We may need to self-evaluate ourselves to find out an answer. It was so painful for Jesus to call out “O unbelieving generation”. It did not require a lot of faith to heal the boy, they did not even believe the little faith they had in them. Jesus was really worried to leave the apostles on their own. His time on the earth was about to end and the disciples were supposed to take the batten. However the same disciples we read in Acts 2, when filled / anointed with Holy Spirit, did wonders in this earth.
Father of the sick boy – When we read from verse 21-24 we understand the heart of the father. Jesus asked the father about his son’s condition. The desperate father answered “From childhood, 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.” This father was frustrated because the disciples were unable to deliver his son. However, when Jesus asked, he was bit doubtful whether He would be able to do. This happens now in our time. Because of our lacking in faith, the people even doubt the ability of our God. Always remember, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:2-3, we are letter from Christ, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God. However, when Jesus asked the father the next question in verse 23 “if you can’? “Everything is possible for one who believes.” he broke and humbled himself. He did not ask for his son’s healing; now his priority was to get help to grow his belief in Jesus. What an amazing transformation for the father? The father understood the compassion and care of Jesus. Yes, our God cares about our pain, suffering and struggles we are going through. He cares about the things that breaks our heart and wanted to hear from us. This father was honest and he admitted that he lacked faith. The Lord never expects perfect faith, but he expects us to ask his help to grow in faith. Then we learn that that in verse 27, Jesus casted out the demon from the boy, took him by the hand and raised him up. Jesus gave the boy back to his father. Jesus would be able to work only if we have faith in Him.
3. Lack of prayer – After the miracle, Jesus along with His disciples went inside a house. The disciples who were embarrassed, belittled and sad asked Jesus privately “Why could not we drive it out?” He replied “This kind can come out only by prayer”. Prayer life is very important and significant in a Christian’s life. The boy had the demon which was very powerful. We can understand that when we read verse 26 – The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. To drive such a spirit powerful prayer life is a must. That’s why Jesus says in verse 29 “This kind can come out only by prayer”. I do believe that disciples did not pray as how Jesus prayed. We can realise that when the disciples asked Him to teach to pray. Without prayer nothing is possible. Prayer is power and gives strength to withstand any situations in our daily life. Jesus being the son of God, prayed often. As we read in Mathew 25, He went alone by himself to pray in the evening after teaching and healing people. In Hebrews 5:7 we read that Jesus offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save Him from death, and He was heard. Jesus prayed in night time – sometimes he prayed the whole night, He rose early in the morning and prayed before He started the day. He prayed before making important decisions in His life, like baptism, entering into His public ministry, selection of disciples, after great miracles and times of crisis. Especially in Mark’s gospel we can see that Jesus prayed at the beginning of His ministry (Mark 1:35), In the middle of His ministry (Mark 6:45-46) and at the end of His ministry (Mark 14:32-35).
We should always pray to guard our temptations to pride, satisfaction or contentment. We are His disciples and should use the same weapon used by our Master – prayer and word of God. Also we should be careful how we pray – Pray alone (Mathew 14:23), Pray with few (Luke 9:28), Pray with family in private (apostles were his family) (Luke 9:18), Pray for others by interceding and so on. We may not know how we must pray. Holy Spirit will guide us through. We do not need any script or guidelines to pray, just pour your heart to God as Hannah prayed in the temple. Be desperate (sorrowful) and delighted (joyful) in your prayers. Jesus is a model for us in this. Prayer helps to grow in deeper relationship with God. When we are in constant communication or walking with God, we can be spontaneous in our prayers. Remember we are allowed to pray for our materials blessings; however we should be praying for our spiritual blessings.
4. Lack of scriptural (biblical) knowledge – When we read from verse 30-31, we see that Jesus was spending time with apostles by teaching them. He did not want anyone to know where they are. As Jesus was about to finish his earthly life, He wanted His disciples to understand about His resurrection. “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it. Here we realise that the disciples did not have understanding about the scriptures. In many places, Jesus has to explain the spiritual meaning through parables and stories. This happens to us nowadays. Are we spending enough time reading the word of God? The Bible, the Word of God is the only source and power that can sustain us in our Christian walk. That’s why the Psalmist said in 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and light to my path”. As we read in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 we should always remember that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work”. Meditating on the Word of God is mandatory for our spiritual growth. Listening to sermons, attending church Bible classes and reading spiritual books is not enough – we should sit in presence of God. Prayer is us talking to God and meditating the word of God is Him speaking to us. As we eat every day for our physical need, we should be reading Word of God every day to strengthen our spiritual person. Job understood the importance and he stated it in Job 23:12b “.. I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread”. The more we read God’s word the more we will love it, it’s sweeter than honey, we will get comfort and hope, keeps us away from sins and moreover God will reveal his heart to us. God’s word also revives our souls. Jesus said in John 8:31-32 “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”. Apostles understood the importance of the prayer and word of God later on. We read that in Acts 6:4 “and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
5. I AM the BEST attitude – from verse 33-37 we learn about the attitude of the disciples. On the way to Capernaum, the disciples had an argument on the road. This includes all twelve apostles. The dispute among them – who was greatest among them. John must have argued that he was always sitting close to Jesus heart and he was the best. Peter must have said that he was able to walk on the water; James must have said that he was the half-brother of Jesus. Even Judas Iscariot must have said the he is the treasurer and knows everything about money handling. Andrew must have said that he was the first to be called. Like that everyone had something to make themselves as the best and greatest than others. When we read verse 34, we can see the reaction of disciples when Jesus asked them about the argument. They were ashamed that Jesus had caught them fighting for position. Don’t we have that attitude sometime as a Christian? We may be the highest tithe giver in the church, we may be able to preach for 1 hour nonstop, we may be holding a prestigious position, we may be supporting pastors and mission fields, and we may be the one who prays with fascinating words and so on. None of this matters to my God. Greatness to God is the humility. So Jesus uses the example of the child to make them understand. Unless they have the heart of the child, they won’t be able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. True greatness is to serve others and always willing to be the last instead of putting ourselves in first. Jesus proved the greatness of service and humility by His own example. He came to earth in the form of a servant, he humbled himself to the point of death on that cross and because of that we read in Philippians 2:9-11 “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,” Even So let us listen to the warning in Luke 14:11 “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” To become first let us be servants of the Lord, live a life of love, live a life of self-denial and live a life of humility. Every Christian is in Gods eternal Hall of fame. The talents and gifts may be different for each person, but in Gods eyes, we all are equally great.
6. Non-acceptance / Jealousy – From verse 38 – 41 we read that John was annoyed about a man ministering in Jesus name. He was not happy with the man because he was not one among them. Don’t we have that attitude sometimes against other church people or pastors? There may be miracles and baptisms happening in Jesus name in other churches and instead of encouraging them, do we criticize their spirituality? In these verses, Jesus insists that we should be open armed in receiving people. John said “Because he does not follow us” he tried to stop him. John or other disciples did not think beyond. That man must have listened to Jesus teaching and got saved, he may have strong faith in God, he may be a prayer warrior and thorough in God’s word. That’s why he was able to cast out the demons. The disciples were jealous or envious because earlier we read that they were unable to cast out the demon in the boy; however this man was able to do that miracle in Jesus name. A sense of pride and arrogance can also bring non acceptance. This may happen to me and you sometimes. Remember we are not allowed to judge anyone, we must not be narrow minded and deny others, we cannot destroy others ministry, rather encourage and uplift them. Here Jesus is confident that this man is a true believer of Christ. That’s why he says in verse 39-40 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us”. So as John did, if we have doubts like this, let us go straight to God and ask him to reveal the truth. Of course our heavenly father will guide us and help us to understand the real truth. One of the measuring tools we can use as per the Bible is whether the person bears the fruit of the spirit in all aspects. As I said before everyone has their own calling and its God who rewards them. As Jesus said in verse 41, “Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward” your calling may not be for preaching or healing, it may be to serve others like cooking food for the needy. Yet, you are eligible to receive a reward from God on the final day. As Galatians 3:26-29 says “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise”.
From verse 42-48 we learn about the stumbling blocks in our life. The hands, feet and eyes are the important things we need in our life. If we do not have a control over them, then they turn out to be obstacles in our Christian life. We may be Christians when others look at us outwardly, however we need a change internally. The spiritual aspect of this example is that whatever we hold dear to our heart turns out to be an obstacle in reaching out to our Lord, it is better we get rid of them. We can ask ourselves the question, "What obstacle or stumbling block do I have in me that separates me from my God?". If a relationship is leading us into temptation and sin, we must cut down that relationship. It may be painful, but that’s what God wanted from us. Nothing in this world is valuable compared to the eternity where we will reside with our loving savior forever. And in verse 50 we read that salt is valuable, however if it loses is saltiness, what good it is? That’s why Jesus said if we call ourselves as children of God, we should act and live like a child of God. We must not be a hindrance to others, we must avoid sin at all costs with the help of our Lord, and we must embrace a humble life and be like salt for others.
So far we read about the various characteristics of the disciples which we come across in our daily life. Their lives were drastically changed once they received the power of the Holy Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit made them to stand firmly and witness Jesus is the Christ, son of true and living God. All their shortcomings were gone when they humbled themselves in that upper room. We are no different to them; we are given the authority by our Christ to be called as sons and daughters. With Jesus, ALL things are possible. With Jesus we can do the impossible.
Shaping and moulding, is the potter with the clay
That is how God is with us When we let Him have his way
Let God shape your life Into a vessel for His use,
So He can fill and send you forth To a world void of truth
So yield unto the master's hand As He works within your life,
Making you so lovingly To reflect the image of Christ
-Unknown